The Wood White – Leptidea sinapis (Linnaeus,1758) – and the Cryptic Wood White – Leptidea juvernica Williams,1946 – are two species of butterflies found in Sweden and distributed more broadly in Europe. Currently the only way to conclusively separate the two species morphologically is by comparing their genitalia, which is a time consuming process, and not something that can be done quickly in the field. Various butterfly collectors swear that they can separate the two species by their wing shape and/or wing markings, but this has not been rigorously tested. The species can be easily separated using the DNA barcoding.
The Biological Museum, Lund University, has an extensive collection of Leptidea from Sweden with over 800 specimens. The focus of the project will be on taking photographs of the wings for a morphometric examination as well as collecting new specimens for the morphometric analysis and for DNA barcoding.
Based on the results of the morphometric analysis, the different butterfly groupings will be DNA barcoded and the genitalia will be dissected from some selected specimens. That way we will test the hypothesis that it is possible to separate these two species based on their external morphology, and if this is indeed the case, many butterfly collectors will be grateful.
Required knowledge: We will teach the student how to carry out all the steps necessary to complete this project. The project will involve working with pinned insect specimens and their data, specimen photography and morphometric analysis, specimen collection in the field for DNA work, DNA extraction from the specimens, PCR, basic phylogenetic inference.
Bachelor’s or Master’s level: 30-60 cr (the project is scalable depending on the student’s needs)
Starting date: Flexible.
Supervision: Jadranka Rota, Biological Museum and Masahito Tsuboi, Division of Biodiversity and Evolution
https://portal.research.lu.se/en/persons/jadranka-rota
https://portal.research.lu.se/en/persons/masahito-tsuboi
Contact Jadranka Rota jadranka.rota@biol.lu.se for more information and planning