DNA barcoding of the butterflies (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidae)

DNA barcodes of 200 different butterfly species from Austria were successfully generated, encompassing 94.5 % of the 211 species ever found in Austria. Sequences of 1263 specimens of the barcode region, the mitochondrial COI gene, longer than 500 bp were recovered and 1224 were fully barcode compliant. 172 species (88.0 % of the inventory) can be identified correctly with the barcode. In 28 species barcode sharing or overlap was found, which may be due to introgression, hybridisation or phylogenetic young species. 164 species or 77.4 % of the Austrian butterfly fauna have unique Barcode Index Numbers (BINs). 13 species cover more than 1 BIN and likely include cryptic diversity, e.g. in Melitaea didyma and Melitaea cinxia. The Morphologically hardly separable sister species Leptidea sinapis/Leptidea juvernica, Colias hyale/Colias alfacariensis, Boloria napaea/Boloria pales and Aricia artaxerxes/Aricia agestis are unequivocally separated by their DNA barcodes. M. athalia celadussa is recorded for Austria based on DNA barcode sequences, which are probably reflecting intogression. In Lycaena Tityrus, L. alciphron and Euphydryas aurinia the disputed alpine subspecies cluster separately from lowland populations, thus supporting different taxonomic status.