Phylogeography of Japanese alpine butterfly Erebia niphonica (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae) inferred from mitochondrial gene sequences

Erebia niphonica is one of the most widely distributed alpine butterflies in Japan. By using the mitochondrial COI and ND5 genes. we reconstructed the molecular phylogeography of E. niphouica in Japan. The Hokkaido clade was highly divergent from the Honshu clade suggesting a history of ancient divergence. Within Honshu, there were region-related, phylogenetically significant structures. Especially. the division between the central and eastern Honshu populations was evident. indicating multiple immigration events from the Asian continent and/or divergence in Honshu