''Phymatopus'' (originally: ''Phalaena Noctua'' Linnaeus, 1758) is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

s of the family

Hepialidae The Hepialidae are a family of insects in the lepidopteran order. Moths of this family are often referred to as swift moths or ghost moths. Taxonomy and systematics The Hepialidae constitute by far the most diverse group of the infraorder Exop ...

(commonly referred to as swift moths or ghost moths), which consists of around 700 species and 82 genera. The genus was erected by

Hans Daniel Johan Wallengren Hans Daniel Johan Wallengren (8 June 1823 – 25 October 1894) was a Swedish clergyman and entomologist. Biography He was born in Lund, Sweden. Wallengren became a student at Lund University from 1842, was ordained a priest in 1847 and was ap ...

in 1869. They can be found across Eurasia and North America. Species can be distinguished by the different morphology of male

genitalia A sex organ, also known as a reproductive organ, is a part of an organism that is involved in sexual reproduction. Sex organs constitute the primary sex characteristics of an organism. Sex organs are responsible for producing and transporting ...

and different

forewing Insect wings are adult outgrowths of the insect exoskeleton that enable insects to fly. They are found on the second and third thoracic segments (the mesothorax and metathorax), and the two pairs are often referred to as the forewings and hindwi ...

patterns, which vary in stripe colour and size and arrangement of spots. The stripes themselves consist of spots separated by dark veins which are fringed by thin black lines from both inner and outer sides.

Species

*'' Phymatopus hecta'' (gold swift) - Europe :*Food plant: ''

Pteridium Bracken (''Pteridium'') is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that undergo alternation of generations, having both large plants that produce spores and small plants that prod ...

'', but many others are named in the European literature *'' Phymatopus japonicus'' -

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

:*Food plant: ''

'' *'' Phymatopus hectica'' - eastern

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

''Phymatopus'' auctt. nec Wallengren, 1869 *'' Phymatopus behrensii'' - United States :*Recorded food plants: ''

Helenium ''Helenium'' is a genus of Annual plant, annuals and herbaceous perennial plants in the family Asteraceae, Native plant, native to the Americas. They bear yellow or orange daisy-like pseudanthium, composite flowers. A number of these species (pa ...

'', ''

Lupinus ''Lupinus'', commonly known as lupin, lupine, or regionally bluebonnet, is a genus of plants in the legume family Fabaceae. The genus includes over 199 species, with centre of diversity, centres of diversity in North America, North and South A ...

'', ''

Malus ''Malus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 32–57 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae, including the domesticated orchard apple, crab apples (sometimes known in North America as crabapples) and wild apples. The genus i ...

'', various

fern The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

s *'' Phymatopus californicus'' - United States :*Recorded food plants: ''

Baccharis ''Baccharis'' is a genus of perennial plant, perennials and shrubs in the Asteraceae, aster family (Asteraceae). They are commonly known as baccharises but sometimes referred to as "brooms", because many members have small thin leaves resembling ...

'', ''

Eriophyllum ''Eriophyllum'', commonly known as the woolly sunflower, is a North American genus of plants in the family Asteraceae. The genus is native to western North America (USA, Canada, northwestern Mexico), with a concentration of narrow endemics in Cal ...

'' *'' Phymatopus hectoides'' - United States :*Recorded food plants: ''

'', '' Horkelia'', ''

Scrophularia The genus ''Scrophularia'' of the family Scrophulariaceae comprises about 200 species of herbaceous flowering plants commonly known as figworts. Species of ''Scrophularia'' all share square stems, opposite leaves and open two-lipped flowers fo ...

Description

The genus ''Phymatopus'' is considered

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

and species can be distinguished by forewing pattern and male genitalia. ''Phymatopus'' lack spurs on the

tibia The tibia (; : tibiae or tibias), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two Leg bones, bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outsi ...

e and like other members of the ''Hepialidae'', also lack a

proboscis A proboscis () is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. In invertebrates, the term usually refers to tubular arthropod mouthparts, mouthparts used for feeding and sucking. In vertebrates, a pr ...

frenulum A frenulum or frenum (: frenula or frena, from the Latin ''frēnulum'', "little bridle", the diminutive of ''frēnum'') is a small fold of tissue that secures the motion of a mobile organ in the body. In human anatomy Frenula on the human ...

and have very short antennae.

Gold swift

The gold swift (''Phymatopus hectus''), originally belonging to the genus ''

Hepialus The ghost moth or ghost swift (''Hepialus humuli'') is a moth of the family Hepialidae. It is common throughout Europe, except for the far south-east. Female ghost moths are larger than males, and exhibit sexual dimorphism with their differenc ...

'', is widely distributed across Europe (central and northern) and the

Ural Mountains The Ural Mountains ( ),; , ; , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range in Eurasia that runs north–south mostly through Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the river Ural (river), Ural and northwestern Kazakhstan.

, follows the distribution of its food plant -

bracken Bracken (''Pteridium'') is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family (biology), family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that undergo alternation of generations, having both large plants that produce spores and small ...

and roots of ''

Erica Erica or ERICA may refer to: * Erica (given name) * Erica (plant), ''Erica'' (plant), a flowering plant genus * Erica (chatbot), a service of Bank of America * Erica (video game), ''Erica'' (video game), a 2019 FMV video game * Erica (spider), ' ...

'',

Primula ''Primula'' () is a genus of herbaceous plant, herbaceous flowering plants in the family (biology), family Primulaceae. They include the primrose (''Primula vulgaris, P. vulgaris''), a familiar wildflower of banks and verges. Other common specie ...

, ''

Rumex The docks and sorrels, genus ''Rumex'', are a genus of about 200 species of annual, biennial, and perennial herbs in the buckwheat family, Polygonaceae. Members of this genus are very common perennial herbs with a native almost worldwide distri ...

'', ''

Calluna ''Calluna vulgaris'', common heather, ling, or simply heather, is the sole species in the genus ''Calluna'' in the flowering plant family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing evergreen shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found wide ...

''. The male forewings bear two silvery white stripes consisting of individual spots separated by dark

vein Veins () are blood vessels in the circulatory system of humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are those of the pulmonary and feta ...

s, which are fringed with thin black lines. The

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage The fus ...

process A process is a series or set of activities that interact to produce a result; it may occur once-only or be recurrent or periodic. Things called a process include: Business and management * Business process, activities that produce a specific s ...

of valvella (part of male

) is almost straight, and the mesosome tip is rounded.

''Phymatopus hecta japonicus''

''Phymatopus hecta japonicus'' is found located in the Russian Far East:

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, p=səxɐˈlʲin) is an island in Northeast Asia. Its north coast lies off the southeastern coast of Khabarovsk Krai in Russia, while its southern tip lies north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. An islan ...

island and southern Kurils; south of the

Daisetsu The is a volcanic group of peaks arranged around the wide caldera in Hokkaidō, Japan. In the Ainu language it is known as ''Nutapukaushipe'' (which means "the mountain above the river"),

mountains,

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

, Japan. Its appearance is similar to ''P. hectus'' but differs in that the outer strip is usually uninterrupted. It consists of four or five silvery spots at the apex (anterior corner), two or three small spots moving slightly more inward and the largest one at the inner margin. The

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

of the male genitalia is also different from that of ''P. hectus'', the

ventral Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

process of valvella is belt like, which tapers to a point as it reaches the distal quarter, the dorsal margin of valva is

convex Convex or convexity may refer to: Science and technology * Convex lens, in optics Mathematics * Convex set, containing the whole line segment that joins points ** Convex polygon, a polygon which encloses a convex set of points ** Convex polytop ...

. ''P. japonicus'' from Sakhalin has a maximum male

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

of 25–26 mm and shows pale or greyish brown colouring on the forewings, whereas the male specimens from Kurilan tend to have a larger

of 30–31 mm, bright, reddish brown. The male genitalia also differs between specimens of Kurilian population and from Sakhalin, with Kurilian males having shorter mesosomes and a rounded tip of valva distal projection, as opposed to a tapering tip in Sakhalin males.

''Phymatopus hecticus''

''Phymatopus hecticus'' is found in eastern

. The forewing stripes are usually composed of golden-yellow or whitish coloured confluent spots without metallic lustre. In male genitalia, the

of valvella is strongly curved in the distal part, giving it a hook-like appearance; there is also a clear cavity at the tip of the mesosome.

''Phymatopus hecticus albomaculatus''

''Phymatopus hecticus albomaculatus'' is found in eastern Russia, north of Primorskii krai. Both forewing stripes have a silvery-white appearance, with a metallic tinge, similar to '' Phymatopus hectus'' and '' Phymatopus haponicus'', also consisting of separated spots. However, they have differences in male genitalia; the shape of the eighth abdominal

sternum The sternum (: sternums or sterna) or breastbone is a long flat bone located in the central part of the chest. It connects to the ribs via cartilage and forms the front of the rib cage, thus helping to protect the heart, lungs, and major bl ...

and tip of mesosome. The length of forewing is about 14 mm in males, with a curved inner strip. The outer strip consists of three separated spots at the apex and two smaller spots moving inwards.

Range

Western Asia, North America - north of

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, central and northern Europe. The Eurasian range consists solely of ''Phymatopus hectus'', and in North America the genus is represented by three species, which are geographically restricted to the western coastal region of the United States.

Life cycle

Larva

''Phymatopus'' are

root In vascular plants, the roots are the plant organ, organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often bel ...

and stem borers. It is not uncommon for the larvae to tunnel through the stems, as is the case of the western North American ''Phymatopus''. Tunnels can be found travelling through the base of the stems and also the adjacent stems in contact with

leaf A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the plant stem, stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leav ...

litter Litter consists of waste products that have been discarded incorrectly, without consent, at an unsuitable location. The waste is objects, often man-made, such as aluminum cans, paper cups, food wrappers, cardboard boxes or plastic bottles, but ...

and

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

. Sometimes dead stems can also serve to provide tunnels which are active. As well as tunnelling through stems, some larvae (e.g. ''P. hectoides'') tunnel through the soil and feed on root tissues.

Pupa

In the pupae, one or two fixed basal abdominal segments. On the abdominal segments, there are dorsal spines aligned in rows, similar to some lower members of the Heteroneura.

Adult

Meiosis

As in other lepidopterans, early

prophase Prophase () is the first stage of cell division in both mitosis and meiosis. Beginning after interphase, DNA has already been replicated when the cell enters prophase. The main occurrences in prophase are the condensation of the chromatin retic ...

I stage of

meiosis Meiosis () is a special type of cell division of germ cells in sexually-reproducing organisms that produces the gametes, the sperm or egg cells. It involves two rounds of division that ultimately result in four cells, each with only one c ...

occurs as normal, but there is no crossing over or chiasma formation in the females at the prophase I stage. The males on the other hand show conventional meiotic recombination.

Mating

In many hepialids, the female releases attractants to draw in males. This is the

ancestral An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder, or a forebear, is a parent or ( recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from ...

condition whereas in ''Phymatopus'', the opposite occurs, with males attracting females. See also Gold swift

Host plants and food plants

Host plant: *''Pteridium'' (

) Food plants: *Brooms (''

'') *'' Horkelia'' *Figworts (''

'') *Woolly sunflower (''

'') *Sneezeweed (''

'') *Lupins/ lupines (''

'') *Apple trees (''

'') :*Roots of: *''Erica'' (

heaths A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

) *''

'' *Docks and sorrels (''

'') *Common heather / ling (''

'')

Mobility

Mobility is defined as the ability to

migrate Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

. According to the

metapopulation A metapopulation consists of a group of spatially separated populations of the same species which interact at some level. The term metapopulation was coined by Richard Levins in 1969 to describe a model of population dynamics of insect pests in a ...

theory, migration is important for individuals to colonize new areas and recolonize old ones to avoid

extinction Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

. Moths, like other insects, are only mobile in the

larval A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

and

adult An adult is an animal that has reached full growth. The biological definition of the word means an animal reaching sexual maturity and thus capable of reproduction. In the human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social an ...

stages. Mobility at the larval stage is limited and required mainly to find food and an

optimal Mathematical optimization (alternatively spelled ''optimisation'') or mathematical programming is the selection of a best element, with regard to some criteria, from some set of available alternatives. It is generally divided into two subfiel ...

environment to pupate. According to van der Meulen and Groenendijk's classification, ''Phymatopus'' exhibit area restricted, limited wandering behaviour and small flight range.

References

External links

Hepialidae genera
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1944694 Hepialidae Exoporia genera Taxa named by Hans Daniel Johan Wallengren