Heliozela pitangavora Moreira & Fochezato sp. nov. (Lepidoptera: Heliozelidae): a leaf miner micromoth associated with Eugenia uniflora L. (Myrtaceae) in southern Brazil.

Heliozela pitangavora Moreira & Fochezato sp. nov. (Lepidoptera: Adeloidea: Heliozelidae), a leaf miner of Eugenia uniflora L.

New species of Oecophoridae (Lepidoptera: Gelechioidea) from Chile.

Nine new species of Oecophoridae are described from central and southern Chile: Corita morai Urra, Encolia flava Urra, Endrosis apablazai Urra, Gildita versicolora Urra, Glorita nahuelbutensis Urra, Nagehana maulina Urra, Nagehana parvula Urra, Pirquelia vidali Urra, Zulemita chimbarongensis Urra. Diagnostic characteristics, geographic distribution data, photographs of adults and illustrations of the genital structures of males and females are provided.

A peculiar new species of Dione (Agraulis) Boisduval & Le Conte (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Heliconiinae) associated with Ruiz & Pavón (Passifloraceae) in xeric western slopes of the Andes.

Butterflies associated with xerophytic environments of the Andes have been little studied, and they exhibit high levels of endemism. Herein Dione (Agraulis) dodona Lamas & Farfán, (Nymphalidae; Heliconiinae) is described, distributed on the western slopes of the Andes of Peru and northern Chile, between 800 and 3,000 m elevation. Adults of both sexes, and the immature stages, are described and illustrated based on light and scanning electron microscopy.

Host Plant Variation and Lack of Genetic Differentiation in Populations of () Lamas & Farfán (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae).

() (Nymphalidae: Heliconiinae) is a butterfly restricted to the western slopes of the Andes of Peru and Chile and is associated with in xerophytic environments. In this study, we found six additional species of host plants for () belonging to the genus (Passifloraceae). We used mitochondrial DNA sequences (COI) and microsatellites to screen genetic variation and investigate population structure in six geographic disjointed populations of .

Description of Porphyrosela arachisella sp. nov. (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae), the first report of Lithocolletinae for Brazil.

During a recent survey of leaf-mining microlepidoptera in the Cerrado biome, mines of an undescribed Porphyrosela Braun (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae: Lithocolletinae) were found associated with the forage peanut, Arachis pintoi Krapov. W.C.

Atacamaptilia ambrosiavora gen. et sp. nov. (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae), a leaf miner of Ambrosia cumanensis (Asteraceae) in the Atacama Desert.

Adult and immature stages of Atacamaptilia ambrosiavora Vargas Espinoza-Donoso gen. et sp. nov.

A contribution to the knowledge of leaf-mining Phyllocnistis Zeller, 1848 associated with Baccharis (Asteraceae), with description of two new species from Peru (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae).

We provide new information on Neotropical Phyllocnistis Zeller (Gracillariidae) associated with Baccharis (Asteraceae) in the Andes region. Two new species are described, P. canta Cerdea Farfn, n.

Complex meristematic activity induced by Eucecidoses minutanus on Schinus engleri turns shoots into galls.

Premise: Gall-inducing organisms change the development of their host plant organs, resulting in ontogenetic patterns not observed in the non-galled plants. Distinct taxa induce galls on Schinus spp., manipulating meristematic patterns in the host plant in distinct ways.

How cells and tissues of Daphnopsis fasciculata (Thymelaeaceae) react to the leaf-mining habit of Phyllocnistis hemera (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae).

Plant cell and tissue responses to the attack of mining herbivores may be diagnosed by anatomical and histochemical analyses, herein investigated regarding the mining activity of Phyllocnistis hemera larvae in the leaf lamina of Daphnopsis fasciculata. The larva enters the leaf lamina through the adaxial epidermis, and feeds on palisade parenchyma cells. A healing tissue is produced after the larva passes, and its cells are reactive to histochemical tests for lignins and pectins.

sp. nov.: a new species of leaf-miner associated with (Asteraceae) from Southern Peru (Lepidoptera, Gracillariidae).

The southwestern Andes of Peru harbors a hidden taxonomic diversity of Lepidoptera. Here a new leaf-mining species of Gracillariidae (Lepidoptera) is described, Vargas & Cerdeña, , from a dry Andean valley of southern Peru, at 2400 m above sea level. The morphological aspects of adults (male and female) and the immature stages associated with Meyen & Walp.

Selective sweeps on novel and introgressed variation shape mimicry loci in a butterfly adaptive radiation.

Natural selection leaves distinct signatures in the genome that can reveal the targets and history of adaptive evolution. By analysing high-coverage genome sequence data from 4 major colour pattern loci sampled from nearly 600 individuals in 53 populations, we show pervasive selection on wing patterns in the Heliconius adaptive radiation. The strongest signatures correspond to loci with the greatest phenotypic effects, consistent with visual selection by predators, and are found in colour patterns with geographically restricted distributions.

Vallissiana universitaria (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae): a new genus and species of leaf-mining moth associated with Erythroxylum (Erythroxylaceae) in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil.

Vallissiana universitaria Pereira Arévalo, a new genus and species of leaf-miner moth (Gracillariidae: Gracillariinae) is described and illustrated with the aid of optical and scanning electron microscopy, including adults, larva, pupa and the mine. Its monophyletic status is confirmed within the subfamily based on a DNA barcode CoI tree. The immature stages are associated with Erythroxylum argentinum O.

An illustrated catalogue of the Neotropical Gracillariidae (Lepidoptera) with new data on primary types.

Gracillariidae leaf miners include 1987 species of poorly studied micromoths for which the majority of the diversity has been described from temperate regions. The Neotropics harbors one of the richest faunas of Gracillariidae, but the rate of taxon descriptions has been slow because of limited sampling and taxonomic activity. In this illustrated catalogue, we provide, for the first time, 476 high resolution illustrations for the 201 species of named gracillariids occurring in the region and revise their classification, newly considering the family-group names Oecophyllembiini stat.

A peculiar new species of gall-inducing, clearwing moth (Lepidoptera, Sesiidae) associated with in the Atlantic Forest.

Larvae of most clearwing moths (Lepidoptera, Sesiidae) are endophagous borers of many angiosperms, including their fruits, stems, and roots. Their localized feeding may lead to swellings on those plant parts, but whether the structures produced should be considered true galls is still controversial. In this study we describe a peculiar sesiid moth, whose larvae induce unusual, external galls on (Vell.

Overlooked gall-inducing moths revisited, with the description of gen. et sp. n. and sp. n. from Chile (Lepidoptera, Cecidosidae).

There are still many gall systems associated with larvae of Lepidoptera in which the true gall-inducers have not been identified to species. Reports on misidentification of gall inducers have been recurrent for these galls, particularly in complex gall-systems that may include inquilines, kleptoparasites, and cecidophages, among other feeding guilds such as predators and parasitoid wasps. Here we describe and illustrate the adults, larvae, pupae and galls, based on light and scanning microscopy, of and , two sympatric cecidosid moths that are associated with (Cav.

Divergent genetic mechanism leads to spiny hair in rodents.

Spines, or modified hairs, have evolved multiple times in mammals, particularly in rodents. In this study, we investigated the evolution of spines in six rodent families. We first measured and compared the morphology and physical properties of hairs between paired spiny and non-spiny sister lineages.

Phylogeography of the gall-inducing micromoth Eucecidoses minutanus Brèthes (Cecidosidae) reveals lineage diversification associated with the Neotropical Peripampasic Orogenic Arc.

We investigated the molecular phylogenetic divergence and historical biogeography of the gall-inducing micromoth Eucecidoses minutanus Brèthes (Cecidosidae) in the Neotropical region, which inhabits a wide range and has a particular life history associated with Schinus L. (Anacardiaceae). We characterize patterns of genetic variation based on 2.

Subtle variation in size and shape of the whole forewing and the red band among co-mimics revealed by geometric morphometric analysis in butterflies.

are unpalatable butterflies that exhibit remarkable intra- and interspecific variation in wing color pattern, specifically warning coloration. Species that have converged on the same pattern are often clustered in Müllerian mimicry rings. Overall, wing color patterns are nearly identical among co-mimics.

Taxonomic revision of Neotropical Zeller, 1848 (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae), with descriptions of seven new species and host plant associations.

Until now, 20 species of leaf-mining micromoths of the genus Phyllocnistis Zeller (Lepidoptera, Gracillariidae) have been known to occur in the Neotropical region. Here we revise the previously known species and describe seven new species: four from French Guiana, P. kawakitai Brito & Lopez-Vaamonde, sp.

, gen. et sp. n.: an overlooked and rare, new gall-inducing micromoth associated with in southern Brazil (Lepidoptera, Cecidosidae).

Galls induced by the larval stage of cecidosids (Lepidoptera: Cecidosidae) are complex, multi-trophic systems, still poorly studied. They may be associated with other insect feeding guilds, including inquilines, kleptoparasites, cecidophages, parasitoids, and predators. By causing death of the gall inducer early in life and altering the gall phenotype, inquilines may lead to misidentification of the true gall inducers.

Complex modular architecture around a simple toolkit of wing pattern genes.

Identifying the genomic changes that control morphological variation and understanding how they generate diversity is a major goal of evolutionary biology. In butterflies, a small number of genes control the development of diverse wing color patterns. Here, we used full genome sequencing of individuals across the radiation and closely related species to characterize genomic variation associated with wing pattern diversity.

Comparative morphology of the prothoracic leg in heliconian butterflies: Tracing size allometry, podite fusions and losses in ontogeny and phylogeny.

Prothoracic legs of heliconian butterflies (Nymphalidae, Heliconiinae, Heliconiini) are reduced in size compared to mesothoracic and metathoracic legs. They have no apparent function in males, but are used by females for drumming on host plants, a behavior related to oviposition site selection. Here, taking into account all recognized lineages of heliconian butterflies, we described their tarsi using optical and scanning electron microscopy and searched for podite fusions and losses, and analyzed allometry at the static, ontogenetic and phylogenetic levels.

An annotated taxonomic checklist of the Neotropical Gracillariidae (Lepidoptera) with links to the information on host plants and parasitoids.

This comprehensive checklist is a synthesis of the verified taxonomic information on all known Neotropical Gracillariidae species presented in a concise and uniformed way. The taxonomic information on these moth species in the Neotropical region is assembled and presented along with the referenced information on species distribution, host plants and parasitoids. The Genbank and BOLD accession numbers are given for the species that have been genetically investigated.

Epistatic Interaction of the Melanocortin 1 Receptor and Agouti Signaling Protein Genes Modulates Wool Color in the Brazilian Creole Sheep.

Different pigmentation genes have been associated with color diversity in domestic animal species. The melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R), agouti signaling protein (ASIP), tyrosinase-related protein 1 (TYRP1), and v-kit Hardy-Zuckerman 4 feline sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KIT) genes are candidate genes responsible for variation in wool color among breeds of sheep. Although the influence of these genes has been described in some breeds, in many others the effect of interactions among genes underlying wool color has not been investigated.