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Systematics, Evolution, and Biodiversity

10-Minute Paper

SysEB: Phylogenetics On-Demand Presentations

An upgrade for armyworm phylogeny: Combined organellar and nuclear loci recover clades of Spodoptera Guenée that correspond to larval feeding

On-Demand
On-Demand

Spodoptera Guenée comprises 31 species that represent a range of host plant breadths and include significant world agricultural pests, among them the Fall Armyworm (FAW), which has crossed three continents in recent years. Although the alpha-taxonomic nomenclature within Spodoptera remains somewhat in flux, and the status of FAW “strains,” for example, remains to be resolved, we analyzed mitogenomic data (13 protein-coding genes) for 14 Spodoptera species in combination with nuclear and ribosomal data from 28 of the 31 known species to generate a refined phylogenetic hypothesis for the genus.  These results recover for the first time two well-supported ecologically diverse clades which appear to correspond to differences in mandibular shape and specialization on silica-rich C4 grasses. Dating analyses suggest an earlier origin for the genus at roughly 17-18mya, which is substantially older than previous estimates.