Revised status of Chloridea Duncan and (Westwood), 1841, for the Heliothis virescens species group (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Heliothinae) based on morphology and three genes

The Heliothinae comprise some of the world's most injurious agricultural pests. This study reanalyses a subsample of the Heliothis group to determine the monophyly of Chloridea ( Heliothis virescens and H. subflexa ). Two nuclear gene regions, elongation factor‐1α ( EF ‐1α ; 1240 bp) and dopa decarboylase ( DDC ; 687 bp), and the barcoding region of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I ( COI ; 708 bp) were used in this analysis for a total of 2635 bp and a morphological dataset of 20 characters and 62 character states. Sixteen species representing five genera plus two outgroup species were used in the analysis. Analyses used were Maximum Parsimony ( MP ), Maximum Likelihood ( ML ) and Bayesian Inference ( BI ). The revised status for the monophyletic genus Chloridea Duncan and (Westwood) was supported by a very strong bootstrap support ( BP = 98–100). Larval host‐plant usage is discussed within the Heliothis clade. Polyphagy is most likely the ancestral condition with a host shift to monophagy and oligophagy. Based on known larval hosts, Heliocheilus is oligophagous on Poaceae. Traits of host plant use in Helicoverpa and Chloridea where both polyphagy and oligophagy occur in closely related species are discussed.