Meeting Abstract

6-6  Thursday, Jan. 5 09:15 – 09:30  Evolutionary History of the Extant Silky Lacewings (Insecta: Neuroptera: Psychopsidae) BAKKES, DK*; SOLE, CL; MANSELL, MW; 1Gertrud Theiler Tick Museum, Parasites, Vectors and Vector-borne Diseases, Agricultural Research Council – Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute, Pretoria, 0110, South Africa; Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, 0083, South Africa; Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, 0083, South Africa BakkesD@arc.agric.za https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Deon_Bakkes

The Psychopsidae are a small family of Neuropterous insects that possess broad wings – creating a physical likeness to moths. Globally, they show a disjunct tripartite distribution (comprising of sub-Saharan Africa, south-east Asia and Australia) pointing to an ancient Gondwanan origin for the group. This study aims to explore the evolutionary history of the extant species by examining processes of phylogeny and historical biogeography. As such, the results inform the taxonomy of the group as well as contribute to the knowledge-base of speciation processes in a broad context. The methods include: 1) A revision of the Afrotropical taxa which is informed by integrated morphological and molecular evidence and 2) estimations of phylogeny and historical biogeography based on two mtDNA (COI,16S) and two nuclear DNA (18S, CAD) genes in combination with a 98-character morphological dataset. Additionally, an estimation of the phylogenetic niche is facilitated by distribution records for 19 (out of c. 26) extant species and global climate data. A new subfamily, and two new species are described, with synapomoric characters to serve for diagnosis. A reconstruction of the evolutionary history for the family is presented drawing upon evidence from genetics, morphology, inferred climatic niche, fossils, paleogeography and paleoclimate.