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We recorded a new species of Cossidae -- Acossus terebrus (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1776) -- for Mongolia (Tov Aimak). We also report on the most northern habitat of the cossid genus Gobibatyr Yakovlev, 2004 (North-West Mongolia, Bayan-Ulegej Aimak), which shows the permeability of the Mongolian Altai Mountain Range for some elements of the Dzungarian fauna. Additionally, our sampling resulted in adding new localities to the ranges of Catopta perunovi Yakovlev, 2007 and Cecryphallus nubila (Staudinger, 1895) (first discovered in Hovd Aimak). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article gives a detailed illustrated redescription of the rare little-known species, Dyspessa wiltshirei Daniel, 1938, including description of the male genital structure which is presented for the first time. The differences of this species from its closely related species are also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Butterfly specimens with unusual morphological characters (e.g., unusual wing coloration) have contradictory interpretations in the literature and have been considered by different authors either as previously undescribed taxa, putative hybrids, or aberrations of well-known species. Such individuals clearly represent a taxonomic problem that needs to be addressed by scientists. The application of molecular techniques could shed light on the origin of morphological uncertainty. Here we use a combination of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA markers to analyze three lycaenid butterflies with unusual wing pattern, which are thought to represent naturally occurring hybrids due to their intermediate phenotype. We confirm their hybrid origin and indicate that the specimens are wild-caught hybrids between females of Callophrys rubi and males of Ahlbergia frivaldszkyi. Our data indicate that gene flow across species boundaries in these butterflies can occur long after speciation. Natural hybridization is rather widespread and common in animals and can have important evolutionary consequences. In terms of taxonomy, exploring hybridization and introgression is crucial in defining species boundaries and testing taxonomic hypotheses. In the present paper, we report on natural hybrid specimens between Ahlbergia frivaldszkyi (Lederer, 1853) and Callophrys rubi (Linnaeus, 1758). To test the hypothesis of their hybrid origin, we employed the molecular mitochondrial (COI gene) and nuclear (wingless, RPS5, and Ca-ATPase genes) markers commonly used in phylogenetic studies and explored the morphology of the specimens. Our analysis revealed that hybrids bear mitochondrial haplotypes of C. rubi, while nuclear fragments are heterozygous, sharing a combination of A. frivaldszkyi and C. rubi lineages. The hybrid specimens combine morphological characters of both genera. Our results for the first time empirically demonstrate the possibility of genetic introgression between these species and between the genera Callophrys and Ahlbergia on the whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Attractive targeted sugar baits (ATSBs) have the potential to significantly reduce infective female Anopheles mosquitoes in arid areas, such as in Northern Mali. Malaria is epidemic in the north due to the limited viability of Anopheles species in the desert climate. The goal of this study was to determine of the effect of ATSB on the number of older female An. gambiae and on the number of sporozoite-positive females in villages in northern Mali. Methods: Villages were located in the north of Mali. In this study, 5677 ATSB stations were deployed, two on each home, in ten villages during late July and early August 2019. Ten villages served as controls. After a pre-treatment monitoring period in July, An. gambiae populations were monitored again from August to December using CDC-UV light traps, pyrethrum spray catches (PSC), and human landing catches (HLC). Mosquitoes were dissected to estimate their age, while ELISA detected sporozoite positivity. The monthly entomological inoculation rates (EIRs) were calculated for HLC indoors and outdoors. Data from villages were compared using t-tests, while bait station weighted density versus amount of collected females was checked with a Pearson's correlation. Results: A total of 2703 female An. gambiae were caught from treated villages, 4582 from control villages, a 41.0% difference. Dissection of 1759 females showed that ATSB significantly reduced the number of older females. The proportion of older females in treated villages was 0.93% compared to 9.4% in control villages. ELISA analysis of 7285 females showed that bait stations reduced the number of sporozoite-positive females. The infective females in treated villages was 0.30% compared to 2.73% in the controls. The greater the density of bait stations deployed, the fewer the older, infective females (P < 0.05). EIRs were low in control villages except in months when An. gambiae populations were high. EIRs in ATSB placement villages remained zero. Significant reductions (P < 0.0001) in An. gambiae males were observed. Conclusions: Bait stations reduced all measures of vector populations in this study. In a low-transmission setting, ATSB has the potential to greatly reduce malaria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The effect of clothing colour on the biting rates of different vector mosquito species is not well understood. Studies under tropical field conditions are lacking. This study aimed to determine the influence of clothing colours on mosquito biting rates in rural and suburban settings in West Africa. Methods We performed a simulated field study in a suburban and a rural site in Mali using Mosquito-Magnet traps utilizing CO2 and other attractants, which were covered with black, white, and black/white striped textile sheets covers. These targets operated continuously for 10 consecutive days with bright nights (around full moon) and 10 consecutive days with dark nights (around new moon). Trapped mosquitoes were collected and catch rates counted hourly. Mosquitoes were morphologically identified to the species complex level (Anopheles gambiae s.l. and Culex pipiens s.l.) or species level (Aedes aegypti). A subset of Anopheles specimens were further identified by molecular methods. Results Under bright-night conditions, An. gambiae s.l. was significantly more attracted to black targets than to white and striped targets; during dark nights, no target preference was noted. During bright nights, Cx. pipiens s.l. was significantly more attracted to black and striped targets than to white targets; a similar trend was noted during dark nights (not significant). For day-active Ae. aegypti , striped targets were more attractive than the other targets and black were more attractive than white targets. Conclusions The study firstly demonstrated that under field conditions in Mali, West Africa, mosquito catch rates were influenced by different clothing colours, depending on mosquito species and light conditions. Overall, light colours were least attractive to host-seeking mosquitoes. Using white or other light-coloured clothing can potentially reduce bite exposure and risk of disease transmission in endemic tropical regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The genus Colias Fabricius, 1807 is a taxonomically challenging group of butterflies. Many Colias taxa display a high level of intraspecific variation in wing pattern and are weakly differentiated with respect to genitalia structure; therefore, a conclusion on their status as a distinct species, subspecies or local form can be controversial. In such cases, it is crucial to conduct a comprehensive analysis based on various phylogenetic and biogeographical approaches and a large-scale sampling dataset in order to resolve existing taxonomic and nomenclatural problems. In the present study, we focused on two enigmatic Colias taxa of unclear taxonomic status, Colias mongola Alphéraky, 1897 and Colias tamerlana Staudinger, 1897, restricted in distribution to western Mongolia, northwestern China and the south Siberian part of Russia. Here, we conducted a DNA barcode-based analysis that revealed complicate genetic pattern with several differentiated haplotypes clustered in four distinct haplogroups. In addition, we found a strong correlation between a specific mitochondrial haplogroup and Wolbachia infection, suggesting that Wolbachia endosymbionts may have played an essential role in the biology and diversification of the taxa in question and the genus Colias as a whole. The genus Colias Fabricius, 1807 includes numerous taxa and forms with uncertain status and taxonomic position. Among such taxa are Colias mongola Alphéraky, 1897 and Colias tamerlana Staudinger, 1897, interpreted in the literature either as conspecific forms, as subspecies of different but morphologically somewhat similar Colias species or as distinct species-level taxa. Based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA markers, we reconstructed a phylogeographic pattern of the taxa in question. We recover and include in our analysis DNA barcodes of the century-old type specimens, the lectotype of C. tamerlana deposited in the Natural History Museum (Museum für Naturkunde), Berlin, Germany (ZMHU) and the paralectotype of C. tamerlana and the lectotype of C. mongola deposited in the Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia (ZISP). Our analysis grouped all specimens within four (HP_I–HP_IV) deeply divergent but geographically poorly structured clades which did not support nonconspecifity of C. mongola–C. tamerlana. We also show that all studied females of the widely distributed haplogroup HP_II were infected with a single Wolbachia strain belonging to the supergroup B, while the males of this haplogroup, as well as all other investigated specimens of both sexes, were not infected. Our data highlight the relevance of large-scale sampling dataset analysis and the need for testing for Wolbachia infection to avoid erroneous phylogenetic reconstructions and species misidentification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A robust phylogeography of gypsy moth based on a comprehensive taxon sampling is proposed. • Intraspecific variation and relationship among major phylo-geographic lineages are clarified. • Discovery of a new cryptic lineage from Persian Plateau. • A new scenario for colonization and the geographic centres of origin of gypsy moths is proposed. We examined the global phylogeography of gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar L.) using molecular data based on mitochondrial and nuclear genes. Populations from all biogeographic regions of the native and introduced range of L. dispar , were sampled to fully document intraspecific and subspecies variation, identify potential cryptic species, and to clarify the relationships among major phylogeographic lineages. We recovered three major mtDNA lineages of L. dispar : Transcaucasia; East Asia + Japan; and Europe + Central Asia. The circumscription of these lineages is only partially consistent with the current taxonomic concept (i.e., L. dispar dispar ; L. dispar asiatica ; L. dispar japonica), with the following important discrepancies: (1) north-central Asian populations, including topotypical populations of L. dispar asiatica , may be more closely related to European rather than Asian segregates, which would require the synonymization of the taxon asiatica and establishment of a new name; (2) the Japanese populations (L. d. japonica) are not distinct from east Asian populations; (3) the presence of a distinct, unnamed mitogenomic lineage endemic to the Trancaucasus region. We demonstrated that the population from Transcaucasia contains the highest mitochondrial haplotype diversity among L. dispar , potentially indicative of an ancestral area for the entire dispar-group. Our study corroborates the endemic Hokkaido, Japan taxon Lymantria umbrosa (Butler) as the sister group to all other L. dispar populations, but the applicability of the names umbrosa versus hokkaidoensis Goldschmidt needs to be re-evaluated. The ancestral area analysis suggest that Japan was likely colonized via Sakhalin ∼1 Mya, in contrast to previous studies which have suggested colonization of the Japanese archipelago via the Korean Peninsula. Lastly, mitogenomic variation within L. dispar is incongruent with phylogenies based on nuclear DNA, as nDNA gene phylogenies did not recover the three major mtDNA lineages, and also failed to recover L. dispar and L. umbrosa as reciprocally monophyletic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aroriella gen. nov., which includes two new species, A. gobardhani sp. nov. (type species) and A. grimaldii sp. nov., is described from India (Bihar) and Pakistan (Sindh Province). The new genus has a particularly complicated structure of the valva: the specific mid costal process on the inner surface of the valva is bifurcated into a proximal, smaller process and a distal larger process, the latter is in the form of a semicircular transverse plate and is almost attached to the valva. We compared the new genus with its closely related genera, Pygmeocossus Yakovlev, 2005 and Neurocossus Yakovlev, 2011.

A new species of the genus Pheosia Hübner, 1819, Pheosia liwangi Prozorov, Schintlmeister & Müller sp. nov., from Xizang and Sichuan Provinces in China is described. The new species is compared with Pheosia gelupka Gaede, 1934; Pheosia buddhista (Püngeler, 1899); and Pheosia mayri Saldaitis, Prozorov, Morozov, Yakovlev, Müller & Dûda, 2024. Adults of both sexes, their genitalia and map of collecting localities are illustrated.

American carpenter moths from the genus Givira Walker, 1856 are reviewed to expand knowledge on the subfamily Hypoptinae Neumoegen & Dyar, 1894. Features of the genus and three previously known species are redescribed and detailed diagnoses are provided for each taxon. The fourth species of the genus-Givira cinnamonea sp. nov. from Brazil (Minas Gerais)-is described. Up-to-date distributional maps are provided.

Two new species of the genus Dollmania Tams, 1930 are described: Dollmania lola sp. n. from Ivory Coast and Dollmania reggie sp. n. from Somalia. Two new junior subjective synonyms, Dollmania purpurascens (Aurivillius, 1909) syn. n. and Dollmania plinthochroa Tams, 1930 syn. n., are established for Dollmania cuprea (Distant, 1897) based on results of molecular analysis. Thus, D. cuprea has the largest distribution in the genus including: Republic of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Tanzanian Dollmania marwitzi (Strand, 1913) stat. rev. and Dollmania reussi (Strand, 1913) stat. rev. previously considered to be synonyms of D. purpurascens are raised back to the species level based on results of molecular analysis. Female genitalia of all species are illustrated for the first time. Adults, their genitalia, maps with collecting sites, phylogenetic tree, and matrix with p-distances are illustrated as well.

The genus Dinometa Aurivillius, 1927 (type species Gastroplakaeis maputuana Wichgraf, 1906) is reviewed, with two new species described: Dinometa ethani sp. n. from Tanzania and Dinometa abigailae sp. n. from Kenya and Tanzania. All Dinometa species showed no significant differences in male genitalia, but D. ethani sp. n. and D. abigailae sp. n. are allopatric with D. maputuana. D. abigailae sp. n. has specific reddish spots on hindwings that distinguishes it from closely distributed D. ethani sp. n. Two D. maputuana specimens collected at the same night and locality in the Republic of South Africa have an intraspecific variation of 1.52% in cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, while all barcoded D. maputuana are 2.432.74% distant from D. ethani sp. n. Adults, male genitalia and distribution maps of all three species are illustrated.

The taxonomic relationship between the genera Phragmataecia Newman, 1850 and Phragmacossia Schawerda, 1924 is considered. Diagnostic characters and distribution of the species Phragmataecia castaneae (Hbner, 1790), Phragmataecia albida (Erschoff, 1874), Phragmacossia ariana (Grum-Grshimailo, 1899), Phragmacossia territa (Staudinger, 1879), and Phragmacossia minos Reisser, 1963 are studied in detail. A new species, Phragmacossia bozanoi sp. n., is described from the Peloponnese Peninsula and the South Greek mainland.

A new genus Revaya gen. n. with Revaya yahya sp. n. (type-species) and Revaya edita sp. n. are described. A detailed diagnosis for the new genus is provided and compared with three closely related genera: Catalebeda Aurivillius, 1902; Ptyssophlebia Berio, 1937; and Oplometa, Aurivillius 1894. Male genitalia of Oplometa cassandra (Druce, 1887) and female genitalia of Ptyssophlebia discocellularis (Strand, 1912) are illustrated for the first time. Catalebeda producta, P. discocellularis and O. cassandra are recorded for the first time in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Genitalia of the female holotype of the Central Asian species Furcula terminata (Wiltshire, 1958) (TL: northeastern Afghanistan) were studied for the first time. They showed a clear similarity with the genitalia of Furcula gorbunovi Schintlmeister, 1998 (TL: Gissar Range, Tajikistan) and Furcula mimonovi Schintlmeister, 1998 (TL: Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan). Males of F. terminata from Afghanistan were not found in the collections. However, the specimens from neighboring Tajikistan and topotypes of F. gorbunovi and F. mimonovi were studied and all of them have pointed apex of the costal process of valva specific for the bifida-group, not the furcula-group as suggested previously. Considering the morphological similarity and overlapping distribution areas of the three studied taxa, two new synonyms are established for F. terminata: F. gorbunovi syn. n. and Furcula mimonovi syn. n. The population of Tian Shan and Alay Range in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, previously regarded as F. terminata, are described here as a new species based on differences in the genitalia of both sexes.

Seven genera and seven species of Lasiocampidae are newly recorded from the Zanzibar Island (Unguja): Bombycopsis C. & R. Felder, 1874 with Bombycopsis nigrovittata Aurivillius, 1927; Pallastica Zolotuhin & Gurkovich, 2009 with an unidentified species; Dollmania Tams, 1930 with an unidentified species; Mallocampa Aurivillius, 1902 with Mallocampa leighi Aurivillius, 1922; Eucraera Tams, 1930 with Eucraera witti Prozorov, 2016; Philotherma Möschler, 1887 with Philotherma montibia Strand, 1912; and Odontopacha Aurivillius, 1909 with Odontopacha fenestrata Aurivillius, 1909. The species are followed with taxonomic notes updating the status and distribution of the taxa. Bombycopsis nigrovittata is shown to have the maximum p-distance of 0.3% in cytochrome c oxidase I from Bombycopsis pallida Joannou & Krüger, 2009. Two specimens of Pallastica sp. from Zanzibar are different in wing coloration but identical genetically, both are 0.8-1.2% far from sequenced specimens collected in southern Malawi and eastern Zimbabwe and altogether 3.0-3.8% far from the Zambian and Malawian populations considered to be Pallastica pallens (Bethune-Baker, 1908). The barcoding revealed two distinct lineages of Dollmania in Tanzania with a p-distance of 3.5-3.7% between them, neither can be attributed to either Dollmania marwitzi (Strand, 1913) or Dollmania reussi (Strand, 1913) until the primary types or fresh topotypes are sequenced. The species Ph. montibia is taken out from the synonymy to Philotherma rosa (Druce, 1887) and is stated to be a bona species because of the difference in wing pattern and p-distance of 5.7-5.9%. A new species of the genus Odontopacha - Odontopacha dargei sp. n. - is described from southern Kenya and northern Tanzania where it occurs sympatrically with O. fenestrata. It differs from O. fenestrata by the paler coloration with the spotted external fascia on both wings and a p-distance of 3.04-3.65%. Lectotypes for D. marwitzi and Ph. montibia are established. Mallocampa leighi is recorded from Tanzania for the first time. Females of Chrysopsyche lutulenta Tams, 1923 earlier recorded from Zanzibar Island are figured and the species is recorded from DRC for the first time.

The species Lemonia taraxaci (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1755) is divided into three species based on distribution areas and cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) distances above 2%: Central European Lemonia taraxaci (type locality: Austria, Vienna area), Eastern European to South Siberian Lemonia sibirica Wnukowsky, 1934 stat. rev., bona sp. (type locality: Russia, Novosibirsk Oblast, Ozero-Karachi and Russia, Altai Krai, Kornilovo), and Italian Lemonia italiana sp. n. (type locality: Italy, Calabria centr., Sila grd., Casali del Manco, San Nicola Silano (CS)). Authorship of Lemonia strigata Antoshin & Zolotuhin, 2011 is reconsidered. The close relation between the typical L. strigata and taraxaci-like adults from the Balkans is proven genetically. According to this, L. strigata is suggested to be a junior synonym of taraxaci-looking Lemonia taraxaci var. montana Buresch, 1915 (type locality: Bulgaria, Rhodope Mts, Musala), although further DNA investigation is needed to prove this hypothesis.

The second species of the genus Typhonoya Prozorov 2011T. kravchenkoi Prozorov, Mller Zolotuhin sp. n. from the Democratic Republic of the Congo is described. A previously monotypic genus becomes bitypic. One paratype specimen was collected in the buffer zone of the southern part of the Salonga National Park during a one year-long stationary expedition (June 2017June 2018). Spread imagoes, heads, legs, venations and genitalia of both species are figured and compared. Additional notes on the genus description and previously known species are added.

A new species of carpenter moth Xyleutes ramamurthyi Yakovlev Sankararaman, sp. nov. (Lepidoptera, Cossidae, Zeuzerinae) is described as new to science from the Western Ghats of south India. The identification key and species catalog of the genus is provided. In this study, we illustrated with images of all the species of the genus and morphological structures of the new species. The photos of biotopes and the map of new species distribution are provided.

Based on the study of type specimens, we provide a redescription of the little known tropical genus of Cossidae (Lepidoptera), Carohamilia Dyar, 1940 (type species - Carohamilia ophelia (Schaus, 1921)). We establish the new combinations: Carohamilia masoni (Schaus, 1894), comb. n., Carohamilia terrafirma (Schaus, 1911), comb. n., Carohamilia poam (Dyar, 1918), comb. n., Schreiteriana lineaeplena (Dognin, 1911), comb. n., and a new synonym: Schreiteriana lineaeplena (Dognin, 1911) = Schreiteriana urcuchillay Yakovlev, Penco and Witt, 2017, syn. n.

We described a new cossid species, Dyspessa ulgen sp. nov. from the Tarbagatai and Altai Mountains and compared it to other taxa of Dyspessa reported from the region (D. tristis, D. saldaitisi, D. saissanica), as well as to morphologically similar D. ulula. The new species is most closely related to D. ulula but differs from the latter in the characteristics of the male genitalia, wing pattern, and molecular data (a 658 bp fragment of the mitochondrial COI gene).

We used a combination of morphological data (genitalia structure) and a molecular marker (a 658bp fragment of the COI gene) to demonstrate that carpenter moth populations from central and southern Morocco, previously identified as Cossus cossus (Linnaeus, 1758) based on external morphology, represent a new species, described herein as C. romantsovi Yakovlev Shapoval, sp. n. The genetic divergence of the new species with respect to other members of genus Cossus is significant and includes at least 23 fixed nucleotide substitutions in the 658 bp of the COI barcode.

Plebejus chrisreai sp. n. and P. anikini azhbogdo ssp. n. are described from the Dzhungarian Gobi desert and the Transaltajan Gobi desert respectively. External distinctions as well as distinctions of the male genitalia are given for the new taxa and two related species known from Mongolia: Plebejus anikini Yakovlev, 2012 and P. germani Yakovlev, 2012. Genitalia of all the taxa mentioned are illustrated, the aedeagus and valva bear the most valuable taxonomic characters. Females of the new species have an unusual whitish colour of the upperside not known for the christophi species complex before. The distribution of Mongolian taxa and relatives from East Kazakhstan is discussed.

An annotated list of the Cossidae of the Republic of Angola, including 24 species from 12 genera in two subfamilies, is presented. Thirteen species of Cossidae are reported for the first time from Angola. Strigocossus otti is described as a new species, sp. nov.

An annotated list of Cossidae of Malawi including 30 species from 13 genera and 3 subfamilies is presented for the first time. Two new species are described: Macrocossus grebennikovi Yakovlev, sp. nov. and Strigocossus elephas Yakovlev, sp. nov. Three new synonyms are established: Strigocossus moderatus (Walker, 1856) = Strigocossus leucopteris Houl- bert, 1916, syn. nov. = Xyleutes sjoestedti vosseleri Gaede, 1930, syn. nov. and Strigocossus capensis (Walker, 1856) Azygophleps kilimandjarae Le Cerf, 1914, syn. nov.

The annotated list of Cossidae of Zimbabwe consists of 15 species in 9 genera from the subfamilies Cossinae and Zeuzerinae. The species Brachylia vukutu Yakovlev & Lenz, sp. nov. is newly described.

A checklist of the genus Catopta Staudinger, 1889 is presented. A new species, C. dusii sp. nov., from the Xiling Xue Shan Mountains of in the Noth West China's Sichuan Province is described.