The butterfly Boloria aquilonaris is a specialist of oligotrophic ecosystems. Population viability analysis predicted the species to be stable in Belgium and to collapse in the Netherlands with reduced host plant quality expected to drive species decline in the latter. We tested this hypothesis by rearing B. aquilonaris caterpillars from Belgian and Dutch sites on host plants (the cranberry, Va...

For a class V of graphs, denote by a(@?) the least value of m so that for some graph II on m vertices, every GE Q occurs as a subgraph of U. In this note we obtain rather sharp bounds on u(q) when Q is the class of caterpillars on n vertices, i.e., tree with property that the vertices of degree exceeding one induce a path. Recently several of the authors have investigated graphs U(g) which are ...

Net intraspecific density dependence experienced by insect herbivores at the scale of single plants can be a function both of induced resistance in the plant and other interactions among individual herbivores. Theory suggests that non-linearity in the form of this density dependence can influence the effects of plants on herbivore population dynamics. This study examined both net density depend...

Multiple freeze-thaw cycles are common in alpine, polar and temperate habitats. We investigated the effects of five consecutive cycles of approx. -5 degrees C on the freeze-tolerant larvae of Pringleophaga marioni Viette (Lepidoptera: Tineidae) on sub-Antarctic Marion Island. The likelihood of freezing was positively correlated with body mass, and decreased from 70% of caterpillars that froze o...

Panicle caterpillars comprise an economically important insect pest complex of sorghum throughout the Great Plains of the United States, particularly in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. The sorghum panicle caterpillar complex consists of larvae of two polyphagous lepidopteran species: the corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), and fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noc...

Caterpillars of the spring brood of Nemoria arizonaria develop into mimics of the oak catkins upon which they feed. Caterpillars from the summer brood emerge after the catkins have fallen and they develop instead into mimics of oak twigs. This developmental polymorphism may be triggered by the concentration of defensive secondary compounds in the larval diet: all caterpillars raised on catkins,...

In myrmecophilous Lepidoptera, mostly lycaenids and riodinids, caterpillars trick ants into transporting them to the ant nest where they feed on the brood or, in the more derived "cuckoo strategy", trigger regurgitations (trophallaxis) from the ants and obtain trophic eggs. We show for the first time that the caterpillars of a moth (Eublemma albifascia; Noctuidae; Acontiinae) also use this stra...

A pheromone is implicated in the trail marking behavior of caterpillars of the nymphalid silverspot butterfly, Dione juno huascuma (Reakirt) (Lepidoptera: Heliconiinae) that feed gregariously on Passiflora (Malpighiales: Passifloraceae) vines in Mexico. Although they mark pathways leading from one feeding site to another with silk, this study shows that the silk was neither adequate nor necessa...

Caterpillars and moths (order Lepidoptera) are uncommonly recognized causes of adverse cutaneous reactions, such as localized stings, papular dermatitis, and urticarial wheals. These reactions are typically mild and self-limited; however, in South America, the sting of Lonomia caterpillars can cause a potentially fatal hemorrhagic diathesis related to massive fibrinolysis. In addition, ocular i...

Wolves, foxes, birds, caterpillars, and snails are animals, and there are some of each of them. Also there are some grains, and grains are plants. Every animal either likes to eat all plants or all animals much smaller than itself that like to eat some plants. Gaterpillars and snails are much smaller than birds, which are much:' smaller than foxes, which in turn are much smaller than wolves. Wo...