First, the subfamily Erebinae Leach, [1815] is one of the largest subfamilies within insects. They are distributed all over the globe except Antarctica. Also, they are ecologically and morphologically very diverse. Nevertheless, taxonomic and systemat...
First, the subfamily Erebinae Leach, [1815] is one of the largest subfamilies within insects. They are distributed all over the globe except Antarctica. Also, they are ecologically and morphologically very diverse. Nevertheless, taxonomic and systematic studies of Erebinae lack because of several reasons (e.g., difficulty of comprehensive sampling). Recent molecular phylogenetic studies have made the classification of Erebinae and its higher taxa precise and concrete. The present study conducted a local systematic study of the subfamily Erebinae from the Korean Peninsula, considering such currently accepted molecular phylogenetic findings, traditional morphological cladistics, and systematic taxonomy. Totally, I review 96 Korean erebine species of 15 tribes here. Moreover, not only were four species newly found or recorded while preparing this study, but also illustrations of adult moths’ habitus and both sexes’ genitalia are provided. Finally, distribution and taxonomic remarks of all Korean erebine species based on literary investigation are also provided here.
In the second chapter, phylogenomics of Erebidae, a higher taxon of the subfamily Erebinae, was performed. The anchored hybrid enrichment (AHE) dataset resolved the limitations (e.g., shortage of genetic data or sampling) of the previous phylogenetic studies of Erebidae. I included all subfamilies of Erebidae and 25 4 erebine tribes here. Based on the AHE dataset including 231 taxa and 791 loci, the well-supported backbone phylogenetic tree of Erebinae was built in the present study for the first time. I suggest a new hypothesis for the topology of Erebidae and several phylogenetic findings, such as sister relationships and high support values of the Arctiinae lineage and the Erebinae lineage or positions of previously unclassified taxa.