Ehrlich and Raven proposed a model of coevolution where major host plant shifts of butterflies facilitate a burst of diversification driven by their arrival to a new adaptive zone. One prediction of this model is that reconstructions of historical diversification of butterflies should indicate an increase in diversification rate following major host shifts. Using reconstructed histories of 15 b...

Butterflies in the family Lycaenidae that have obligate associations with ants frequently exhibit ant-dependent egg laying behaviour. In a series of field and laboratory choice tests, we assessed oviposition preference of the Australian lycaenid Jalmenus evagoras in response to different species and populations of ants. Females discriminated between attendant and nonattendant ant species, betwe...

The physical concept of quantum entanglement is brought to the biological domain. We simulate the cooperation of two insects by hypothesizing that they share a large number of quantum entangled spin-12 particles. Each of them makes measurements on these particles to decide whether to execute certain actions. In the first example, two ants must push a pebble, which may be too heavy for one ant. ...

The significance of dietary antioxidants may be limited by the ability of animals to exploit them. However, past studies have focused on the effects of dietary antioxidants after 'antioxidant forced-feeding', and have overlooked spontaneous antioxidant intake. Here, we found that reproducing female Bicyclus anynana butterflies had higher antioxidant defences and enhanced fecundity when forced t...

Multilayer structures are known to produce vivid iridescent colouration in many butterflies. Morpho butterflies are well known for their high reflectance, which appears to remain high over a wide range of viewing angles. Thus these butterflies have served as the inspiration for sensing materials. Using microscopic images and videos, we visually demonstrate that the colour response with ambient ...

Parasitoids are insects (mainly Hymenoptera and Diptera) whose larvae develop by feeding on the bodies of other arthropods (mainly immature insects) and the adults are free living. They are of immense importance in practically all terrestrial ecosystems because of their impact on the population levels of their hosts. In contrast to the considerable attention paid to European butterflies their p...

Flash floods are considered to be one the worst kind of hazard. They are characterized by their suddenness, rarity, small scale, heavy rain and peak discharge, unpredictable, fast and violent movement. It has severe effects on human society in the form life losses, damages to property, roads, communication and on natural settings. Advances in hydrology, meteorology, engineering, using of GIS an...

North American monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) undergo a spectacular fall migration. In contrast to summer butterflies, migrants are juvenile hormone (JH) deficient, which leads to reproductive diapause and increased longevity. Migrants also utilize time-compensated sun compass orientation to help them navigate to their overwintering grounds. Here, we describe a brain expressed sequence ...

In order to contribute to the butterflies' biodiversity knowledge at Serra do Intendente State Park - Minas Gerais, a study based on collections using Van Someren-Rydon traps and active search was performed. In this study, a total of 395 butterflies were collected, of which 327 were identified to species or morphospecies. 263 specimens were collected by the traps and 64 were collected using ent...

Pollen feeding behaviors Heliconius and Laparus (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) represent a key innovation that has shaped other life history traits of these neotropical butterflies. Although all flower visiting Lepidoptera regularly come in contact with pollen, only Heliconius and Laparus butterflies actively collect pollen with the proboscis and subsequently take up nutrients from the pollen grain...