Genetic structure of Proclossiana eunomia populations at the regional scale (Lepidoptera, nymphalidae).

Populations of Proclossiana eunomia (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae) occur in middle Europe in patchy habitats of hay meadows along valleys or peat bogs. Samples of P. eunomia populations from the Ardennes region (northern France and southern Belgium) were analysed by allozyme electrophoresis. Patches isolated by more than 2 km of mature forests proved genetically distinct from their neighbouring populations. Mantel tests and regression analysis showed that the degree of genetic differentiation between the 26 studied populations is related to the geographical distances between them. Autocorrelation analysis (Moran's I ) showed that allele frequencies are positively correlated for populations up to 13 km apart and that the genetic neighbourhood of individuals is in the range of 0.9 km, which is in accordance with movement studies in this species conducted in the same area. Analysis using Wright's F-statistics revealed that the highest differentiation occurs between populations of the same subregion, whereas the whole Ardennes region is not genetically partitioned into subregions. This is probably because the connectivity of the network of suitable habitats has significantly weakened only since the 1950s, and thus subregional differentiation has not yet occurred.

[Hybridization and introgression between "full-fledged species". The case of Parnassius apollo and P. phoebus]. / Hybridation et introgression entre "bonnes espèces". Le cas de Parnassius apollo et P. phoebus.

Two butterfly species living in the Alps, Parnassius apollo and P. phoebus, frequently hybridize in certain localities of this region. The features of this phenomenon have been previously studied by biometry and starch gel electrophoresis, but some points remained obscure. We present them in a study combining results from cellulose acetate electrophoresis and wing pattern biometry with a determination of the mitochondrial haplotype by a PCR-RFLP analysis in a sample of butterflies from the southern French Alps. It was already known that the male hybrids are fecund and thus that interspecific gene exchange could take place via backcrosses with the parent species. In the present case, combining the identification of mtDNA with the analysis of nuclear genotypes allows us to demonstrate that hybridization can involve both sexes of both species. Moreover, it suggests that at least some female hybrids are not sterile. The impact of Haldane's rule is therefore not very strong in the present case. However, although the prerequisites for introgression between the concerned species are fulfilled, at the level of both nuclear and mitochondrial genomes, no indication of such a phenomenon could be gathered in the studied sample.

Molecular phylogeny and evolutionary patterns of the european satyrids (Lepidoptera: Satyridae) as revealed by mitochondrial gene sequences.

We examine the phylogenetic relationships of more than 40 species of European satyrids representing six tribes (Coenonymphini, Erebiini, Maniolini, Satyrini, Melanargiini, and Lethini). The analyses are based on comparisons of morphological data and mitochondrial genes encoding the large ribosomal subunit (16S rDNA) and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 (ND1). The cladistic reassessment of systematics based on morphological characters differs from the view retained by Miller by a lack in resolution due to the low number of characters used. Furthermore, some level of incongruence about the monophyly of the tribes is found between topologies from morphological and molecular analyses. In the case of Aphantopus hyperantus, molecular data and reexamination of morphology of this taxon indicate that this species has to be included within Maniolini. Contrary to the other clades, Erebia displays a radiate systematic pattern which cannot be explained by a lack of variable or informative sites. The combined spatial and temporal specialization found in the Erebia species may explain the rapid diversification of this genus relative to other satyrids. Finally, the subfamily level as defined by Miller for the taxa presented in the data set (Satyrinae and Elymninae) is not consistent with the molecular data. Given the reassessment of satyrids as a subfamily within Nymphalidae (Satyrinae), it seems more appropriate to retain the tribes as valid taxonomic ranks only in Satyrinae.

Molecular phylogeny of swallowtail butterflies of the tribe Papilionini (Papilionidae, Lepidoptera).

Swallowtail butterflies of the tribe Papilionini number about 225 species and are currently used as model organisms in several research areas, including genetics, chemical ecology and phylogenetics of host plant utilization and mimicry, mechanisms of speciation, and conservation. We have inferred phylogenetic relationships for a sample of 18 species of the genus Papilio (sensu lato) and five outgroup taxa by sequencing two stretches of mitochondrial DNA that correspond to segments 12886-13370 and 12083-12545 of Drosophila melanogaster mitochondrial DNA and consist of sections of the genes for the large ribosomal RNA and subunit 1 of NADH-dehydrogenase. Our data support the monophyly of Papilio and, within it, of several traditionally recognized subgroups. Species belonging to groups that utilize primarily Rutaceae as larval foodplants form two clusters, corresponding to Old World and American taxa, respectively, while two previously recognized clades-of American and South Asian-Austronesian origin-whose members were known to feed mostly on Lauraceae and Magnoliaceae, are observed to form a clade. The sister group of Papilio is found to be the South Asian genus Meandrusa, which also happens to feed on Lauraceae. The latter plant family is therefore the probable larval host of the ancestor Papilio and the shift to Rutaceae (which four-fifths of extant Papilio species use as foodplants) is more likely to have occurred only after the initial diversification of the genus.