Paradoxical larval molts – autapomorphy of the order Lepidoptera

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Abstract

For all examined species of butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera), common peculiarities of larval molts are revealed, which distinguish them from all other insects: with the molt from one larval instar to another, living tissues of head and thoracic legs undergo significant destruction; the remaining tissues of the head shift backward and are partly impressed into the prothorax, and the remained tissues of the legs are shortened; with the ecdysis, the old head capsule is not broken by the Y-shaped suture, but is shed as a whole. In contrast to the larval molts, the molt from larva to pupa in most lepidopterans (except Gracillarioidea) passes without shifting of the head and legs tissues, and the cuticle of head capsule breaks by the Y-shaped suture. Peculiar adaptations allow lepidopteran larvae to live through long-term immobility of the head and the legs during each molt which separates two active larval instars. The set of species examined by us allows to express a statement that the peculiar mode of larval molt is inherent to all lepidopterans and differentiates them from all other insects, i. e. is an autapomorphy of the order Lepidoptera.

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About the authors

N. Ju. Kluge

Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет

Author for correspondence.
Email: n.kluge@spbu.ru
Russian Federation, 199034, Санкт-Петербург, Университетская наб., 7–9

А. P. Sedneva

Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет

Email: sedneva10628@gmail.com
Russian Federation, 199034, Санкт-Петербург, Университетская наб., 7–9

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2. Fig. 1. Read more Here you can find out what this story is about. 1 – first published by Rhyacophila nubila Zetterstedt, 1840; 2 – that is, the history of history and the history of history I, the new cuticle is punctured); 3 – See history of Chrysotropia ciliata (Wesmael, 1841). CX-t tick, Fe-thigh, PTA-kototok (pretarst), PTA-1-old place of articulation of the cat, PTA-2-new place pricherman pka, ti - shin, tr - trochanter octopus.

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3. Fig. 2. Optical sections of mandibles before molting at the next larval instar in insect larvae that retain the ability to feed. 1 – edge of the head capsule and mandible of the caddisfly larva Rhyacophila nubila Zetterstedt, 1840; 2 – mandible of the mayfly Cheleocloeon clavifolium Kluge, 2016. cond-1 – condyle formed by the old cuticle; cond-2 – condyle formed by growing tissue.

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4. Fig. 3. Head and prothorax of the caterpillar Pieris brassicae (L.) at two successive stages of transformation before molting from IV to V instars. oc4 – six cuticular lenses of the fourth instar larva; oc5 – six ommatidia of the fifth instar larvae; st – grown spiracle (large oval) under the old spiracle cuticle (smaller oval).

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5. Fig. 4. Caterpillars of Pieris brassicae (L.). 1, 2 – caterpillar of the 1st instar before molting to the 2nd instar ((1 – eyes are still hidden by the cuticle of the head capsule, 2 – after 1.5 hours (the eyes are visible behind the head capsule)); 3 – caterpillar of the 3rd instar before molting to the 4th instar; 4 – molting of a caterpillar of the second instar to the third instar; 5 – the same caterpillar of the third instar after pigmentation of the cuticle. cap2 – cuticle of the head of the second instar larva; cap3 – head of the third instar larva; oc – eye, consisting of six disconnected ommatidia.

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6. Fig. 5. Optical sections of the pseudopod and legs of caterpillars. 1 – pseudopod of the caterpillar Pieris brassicae (L.) before molting to the next instar, 2 – tibia and tarsus of the caterpillar Manduca sexta (L.) at an early stage of transformation before molting to the next instar (the hypodermis is shown by punctures), 3 – the same at a later stage stage.

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7. Fig. 6. Optical sections of tissues of caterpillars that degenerated before molting. 1 – Manduca sexta (L.): fragment of the head, extracted from under the old cuticle of the chest (the rounded ends of the muscles adjacent to the columnar integumentary epithelium are visible); 2, 3 – Pieris brassicae (L.): reduced legs extracted from under the old leg cuticle.

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8. Fig. 7. Head and prothorax of the larva of Eriocrania sp. before molting to the next larval instar. 1 – focus on the ventral side, 2 – focus on the dorsal side (on the left, the edge of the growing head capsule is outlined with a black line). cap – growing head capsule, prth – growing prothorax.

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9. Fig. 8. Molting of a larva to a pupa in Pieris brassicae (L.) (after: Kluge, 2020). 1 – head and thorax of a caterpillar before molting into a pupa, 2 – pupa. ant – antenna, gal – proboscis valve (galea), mx – maxilla, p. lb – labial palp, p. mx – maxillary palp, ppt – protopteron. Other designations are as in Fig. 1, 4.

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