Phylogeny of Luehdorfia Butterflies Inferred from Mitochondrial ND5 Gene Sequences

The phylogeny of the genus Luehdorfia (Lepidoptera, Papilionidae) in the East Asia was examined by a molecular approach. To elucidate the phylogenetic relationships among four species of the genus, partial nucleotide sequences (785 base pairs) of the mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5 (ND5) gene were compared. The results indicated that Luehdorfia japonica diverged initially from the ancestral stock of the genus Luehdorfia, and that then the ancestral stock successively yielded L. chinensis, L. longicaudata and L. puziloi. These findings suggest that L. japonica might immigrate first among the Luehdorfia butterflies into the area of the current Japanese Archipelago after the intrusion of Asarum as the food plant of L. japonica. The phylogeny of the genus Luehdorfia is discussed.