[Dynamics of chromosome number evolution in the Agrodiaetus phyllis species complex (Insecta: Lepidoptera)].

We employed phylogenetic comparative method to study karyotype evolution in the Agrodiaetus phyllis species complex in which haploid chromosome numbers vary greatly ranging from 10 to 134. We have found that different phylogenetic lineages of the group have different rates of chromosome number changes. Chromosome numbers in the complex posses phylogenetic signal, and their evolutionary transformation is difficult to explain in terms of punctual and gradual evolution.