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Corresponding author: Lasha-Giorgi Japaridze ( lgjaparidze@gmail.com ) Academic editor: Levan Mumladze
© 2024 Lasha-Giorgi Japaridze, Giorgi Makharadze, Ioane Rostiashvili, Anastasia Datunashvili, Roland Dobosz.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Japaridze L-G, Makharadze G, Rostiashvili I, Datunashvili A, Dobosz R (2024) First barcode-assisted annotated checklist of owlflies (Neuroptera, Myrmeleontidae, Ascalaphidae) of Georgia with the first record of genus Deleproctophylla Lefèbvre, 1842. Caucasiana 3: 5-18. https://doi.org/10.3897/caucasiana.3.e117039
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The present study aims to provide an updated checklist of the owlfly subfamily Ascalaphidae Lefèbvre, 1842, with the first records of the genus Deleproctophylla Lefèbvre, 1842, from the country. The new records give an improved understanding of owlfly distribution within the country. The record of the genus Deleproctophylla in Georgia is based on a single female specimen of D. australis (Fabricius, 1787).
biodiversity, Caucasus, DNA barcoding, new records, Sakartvelo
Named after the custodian of the Hades’ orchard, owlflies (Ascalaphidae) are the predaceous insects of the order Neuroptera, both in the imaginal and larval stages (
Most of the European species are univoltine or semivoltine; in some cases, like Bubopsis, the whole cycle lasts more than two years in nature, with the overwintering stage always represented by larvae (Badano et al. 2014). The first data on owlflies in Georgia was published just after World War II (
Most of the examined specimens were collected within the framework of the Caucasus Barcode of Life (CaBOL) project (https://ggbc.eu/) by entomological nets during the day, by hand, or in the light traps in the 2021-2023 period. Collected specimens were preserved in 96% ethanol, stored in a freezer under -22˚C at the scientific collections of Ilia State University, or kept dry in the personal collection of the first author.
The part of the species was determined in accordance with the key by
In recent decades, the role and contribution of сitizen scientists in the field of entomology has been highly acknowledged. In entomology, their contributions to our comprehension of patterns and processes have been impressive for hundreds of years. Gathering information and collaborating across disciplines, volunteers have helped shape our understanding of this complex field (
The distribution map for studied species and sampling localities was created using QGIS v. 3.22.10.
Some of the collected specimens were submitted to the DNA barcoding pipeline at Ilia State Unviersity. DNA was extracted from whole samples using the Quick-DNA Magbead Plus Kit (Zymo Research). Partial sequences of cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using the primer pairs LCOI490-JJ and HCO2198-JJ (
BOLD – Barcode of Life Data Systems
CaBOL – Caucasus Barcode of Life
GBD – Georgian Biodiversity Database
ILIAUNI – Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia
INat – iNaturalist
JLGT – Private Collection of Lasha-Giorgi Japaridze, Telavi, Georgia
ŁM – Private Collection of Łukasz Matuszewski, Poznań, Poland
WGFB – Wildlife in Georgia Facebook group
In total, the data of 128 specimens was collected, comprising four species from three genera. We were able to obtain five quality barcodes (658 bp in length, with no stop codons, indels, or deletions) for all four species. Barcode information is given under each barcoded species listed below. The list is given in alphabetical order. An asterisk (*) is used to indicate species first recorded in Georgia.
Genus Bubopsis McLachlan, 1898
Bubopsis hamatus
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GEORGIA • 1 larvae (Fig.
GEORGIA• 1♀; Kakheti, Dedoplistskaro mun., Vashlovani NP, Mijniskure; 41.1001°N, 46.6333°E; 97 m asl; leg. Wąsala R.; 20–21 Aug 2015;
Bubopsis hamata is a species with a distribution ranging from northeastern Africa to West Asia (
GEORGIA • 1♀ (Fig.
Deleproctophylla australis exhibits considerable variability, especially the wing pattern in individual populations, which often lacks front-wing spots, making it challenging to identify the species using the key in
Prior to our work, there were no barcodes for the properly identified D. australis in BOLD Systems (or in GenBank). We assume that the very small p-distance between D. australis and D. variegata might be attributed to the potential misidentification of the specimen whose molecular data were mined from GenBank. Such cases are not uncommon and require an individual approach to address the issue, considering the possibility that the observed morphological differences could be indicative of a single species with variations across isolated populations.
Deleproctophylla australis is an element of the Mediterranean fauna that has previously never been reported in the Caucasus region. The nearest known report of the species lies in Edirne, Turkey (
Ascalaphus kolyvanensis
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Libelloides macaronius kolyvanensis
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Libelloides macaronius kolyvanensis, morpha typica –
Libelloides macaronius kolyvanensis, morpha alba –
Libelloides macaronius
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GEORGIA • 1♂; Kvemo Kartli, Tetritskaro mun., E of Koda Vill.; 41.5700°N, 44.8075°E; 940 m a.s.l.; Czyzewski S.; 10 Jun 2023; INat • 1♀; Rustavi, Ialguja; 41.5232°N, 45.0431°E; 320 m a.s.l.; steppe; Tarkhnishvili D.; GBD • 1♂, 1♀ (in copula); Shida Kartli, Kaspi mun., Khovle Vill.; N41.9003°, E44.2404; 714 m a.s.l.; forest meadow; Bulbulashvili N.; 29 Jun 2021; INat • 1♂; Gori; 41.9627°N, 44.0967°E; 873 m a.s.l.; forest edge; Seropian A.; 16 Jun 2019; GBD • 1♀; Kaspi mun., Kodistskaro Vill.; 42.0305°N, 44.3525°E; 793 m a.s.l.; Bulbulashvili N.; 25 Jun 2020; GBD • 1 specimen; Chachubeti Vill.; 41.8465°N, 44.2677°E; 964 m a.s.l.; meadow; Sanakoeva A.; 1 Aug 2018; GBD • 1♂ (Fig.
Images of preserved specimens of studied owlflies. 5–6: Bubopsis hamata (Klug, 1834), male and female; 7: Deleproctophylla australis (Fabricius, 1787), female; 8–9: Libelloides macaronius (Scopoli, 1763), male and female; 10–11: Libelloides ustulatus (Eversmann, 1850), male and female. Scale bars = 10 mm.
GEORGIA • 1♂, 1♀, 1ex. (abdomen missing); Mtskheta, Dedoplistskaro (Tsiteltskaro), Borjomi (
A single barcode was obtained from the specimen with CaBOL-ID 1010290 (BOLD:ACD2658). The identification via COI subunit was not straightforward, as the nearest neighbor in BOLD Systems L. coccajus (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775) (BOLD:ACD2658, p-distance 1.07%) is from France. The second-best match is L. macaronius from Cyprus (BOLD:ACD2658, p-distance 1.22%).
A highly variable species that requires revision. Of the numerous described subspecies and color varieties, there are currently three recognized taxa (
Libelloides macaronius is a species with an expansive Ponto-Mediterranean distribution (
Libelloides ustulatus
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Libelloides hispanicus ustulatus
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GEORGIA • 1♀; Kvemo Kartli, Tetritskaro mun., E of Elpia Vill.; 41.6462°N, 44.6286°E; 940 m a.s.l.; shtepbraiter; 29 May 2022; INat • 1♂, 1♀; Birtvisi Natural Monuments; 41.62°N, 44.5306°E; 1150 m a.s.l.; netting; leg. R. Zamorski; 31 May 2022;
GEORGIA • 3♂♂, 1♀; W Tbilisi, N Naosari, NE Manglisi; 41.7333°N, 44.4500°Е; 1814 m a.s.l.; leg. M. Snižek; 14 May 2014;
Libelloides ustulatus was synonymized with L. hispanicus Rambur, 1842, by
Based on the distribution pattern (Fig.
To gain a more comprehensive understanding of the actual distribution and biological aspects of these sparsely studied and infrequently observed owlfly species (except for L. macaronius) within the local ecosystem, further extensive research is needed. It is also worth noting that there is no description of the larval stages available for B. hamatus and L. ustulatus.
The responsibility for the content of this publication lies with the authors. We are grateful to Armen Seropian (Tbilisi, Georgia) for the beautiful pictures of live and preserved specimens as well as for the valuable comments and suggestions on the very first draft of the manuscript. Much obliged to Natalia Bulbulashvili (Gori, Georgia), Leo and Ansi Vähätalo (Helsinki, Finland) for providing data and collected specimens, and Giorgi Iankoshvili (Tbilisi, Georgia), who kindly agreed to generate distribution maps. Thanks to all the generous unnamed contributors who have permitted us to utilize their data. We are very grateful to the anonymous reviewers who helped significantly improve the quality of our manuscript. Thanks to all the generous unnamed contributors who have permitted us to utilize their data.
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
No ethical statement was reported.
This study is partially based on a project funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research under grant number 01DK20014A.
All authors have contributed equally.
Lasha-Giorgi Japardize https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7171-5589
Anastasia Datunashvili https://orcid.org/0009-0006-1421-2057
Roland Dobosz https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4441-5147
All of the data that support the findings of this study are available in the main text or Supplementary Information.