背景/研究問題/材料方法

The antlion tribe Myrmeleontini consist of 10 genera and about 225 species worldwide, including the largest genus Myrmeleon Linnaeus within the family.  Almost all members of the tribe are pit-building larvae, a well-known behavior of certain antlion species. The pit-building larvae of Myrmeleontini frequently become targets in animal behavior experiments, and the larval stage is much easier to collect in the field comparing to adults; thus, the identification of larvae is an important task. In this study, we collected 3rd instar larvae of the tribe around Taiwan and neighboring islands, and examined the morphological characters; some larvae were reared in laboratory to adult for species-level identification. Additionally, DNA barcoding method was assisted to species identification.

結果/結論/應用啟示

Larvae of nine species within the tribe Myrmeleontini were identified from Taiwan and neighboring islands, eight based on morphological characters and one based on DNA barcoding, including seven Myrmeleon species and two Baliga species. Additional morphological characters were examined and compared, such as the chaetotaxy on the mandibles and the digging setae on the IX abdominal sternite. We identified three different arrangements of the abdominal digging setae, which could be a potential character to distinguish the genus Baliga, and each species have different head markings. The result of DNA barcoding reveals two Baliga species, in which the morphology of the larvae is almost identical. Our results provide another perspective to the taxonomy of Myrmeleontini from Taiwan, we will further more combine the morphology of the adults as well as more molecular data, and hopefully lay foundations of resolving the complex relationship within the tribe Myrmeleontini.