Montane diversification as a mechanism of speciation in neotropical butterflies.

The mountains in the Atlantic Forest domain are environments that harbor a high biodiversity, including species adapted to colder climates that were probably influenced by the climatic variations of the Pleistocene. To understand the phylogeographic pattern and assess the taxonomic boundaries between two sister montane species, a genomic study of the butterflies and (Nymphalidae: Acraeini) was conducted. Analyses based on partial sequences of the mitochondrial gene COI (barcode region) failed to recover any phylogenetic or genetic structure discriminating the two species or sampling localities.

A global map of species at risk of extinction due to natural hazards.

An often-overlooked question of the biodiversity crisis is how natural hazards contribute to species extinction risk. To address this issue, we explored how four natural hazards, earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, and volcanoes, overlapped with the distribution ranges of amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles that have either narrow distributions or populations with few mature individuals. To assess which species are at risk from these natural hazards, we combined the frequency and magnitude of each natural hazard to estimate their impact.

Immature Stages, Natural History and Population Biology of Opoptera syme (Hübner, 1821), (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae) from Southeastern Brazil.

The present study describes the immature stages of Opoptera syme (Hübner, [1821]) using SEM and Micro-CT to generate 2D and 3D models to study the morphology and chaetotaxy, and present information on the natural history, behavior, and population biology. In laboratory, eggs were laid singly, and the isolated larvae passed through six to seven instars. Host plant in the study site is unknown, but larvae are known to feed on bamboos; in laboratory, larvae accepted the ornamental bamboo Bambusa textilis McClure, 1940.

Wing pattern diversity in Eunica butterflies (Nymphalidae: Biblidinae): phylogenetic analysis implies decoupled adaptive trends in dorsal sexual dimorphism and ventral eyespot evolution.

Butterfly eyespots are wing patterns reminiscent of vertebrate eyes, formed by concentric rings of contrastingly coloured scales. Eyespots are usually located close to the wing margin and often regarded as the single most conspicuous pattern element of butterfly wing colour displays. Recent efforts to understand the processes involved in the formation of eyespots have been driven mainly by evo-devo approaches focused on model species.

Micro-CT imaging in species description: exploring beyond sclerotized structures in lichen moths (Lepidoptera: Erebidae, Arctiinae, Lithosiini).

X-ray micro-computed tomography imaging (micro-CT) is valuable for systematic research since it permits the non-destructive scanning and imaging of internal structures of very rare species and/or type specimens. Additionally, micro-CT allows to view the morphology and the functional anatomy of structures in their natural anatomical position, without deformations that typically occur using classical dissection protocols. In this study we provide the description of two new species of lichen moths (Lepidoptera: Erebidae, Lithosiini) from the Atlantic Forest in eastern Brazil: Moraes from Rio de Janeiro state and Moraes & Aguiar from Bahia state.

Reassessment of the type locality of Godman, 1905, with the description of two new sibling species from Amazonia (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Satyrinae, Satyrini).

A brief historical review regarding the type locality of Godman, 1905 was conducted, which suggests that its type locality is actually Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, rather than northeastern Argentina, as previously purported. Consequently, and its senior synonym Butler, 1871, are regarded to be two species-group names representing a taxon in the euptychiine genus Forster, 1964 known from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. A lectotype is designated for .

Systematic Position, Immature Stages, and Geographic Distribution of Glennia pylotis (Godart, 1819) (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea: Pieridae).

The biology, immature stages, geographic distribution, and systematic position of Glennia pylotis (Godart, 1819) are presented. This species is mostly restricted to the southeastern coastal Atlantic Forest, from the States of São Paulo to Bahia, with sparse records in the interior of Brazil, Argentina, and Bolivia (this locality is most probably spurious-see below). Data on immature stages are based on textual descriptions; pupal skins were illustrated and compared with those of other members of the subtribe Pierina.

Mutualistic interactions shape global spatial congruence and climatic niche evolution in Neotropical mimetic butterflies.

Understanding the mechanisms underlying species distributions and coexistence is both a priority and a challenge for biodiversity hotspots such as the Neotropics. Here, we highlight that Müllerian mimicry, where defended prey species display similar warning signals, is key to the maintenance of biodiversity in the c. 400 species of the Neotropical butterfly tribe Ithomiini (Nymphalidae: Danainae).

Lost and Found: Taxonomic Notes on Some Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea) from J.F. Zikán found on F. Dissmann's Collection.

J. F. Zikán described several new taxa of butterflies from the Neotropical region.

Atlantic flower-invertebrate interactions: A data set of occurrence and frequency of floral visits.

Encounters between flowers and invertebrates are key events for the functioning of tropical forests. Assessing the structure of networks composed of the interactions between those partners leads to a better understanding of ecosystem functioning and the effects of environmental factors on ecological processes. Gathering such data is, however, costly and time-consuming, especially in the highly diverse tropics.

Phylogenetic systematics of Yphthimoides Forster, 1964 and related taxa, with notes on the biogeographical history of Yphthimoides species.

Species losses are increasing and may have an impact on our understanding of patterns of evolutionary pathways and phylogenetic relationships among the groups being lost. The knowledge of such patterns can contribute to preventing future losses by identifying which lineages have higher or lower diversification rates, thus informing conservation strategies. Recent years have seen a significant growth in studies of butterfly systematics, allowing a better understanding of evolutionary relationships among most groups and revealing significant taxonomic chaos in several groups.

Two new species of from North America and three neotype designations (Nymphalidae: Satyrinae).

Two new species of Forster, 1964 are described. Grishin, . (type locality Guatemala: El Progreso, Morazán) is an isolated member of the genus that does not readily fit into known species groups, as suggested by its distinct male and female genitalia and COI DNA barcode sequences.

ATLANTIC ANTS: a data set of ants in Atlantic Forests of South America.

Ants, an ecologically successful and numerically dominant group of animals, play key ecological roles as soil engineers, predators, nutrient recyclers, and regulators of plant growth and reproduction in most terrestrial ecosystems. Further, ants are widely used as bioindicators of the ecological impact of land use. We gathered information of ant species in the Atlantic Forest of South America.

The Chemistry and Chemical Ecology of Lepidopterans as Investigated in Brazil.

The interdisciplinary field of Chemical Ecology in Brazil is currently composed of groups that emerged through the pioneering studies of Keith Spalding Brown Jr. and José Tércio Barbosa Ferreira. Following Keith Brown 's steps, José Roberto Trigo continued investigating the role of plant natural products in mediating the association among insects and their host plants, mainly in the Order Lepidoptera.

Biological Aspects and Movements of Neotropical Fruit-Feeding Butterflies.

The patterns of insect movement are the cumulate product of many individual decisions and can be shaped by the way morphology and behaviour interacts with landscape structure and composition. Hence, the ongoing process of habitat fragmentation increases the distance among suitable habitats and changes those in such a way that it may favour some movement behaviour. Our study described some biological traits (sex ratio, age structure and individual permanence in a population), as well as the movements of fruit-feeding butterflies along the horizontal dimension (among habitats: forest interior, natural forest transition - ecotone and anthropogenic forest transition - edge) and the vertical dimension (between canopy and understory).

Conserved ancestral tropical niche but different continental histories explain the latitudinal diversity gradient in brush-footed butterflies.

The global increase in species richness toward the tropics across continents and taxonomic groups, referred to as the latitudinal diversity gradient, stimulated the formulation of many hypotheses to explain the underlying mechanisms of this pattern. We evaluate several of these hypotheses to explain spatial diversity patterns in a butterfly family, the Nymphalidae, by assessing the contributions of speciation, extinction, and dispersal, and also the extent to which these processes differ among regions at the same latitude. We generate a time-calibrated phylogeny containing 2,866 nymphalid species (~45% of extant diversity).

A New Species of Dynamine Hübner, [1919] (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Biblidinae) from the Atlantic Forest in Southeastern Brazil.

A new butterfly species, Dynamine sideria Rosa & Freitas sp. nov. (Nymphalidae: Biblidinae), is described from the Atlantic Forest in Southeastern Brazil.

Seasonal Patterns of Host Plant Use in an Assemblage of Heliconiini Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in a Neotropical forest.

Insect-plant interactions involve physiological adaptations by insects to secondary metabolic compounds synthetized by host plants, which are considered essential for the determination of resources partitioning of these insects. Data on such phenomena are important to understand evolutionary and ecological processes. However, climatic factors also seem to play a key role in affecting these patterns.

Habitat generalist species constrain the diversity of mimicry rings in heterogeneous habitats.

How evolution creates and maintains trait patterns in species-rich communities is still an unsolved topic in evolutionary ecology. One classical example of community-level pattern is the unexpected coexistence of different mimicry rings, each of which is a group of mimetic species with the same warning signal. The coexistence of different mimicry rings in a community seems paradoxical because selection among unpalatable species should favor convergence to a single warning pattern.

Use of species delimitation approaches to tackle the cryptic diversity of an assemblage of high Andean butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea).

Cryptic biological diversity has generated ambiguity in taxonomic and evolutionary studies. Single-locus methods and other approaches for species delimitation are useful for addressing this challenge, enabling the practical processing of large numbers of samples for identification and inventory purposes. This study analyzed an assemblage of high Andean butterflies using DNA barcoding and compared the identifications based on the current morphological taxonomy with three methods of species delimitation (automatic barcode gap discovery, generalized mixed Yule coalescent model, and Poisson tree processes).