Dr Ian Kitching

Dr Ian Kitching

Principal Researcher

ORCID: 0000-0003-4738-5967
Department: Life Sciences
Division: LS Insects Division
Specialisms: Lepidoptera, morphology, cladistics, phylogenetics, taxonomy, nomenclature

Summary

I am a systematic phylogenetic entomologist undertaking collections-based research to understand the evolution, ecology, biogeography and taxonomy of Lepidoptera with particular reference to the hawkmoths (Sphingidae) and their relatives. With colleagues in Europe and North America, I am investigating: the evolution of the visual and olfactory sensory systems and the genetic mechanisms underlying the transition from nocturnal to diurnal flight; the co-evolution between hawkmoths and their bat predators; the importance and influence of hybridization in the origin of species in the genus Hyles; and the utility of hawkmoths as a macroecological indicator group. In addition, I am developing the Sphingidae Taxonomic Inventory to make taxonomic data on this group of charismatic moths widely available, as well as converting the LepIndex, generic Names and HOSTS databases to a Species File, to produce a community editable, global taxonomic resource for all with an interest in Lepidoptera systematics. I am also part of the Mosquito Group, undertaking phylogenetic analyses of the highly economically important group of disease-vectoring insects.

Qualifications

Degrees

  • PhD, Imperial College, United Kingdom

Academic

  • Junior Research Fellow to Band 3, Natural History Museum, Life Sciences, United Kingdom, 1982 - ongoing

Highlighted publications

  • SIMONSEN TJ, KITCHING IJ (2014) Virtual dissections through micro‐CT scanning: a method for non‐destructive genitalia ‘dissections’ of valuable Lepidoptera material. Systematic Entomology 39, 606 - 618. doi: 10.1111/syen.12067
  • ARDITTI J, ELLIOTT J, KITCHING IJ, WASSERTHAL LT (2012) ‘Good Heavens what insect can suck it’- Charles Darwin, Angraecum sesquipedale and Xanthopan morganii praedicta. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 169, 403 - 432. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8339.2012.01250.x
  • Zahiri R, Kitching IJ, Lafontaine JD, Mutanen M, Kaila L, Holloway JD, Wahlberg N (2011) A new molecular phylogeny offers hope for a stable family level classification of the Noctuoidea (Lepidoptera). Zoologica Scripta 40, 158 - 173. doi: 10.1111/j.1463-6409.2010.00459.x
  • Hundsdoerfer AK, Rubinoff D, Attié M, Wink M, Kitching IJ (2009) A revised molecular phylogeny of the globally distributed hawkmoth genus Hyles (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae), based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 52, 852 - 865. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2009.05.023
  • Kawahara AY, Mignault AA, Regier JC, Kitching IJ, Mitter C (2009) Kawahara, A.Y., Mignault, A.A., Regier, J.C., Kitching, I.J. & Mitter, C. Phylogeny and biogeography of hawkmoths (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae): evidence from five nuclear genes. PLoS One 4, e5719 - null.
  • REINERT JF, HARBACH RE, KITCHING IJ (2009) Phylogeny and classification of tribe Aedini (Diptera: Culicidae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 157, 700 - 794. doi: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2009.00570.x
  • Kitching I, Rougerie R, Zwick A, Hamilton C, St Laurent R, Naumann S, Ballesteros Mejia L, Kawahara A A global checklist of the Bombycoidea (Insecta: Lepidoptera). Biodiversity Data Journal 6, doi: 10.3897/bdj.6.e22236

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