Phylogenetic relationships and historical biogeography of silkmoths (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) suggest an origin in Southern Gondwana.

Silkmoths (Bombycidae) have a disjunct distribution predominantly in the Southern Hemisphere and Asia. Here we reconstruct the phylogenetic history of the family to test competing hypotheses on their origin and assess how vicariance and long-distance dispersal shaped their current distribution. We sequenced up to 5,074 base pairs from six loci (COI, EF1-α, wgl, CAD, GAPDH, and RpS5) to infer the historical biogeography of Bombycidae.

Discovery of a peculiar insular race of (Nire, 1920) (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) endemic to Yinggeling Mountain of Hainan, suggesting heterogeneous geological history of mountain formation of the island.

A peculiar population of (Nire, 1920) was discovered from the Yinggeling Mountain Mass of central Hainan. Its wing pattern and COI barcode data show considerable distinction from other geographic populations of , including that of Bawangling, approximately only 40 km away and also located in Hainan. The p-distance value of the COI barcode between the Yinggeling and Bawangling populations was 1.

Systematic position of Bombyx incomposita (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae), with notes on its immature biology and hostplant association.

The immature stages, morphology, and systematic position of Bombyx incomposita (van Eecke, 1929) are reported. The morphology of larva was investigated using scanning electron microscopy, and the phylogeny was inferred using six genes (COI, CAD, EF-1, GAPDH, RpS5, and wgl). The molecular phylogeny strongly supported that B.

On a New Insular Subspecies of Chrysozephyrus mushaellus (Matsumura) (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) Discovered from Hainan.

Chrysozephyrus mushaellus paolongkoui, ssp. nov. is described and illustrated from Hainan island of southern China.

On a New Subspecies of Ussuriana fani Koiwaya (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae, Theclini) Discovered from northern China.

Ussuriana fani wangi, ssp. nov. is described and illustrated from Baihuashan of Taihangshan Mountain Range, Beijing.

On revised systematic status of Mycalesis suaveolens kagina Fruhstorfer, 1911, with notes on its immature biology and hostplant associations.

Mycalesis kagina Fruhstorfer, 1911 is separated from Mycalesis suaveolens Wood-Mason de Nicéville, 1883 to represent a species endemic to Taiwan based upon COI barcode divergence, morphological diagnosis of larva, and genitalia of both sexes. Both kagina and suaveolens are confirmed as members of the genus Mycalesis in Mycalesina. Immature morphology, biology, and hostplant associations for both species are given for the first time.

Evolution and losses of spines in slug caterpillars (Lepidoptera: Limacodidae).

Larvae of the cosmopolitan family Limacodidae, commonly known as "slug" caterpillars, are well known because of the widespread occurrence of spines with urticating properties, a morpho-chemical adaptive trait that has been demonstrated to protect the larvae from natural enemies. However, while most species are armed with rows of spines ("nettle" caterpillars), slug caterpillars are morphologically diverse with some species lacking spines and thus are nonstinging. It has been demonstrated that the evolution of spines in slug caterpillars may have a single origin and that this trait is possibly derived from nonstinging slug caterpillars, but these conclusions were based on limited sampling of mainly New World taxa; thus, the evolution of spines and other traits within the family remains unresolved.

The Immature Stages, Biology, and Phylogenetic Relationships of Rotunda rotundapex (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae).

The life history, morphology, and biology of the immature stages and phylogenetic relationships of Rotunda rotundapex (Miyata & Kishida, 1990) are described and illustrated for the first time. The species is univoltine: eggs hatch in spring (March or April) and the life cycle from egg to adult is completed in about 3 wk, with larvae developing rapidly on young leaves of the host plants, Morus australis and to a lesser extent Broussonetia monoica (Moraceae), and adults emerging in April-May. Eggs are laid in clusters on twigs of the host plant, are covered by scales during female oviposition, and remain in diapause for the remainder of the year (i.

Resurrection of Caltoris ranrunna (Sonan) from synonymy as a skipper endemic to Taiwan based on COI barcode and morphology.

Caltoris ranrunna (Sonan, 1936) is resurrected from synonymy of Caltoris cahira austeni (Moore, 1883) to represent a Caltoris species endemic to Taiwan based upon COI barcode divergence and morphological diagnosis in genitalia of both sexes. This species distributes allopatrically from C. cahira of continental Asia and Andamans.