A molecular phylogeny of the lichen moth tribe Lithosiini (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae) with a preliminary assessment of lichen phenolic sequestration

The lichen moth tribe Lithosiini (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae) is composed of 3,150 species that are cosmopolitan in distribution. The tribe is best known for the host choice of the larvae: lichens. Lichen moth larvae have been found to be capable of sequestering lichen phenolics. However, it is unknown how widespread this behavior is within the tribe. In this study, we use molecular data obtained from both mitochondrial and nuclear gene fragments to examine the evolutionary relationships within the tribe. The resulting phylogeny will be used to provide the first assessment of preliminary data on lichen phenolic sequestration.