The Ditrysia are a natural group or clade of insects in the lepidopteran order containing both butterflies and moths. They are so named because the female has two distinct sexual openings: one for mating, and the other for laying eggs (in contrast to the Monotrysia).

Ditrysia
Kamehameha
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Clade: Myoglossata
Clade: Neolepidoptera
Infraorder: Heteroneura
Clade: Eulepidoptera
Clade: Ditrysia
Borner, 1925
Principal clades and superfamilies[citation needed]

About 98% of described species of Lepidoptera belong to Ditrysia. As larvae, they initially feed on plants until they grow to become adults and feed on nectar. They function as herbivores, pollinators, and prey in terrestrial ecosystems, while also being extremely damaging to the development of agriculture.[1] The Lepidoptera group can be divided into the primitive but paraphyletic "micromoths" and the derived monophyletic Apoditrysia, which include mostly larger moths, as well as the butterflies. Those with a dorsal heart vessel belong in section Cossina.[2] Others, having a ventral heart vessel, belong in section Tineina.[3] While it is difficult to pinpoint the origin of affinities between clades, Tineoidea are found to be useful in understanding the vast diversity in Ditrysia. Obstecomera and Macrolepidoptera are other examples of Ditrysia's subclades.[further explanation needed] Apoditrysia, Obtectomera, and Macrolepidoptera will be considered monophyletic if one or more organisms are either included or excluded from the clade.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Regier, Jerome C.; Zwick, Andreas; Cummings, Michael P.; Kawahara, Akito Y.; Cho, Soowon; Weller, Susan; Roe, Amanda; Baixeras, Joaquin; Brown, John W.; Parr, Cynthia; Davis, Donald R. (2009-12-02). "Toward reconstructing the evolution of advanced moths and butterflies (Lepidoptera: Ditrysia): an initial molecular study". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 9 (1): 280. Bibcode:2009BMCEE...9..280R. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-9-280. ISSN 1471-2148. PMC 2796670. PMID 19954545.
  2. ^ Capinera J, ed. (2008). Encyclopedia of Entomology (2nd ed.). New York: Springer Verlag. p. 657. ISBN 9781402062421.
  3. ^ "Tineina - Wiktionary". en.m.wiktionary.org. Retrieved 2021-02-17.
  4. ^ Mutanen M, Wahlberg N, Kaila L (September 2010). "Comprehensive gene and taxon coverage elucidates radiation patterns in moths and butterflies". Proceedings. Biological Sciences. 277 (1695): 2839–48. doi:10.1098/rspb.2010.0392. PMC 2981981. PMID 20444718.

Further reading

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  • Kristensen NP, Skalski AW (1999). "Phylogeny and paleontology". In Kristensen NP (ed.). Lepidoptera: Moths and Butterflies. 1. Evolution, Systematics, and Biogeography. Handbook of Zoology. Vol. IV. Berlin and New York: De Gruyter. pp. 7–25.
  • Regier JC, Mitter C, Davis DR, Harrison TL, Sohn JC, Cummings MP, Zwick A, Mitter KT (April 2015). "A molecular phylogeny and revised classification for the oldest ditrysian moth lineages (L epidoptera: T ineoidea), with implications for ancestral feeding habits of the mega‐diverse D itrysia". Systematic Entomology. 40 (2): 409–32. doi:10.1111/syen.12110. S2CID 85287782.
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