Phylogenetic relationships among Indonesian wood borer pests, xyleutes, and its allied genera (Lepidoptera: Cossidae)

Xyleutes and its allied genera are two of the major wood borer pests in South East Asia, especially in Indonesia. The systematics of this group is still vague since all these genera were mostly described based on superficial external characters only. Therefore, the validity of each genus within this group needs to be assessed based on more comprehensive data. To assess the monophyly of each genus, and to elucidate the relationship of the Indonesian Xyleutes and its allied genera, we analyzed 28 species from 11 genera based on nucleotide sequence variation across a 579-bp region in the CO I gene. The results showed that ML tree- building methods recovered almost all sections recognized based on morphological characters. Some genera such as Morpheis, Chalcidica, and Rapdalus are valid genera and their relationship within each genus well resolved. On the other hand, genera Trimoslemos, Zeuzera, and Xyleutes seem to be paraphyletic groups. Those genera, indeed, need revision based on materials not only from Indonesia but also from other countries. The current phylogeny proposed here is necessary to be evaluated by involving conserved genes to get better resolution for the relation among all genera.