1. The possible effect of juvenile imprinting or ‘chemical legacy’ on the subsequent oviposition – often called the ‘Hopkins’ host selection principle’ – has been a controversial but recurrent theme in the literature on host-plant preference. While it appears possible in principle, experimental support for the hypothesis is equivocal. The present study points out that it is also important to co...

Butterflies in the tribe Melitaeini (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) are known to utilize host plants belonging to 16 families, although most host-plant records are from four families. Of the 16 host-plant families, 12 produce secondary plant metabolites called iridoids. Earlier studies have shown that larvae of several melitaeine species use iridoids as feeding stimulants and sequester these compoun...

The recent publication of a time-tree for the plant family Solanaceae (nightshades) provides the opportunity to use independent calibrations to test divergence times previously inferred for the diverse Neotropical butterfly tribe Ithomiini. Ithomiini includes clades that are obligate herbivores of Solanaceae, with some genera feeding on only one genus. We used 8 calibrations extracted from the ...

Butterflies have evolved different colour patterns on their dorsal and ventral wing surfaces to serve different signalling functions, yet the developmental mechanisms controlling surface-specific patterning are still unknown. Here, we mutate both copies of the transcription factor apterous in Bicyclus anynana butterflies using CRISPR/Cas9 and show that apterous A, expressed dorsally, functions ...

It has been suggested that phenotypic plasticity is a major factor in the diversification of life, and that variation in host range in phytophagous insects is a good model for investigating this claim. We explore the use of angiosperm plants as hosts for nymphalid butterflies, and in particular the evidence for past oscillations in host range and how they are linked to host shifts and to divers...

Adelpha herbita was described and illustrated by Weymer in 1907 from Santa Catarina in southern Brazil, but no specimens of the species were known in world collections and its taxonomic status has remained uncertain until now. Seven specimens of an apparently undescribed taxon were recently located in three collections, and examination of those specimens suggests that they represent a new subsp...

With the listing of the quino checkerspot butterfly, Euphydryas editha quino, as a federally endangered species, research into its ecology and conservation is necessary to allow for recovery planning and management. We review systematics, distribution, natural history, and conservation prospects, with reference to pertinent literature about other E. editha subspecies. Additional information is ...

Cautery of the dorsal hindwing in the butterfly, Precis coenia, induces the formation of a concentric colour pattern around the site of injury. The induced pattern is identical in pigmentation to the eyespots that normally develop on this wing surface. This response to cautery also occurs, though much less dramatically, on the ventral forewing. In addition to the peculiar response to cautery, t...