The 180-year-old-mystery behind alpine moth species

Sayak Banerjee, Amity University Kolkata

Butterflies and moths of the order Lepidoptera are regarded as one of those animal groups with a diverse distribution of species. Up to now, scientists have discovered almost 5000 species from the Alps itself. Recently, a Swiss-Austrian team of researchers reported the discovery of a new species of alpine moth in the journal Alpine Entomology. The Alps, being a place of in-depth research for 250 years, is believed to be quite a sensation when a previously unknown species is brought to light from the mountain range in the present day.

Research works on the Alpine Moth:

Initially, around 30 years ago, in the 1990s, two of the researchers from the team, Jürg Schmid and Peter Huemer, had independently found the same moth species. It was similar to a moth of the leaf roller family Tortricidae and was commonly known as Dichrorampha montanana. Despite being familiar with science since 1843, it was visibly distinctive. The two-species hypothesis was verified by the difference in wing pattern and the internal morphology of genitalia structures. Both the specimen was discovered in the same place and time thus indicating that they belong to separate species. Despite confirming the hypothesis through substantial genetic research, introducing a new species to science was a long way to go. 

Whenever a new species is designated with a new name, the scientists must verify if it has already been named. This averts the same species from inheriting two distinct names. It is essential to look at the physical characteristics of similar species and compare them with the new ones. In this way, it can be easily depicted as unknown to science. In the case of the alpine moth, the researchers had to exclude six potentially relatable older names so that they can be named as new. On in-depth research, the team had established that all the 6 ancient names indeed referred to one and the species, Dichrorampha alpestrana. This particular species has been known since 1843 and had to be approved as the older name for Dichrorampha montanana, which in turn was reported a few months ago. Likewise, all available other names had been proved to belong to Dichrorampha alpestrana.

The Hidden Alpine Moth and its future perspectives:

The species that was found by Schmid and Huemer was nevertheless different, not yet named, and could finally be approved as novel to science. They chose to name it Dichrorampha velata, in which the species name was in Latin that denotes ‘hidden’ or ‘veiled’. It refers to the complicated history behind its discovery. The Hidden Alpine Moth is a remarkable species, inheriting a wingspan of up to 16mm and characteristic olive-brown colored forewings with silver linings. It mainly falls under the group of diurnal moths and is locally found in colorful mountain flower meadows. It is said that their distribution extends from Salzburg and Tyrol covering the southern part of Switzerland, and the Jura to the French and Italian Alps. Some of them are found isolated in the Black Forest in Germany. 
 
The researchers contemplated that it might have a wider range in Central Europe. Although the biology of the new species is entirely unknown, they hypothesized that its caterpillars might be living in the rhizome of yarrow or chrysanthemums like other species of the same genus. Unlike male genitalia, there are no distinguishable features detected in the female genitalia. Hence, further research is required for a better understanding of this attractive insect.

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References:

1. Schmid, J., & Huemer, P. (2021). Unraveling a complex problem: Dichrorampha velata sp. nov., a new species from the Alps hitherto confounded with D. alpestrana ([Zeller], 1843) sp. rev. = D. montanana (Duponchel, 1843) syn. nov. (Lepidoptera, tortricidae). Alpine Entomology, 5, 37–53. https://doi.org/10.3897/alpento.5.67498

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Author info:

Sayak Banerjee is a 3rd-year Biotechnology Student with a great interest in Immunology and Molecular genetics. He is a creative scientific writer in BIOXONE BIOSCIENCES with an inclination towards gaining knowledge regarding various sections of Biotechnology and emphasizing himself in various wet lab skills.

Previous publications:

1. https://bioxone.in/news/worldnews/anaerobic-gut-fungi-make-way-for-novel-antibiotic-production/
2. https://bioxone.in/news/worldnews/neutrophil-derived-nanovesicles-a-novel-drug-delivery-system/
3. https://bioxone.in/news/worldnews/pig-to-human-heart-transplantation-a-solution-to-the-rarity-of-donor-organs/