New species of moths described in honor of Orixás

A species of moth that was first described in 1818 was believed to be a single species. However, it has since been discovered that it is actually a complex of species, eight of which are found in Brazil. These findings are the result of a study that integrated molecular techniques, morphological data, and the identification of host plants from populations in the Amazon, Atlantic Forest, and Pantanal regions.

The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports by researchers from the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) and the University of São Paulo (USP).

“The study shows how integrating different techniques is important in species description, highlighting how state-of-the-art methods are welcome, but not necessarily enough, to bring a new species to the attention of science,” says Simeão de Souza Moraes, the coordinator of the study and a researcher at UNICAMP’s Institute of Biology.

“Moreover, the process of choosing names has an anti-colonial and anti-imperialist nature by naming the new species using references from Afro-Brazilian culture, which runs counter to a very common practice in the nomenclature process of using names for organisms of the Neotropical fauna that reference the culture of the Global North, such as Greek and Roman gods,” he adds.

The tiny brownish moths, measuring about two centimeters from wing tip to wing tip, were all previously known as Eois russearia. What was once considered a single species actually represents a complex of several species, eight of which are found in Brazil. Seven were named after Orixás from Candomblé and Umbanda, and one was named in honor of a co-author of the study who passed away before its publication.

Eois iemanja and E. ibeji are found along the banks of the Mogi Guaçu River in the municipality of the same name in the state of São Paulo. This area marks the transition from the Atlantic Forest to the Cerrado, a Brazilian savanna biome. E. nanan and E. iogunede occur in the Pantanal; the specimens used for their description were collected in Aquidauana, a municipality in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul.

On the outskirts of Manaus in the state of Amazonas, E. oxumare, E. orumila, E. iroco, and E. stantonae were described. The latter was named in honor of Mariana Alves Stanton, a researcher at the USP Institute of Chemistry who passed away in 2024 while working on the study.

These new descriptions improve our understanding of the diversity of Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) in Brazil and the ecological interactions of these insects with Piper genus plants, which may involve the uptake of secondary compounds – natural molecules with potential biotechnological applications.

Sequences of the COI gene (used to differentiate species) deposited in public databases and used as a reference in this study point to the possibility of three other species in the complex. However, the sequenced individuals could not be accessed for morphological studies or host plant information.

This work is part of two projects supported by FAPESP: one under the Young Investigators program and the other under the Research Program on Biodiversity Characterization, Conservation, Restoration, and Sustainable Use (BIOTA-FAPESP).

Different

In a previous study, Moraes’ group described three other moth species of the same genus, which were also named in honor of Orixás: E. oya, E. ewa, and E. oxum are the result of splitting what was previously known as a single species, E. pallidicosta.

These descriptions stem from a 2020 study that found the number of species in the genus Eois had been underestimated and could be up to 176% higher than previously thought.

As with other species complexes previously studied, this one shares many morphological similarities, making it difficult to distinguish the species with the naked eye, even for experts. Complicating matters further, three species are found in the Adolpho Ducke Forest Reserve in Manaus, two are found in the transition zone between the Atlantic Forest and the Cerrado in Mogi Guaçu, and two are found in the Pantanal in Aquidauana.

However, more than genetic differences, two pieces of information not commonly used in species descriptions were fundamental to establishing the distinction. One was the morphology of the female genitalia, an attribute that has been historically underestimated in studies of butterflies and moths. The other was the record of host plants used by the caterpillars for feeding.

Some insects, including certain butterflies and moths, are known for their interactions with specific plants, which are often related to the uptake of secondary compounds (read more at agencia.fapesp.br/55876 and agencia.fapesp.br/54045).

In the case of the genus Eois currently under study, it is known to lay eggs on Piper plants, including black pepper. Its larvae feed on the leaves of these plants.

The team included a botanist who identified the pepper species used by the moths. They then observed that different moth species interact with different Piper species in unique ways.

They were able to make another distinction by dissecting the females’ genitalia since the males’ are very similar across species. A historical bias in species identification is the practice of analyzing only male genitalia.

Males’ genitalia are harder, while females’ are more membranous and easily damaged during dissection.

“When analyzing the female sexual organ of moths, the difference is very big. Even without molecular tools, it would be possible to differentiate the species with considerable precision by combining the morphology of the female genitalia with records of the caterpillars’ host plants,” says Moraes.

The study also reveals a diversity pattern different from that typically found in the moth group to which Eois belongs (Larentiinae). It is more diverse in temperate, mid-latitude regions, and its diversity in the tropics has been most extensively studied in the Andes, which have similar climatic conditions to temperate regions.

The species diversity in low-altitude tropical regions, such as the Atlantic Forest, the Amazon, and the Pantanal (where two or more species have been described), reveals a new pattern.

“Our results demonstrate that lowland regions also harbor significant species diversity, likely due to highly specialized interactions between larvae and their host plants that create different selective pressures even over short geographical distances,” the researcher concludes.

The study was supported through FAPESP scholarships (23/13856-2, 15/26823-9, 21/13396-6, 24/18838-5, and 24/01515-9).

About São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)
The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) is a public institution with the mission of supporting scientific research in all fields of knowledge by awarding scholarships, fellowships and grants to investigators linked with higher education and research institutions in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. FAPESP is aware that the very best research can only be done by working with the best researchers internationally. Therefore, it has established partnerships with funding agencies, higher education, private companies, and research organizations in other countries known for the quality of their research and has been encouraging scientists funded by its grants to further develop their international collaboration. You can learn more about FAPESP at www.fapesp.br/en and visit FAPESP news agency at www.agencia.fapesp.br/en to keep updated with the latest scientific breakthroughs FAPESP helps achieve through its many programs, awards and research centers. You may also subscribe to FAPESP news agency at http://agencia.fapesp.br/subscribe

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