Phylogenetic relationships within the genus Wiseana (Lepidoptera: Hepialidae)

Abstract

The genus Wiseana Viette, part of the 'Oxycanus' lineage s. str. (Dugdale 1994), is well known to systematists and applied scientists in New Zealand because it has proved difficult to establish the number and distribution of species, and to find characters to identify the species causing damage. We estimated the phylogenetic relationships within Wiseana using nucleotide sequence data from the ITS2 region of the nuclear, ribosomal DNA. Relationships between Wiseana signata haplotypes and W. umbraculata were resolved using the ITS2 region, and morphological and mtDNA data sets. Other relationships within the genus could not be completely resolved using ITS2, or other data sets. The advantages of combining independently derived Wiseana data sets is discussed.