Phylogenetics, integrative taxonomy and systematics of the Sesamia creticaspecies group (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Apameini: Sesamiina), with the description of 21 new species from the Afrotropical region

SummaryIn this study, 31 species of noctuid stemborers belonging to the genus SesamiaGuenée, 1852 (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Noctuinae: Apameini: Sesamiina) are reviewed. All these species are assigned to the Sesamia creticagroup sensuTams & Bowden (1953). Based on genitalic characters, several subgroups are hereby defined. Nine species belong to a species complex defined as the Sesamia albivenaHampson, 1902 subgroup; it consists of S. albivena, S. mocoensisTams & Bowden, 1953, n. stat., S. sudanensisTams & Bowden, 1953, n. stat.S. taenioleuca(Wallengren, 1863), and five new species that are described (S. aethiopicaLe Ru n. sp.from Ethiopia, S. kafuloLe Ru n. sp.from Botswana and Zambia, S. kavirondoLe Ru n. sp.from Kenya and Uganda, S. maloukouLe Ru n. sp.from Republic of Congo, and S. soyemaLe Ru n. sp.from Ethiopia). Four species belong to a species complex defined as the Sesamia creticasubgroup; this encompasses S. cretica, S. rufescensHampson, 1910, and two new species that are described (S. ihambaneLe Ru n. sp.from Mozambique and Tanzania and S. kikuyuensisLe Ru n. sp.from Kenya); two new synonyms are introduced for Sesamia cretica: Nonagria uniformisDudgeon, 1905 n. syn.and SesamiagriseldaWarren, 1913, n. syn.Ten species belong to a species complex defined as the Sesamia fuscifrontiaHampson, 1914 subgroup; this includes S. fuscifrontia, S. geyri(Strand, 1915) and eight new species that are described (S. babatiLe Ru n. sp.from Tanzania, S. babessiLe Ru n. sp.from Cameroon and Zambia, S. mabiraLe Ru n. sp.from Uganda, S. nangaensisLe Ru n. sp.from Cameroon and Republic of Congo, S. rungwaLe Ru n. sp.from Tanzania, S. simillimaLe Ru n. sp.from Benin, Cameroon, Kenya and Uganda, S. tavetaLe Ru n. sp.from Kenya and S. ulaukaeLe Ru n. sp.from Ethiopia). One species belongs to a species complex defined as the Sesamia salamaLe Ru n. sp.subgroup; this consists of S. salamaLe Ru n. sp.from Kenya and another undescribed Sesamiaspecies from South Africa. One species belongs to a species complex defined as the Sesamia vietteiRungs, 1954 subgroup.Six species belong to a species complex defined as the Sesamia wiltshireiRungs, 1963 subgroup; this groups S. wiltshireiand five new species that are described (S. djenoensisLe Ru n. sp.from Republic of Congo, S. inexpectataLe Ru n. sp.from South Africa and Zambia, S. lefiniLe Ru n. sp.from Republic of Congo, S. echinochloaLe Ru n. sp.from Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia and S. rindiniLe Ru n. sp.from Tanzania). A supplemental description of the previously described species is also provided. Novel host plant records are also provided for 11 species of the S. creticagroup. To complement the morphological study, both phylogenetic and molecular species delimitation analyses were carried out on a multimarker (four mitochondrial and two nuclear genes) molecular dataset encompassing 144 specimens representing 35 species (including 25 species from the S. creticagroup). Molecular analyses provide a well-supported phylogenetic framework for the species of interest, which are all recovered monophyletic. Molecular species delimitation analyses also support the species status of almost all sampled species. Interestingly, the inferred tree indicates that the S. creticagroup and the S. fuscifrontiasubgroup are both paraphyletic; this indicates that, while highly informative, the chosen genitalic characters in Sesamiaare not all synapomorphies.