中国稻弄蝶属Parnara分类与一新记录种(鳞翅目:弄蝶总科:弄蝶科)

记述中国稻弄蝶属Parnara Moore,18814种,其中圆突稻弄蝶Parnara apostata（Snellen,1866）为1新记录种。制作了分种检索表,进行了新记录种的成虫形态描述,提供了特征图。     

中国蝴蝶新种记述（Ⅱ）（鳞翅目）

记载采自河南省、四川省和云南省的中国蝴蝶8新种,模式标本保藏在河南省科学院和河南师范大学生物系。     

Deceptive pollination of Calanthe by skippers that commonly act as nectar thieves

Flowers have developed different strategies to attract pollinators through visual or olfactory signals. Most flowers offer pollinators a reward (e.g. nectar and pollen) for the pollination service. However, one‐third of Orchidaceae have been shown not to provide a reward. Calanthe are terrestrial orchids distributed throughout China, Nepal, Japan and tropical Asia. Despite its high diversity, the pollination biology of Calanthe remains largely unknown, even though it is an important aspect of plant conservation. In the study, through field surveying, there were three Hesperiidae butterflies pollinating two species of Calanthe and the pollination behavior differed between the two species of Calanthe, which might lead to different fruit setting rates. There was no nectar in the flowers of the two species, indicating deceptive pollination. Using a glass cylinder experiment, it was deduced that the two species of Calanthe were most likely to attract pollinators by generalized food deception. Interestingly, Hesperiidae butterflies were traditionally thought to be nectar thieves and generally do not transmit pollinia. However, our findings showed that, in this case, the thieves were deceived by the plants and pollinated them for free.     

Good housekeeping: why do shelter‐dwelling caterpillars fling their frass?

Although both feeding and elimination of waste are imperatives for all animals, ecologists and evolutionary biologists have devoted considerable attention to foraging, while largely ignoring defecation. Many organisms, however, exhibit defecation behaviours that appear to have been shaped by natural selection in a range of ecological contexts. Accumulation of waste may pose particular challenges for animals that exhibit high site fidelity or live within enclosed spaces. In a taxonomically widespread but largely unexamined behaviour, many caterpillars that construct and inhabit leaf shelters ballistically eject their individual faecal pellets (frass) great distances at great speeds. Here, I show that elimination of chemical cues for natural enemies is likely to have been a driving force behind the evolution of frass ejection behaviour in skipper caterpillars; hygiene and crowding are less important in this system.     

Diurnal butterfly pollination in the orchid Habenaria radiata

Habenaria is one of the largest orchid genera, with its main centers of diversity in Brazil, eastern Asia and central and southern Africa. In spite of its diversity, the pollinators of few Habenaria spp. have been studied, while most published reports indicate that Habenaria spp. are mainly pollinated by moths. Here we report that the diurnal skipper Parnara guttata can be at least one of the pollinators of Habenaria radiata. Skippers have generally been thought of as nectar thieves, transferring few pollen grains. However, orchids transmit their pollen grains in large groups within pollinia. Such innovation can probably render the skipper a pollinator of H. radiata.     

Ultrastructure of antennal sensilla of four skipper butterflies in Parnara sp. and Pelopidas sp. (Lepidoptera,Hesperiidae)

Most species of Parnara and Pelopidas (Hesperiidae) are important pests of rice. In this study, the antennal morphology, types of sensilla, and their distribution of four skipper butterflies, including Parnara guttata (Bremer & Grey), Pa. bada (Moore), Pelopidas mathias (Fabricius) and Pe. agna (Moore), were observed using a scanning electron microscope. Six distinct morphological types of sensilla were found on the antennae of all of these species: sensilla squamiformia, sensilla trichodea, sensilla chaetica, sensilla auricillica, sensilla coeloconica, and Böhm sensilla. The sensilla trichodea are the most abundant sensilla among the four skipper butterflies, and the sensilla auricillica are confirmed on the antennae of butterflies for the second time. In addition, the possible functions of these sensilla are discussed in the light of previously reported lepidopteran insects, which may provide useful information for further study of the function of these antennal sensilla and for related pests control by applying sex pheromones.     

Puddling in butterflies: sodium affects reproductive success in Thymelicus lineola*

ABSTRACT. Adults of many species of Lepidoptera, principally the males, frequent mud puddles, edges of streams, carrion and animal excreta where they imbibe moisture, an activity referred to as 'puddling' Sodium ions are the only known stimulus present which cause males of at least two lepidopteran species to drink for extended periods. In the European skipper Thymelicus lineola (Ochsenheimer) (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae), only males puddle, even though they have concentrations of abdominal sodium 2–3 times that of females at emergence. During their first mating, males transfer 32% of their abdominal sodium to females. This could be of considerable importance given that an average egg complement contains >50% of the total body sodium of females at emergence. Virgin females, as well as having reduced fecundity, have reduced longevity. This is attributed to virgins not obtaining important nutrients which males transfer to females during mating. Access to sodium ions increases the total number of matings by c. 50% for males living >15 days. Access to sodium ions by once-mated males increases the percentage of males which re-mate on the day following first mating; the percentage of females, mated to the twice-mated males, which lay >50% fertile eggs; and the drought resistance of eggs laid by those females.     

Synchronous nocturnal activity and gregarious roosting in the neotropical skipper butterfly Celaenorrhinus fritzgaertneri (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae)

Gregarious roosting behaviour and nocturnal activity is virtually unknown within the family Hesperiidae. Observations on Celaenorrhinus fritzgaertneri (Bailey) from Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica, are presented which demonstrate that, during the dry season, individuals roost gregariously in cave-like situations during the day and are nocturnally active. Circadian behaviour is highly synchronized with regard to timing of departures and arrivals at the roosting site, and appears to be regulated by light levels. Individuals on the roost are in reproductive diapause and show marked roost-site fidelity and longevity. The break-up of roosts appears to be mediated by the onset of the first rains of the season. These observations are compared and discussed in relation to gregarious roosting in other Lepidoptera. Two possible life history strategies to explain roosting in C. fritzgaertneri , with appropriate experiments, are suggested for future studies.     

中国蝶类2属7种新记录(鳞翅目:锤角亚目)

本文报道产于云南南部的中国蝴蝶2个新记录属及7个新记录种:新记录属为奕弄蝶属Iton de Niceéville, 1895和帕米灰蝶属Pamela Hemming, 1935;新记录种为弄蝶科Hesperiidae的素绿弄蝶Choaspes subcaudatus(C.&R. Felder, 1867)、沃氏奕弄蝶Iton watsonii(de Nicéville, 1890)、暗色梳翅弄蝶Ctenoptilum multiguttatum de Nicéville,1890和马氏陀弄蝶Thoressa masoni(Moore,[1879]),灰蝶科Lycaenidae的雅燕灰蝶Rapala duma(Hewitson, 1878)和帕米灰蝶Pamela dudgeonii(de Nicéville, 1894),蛱蝶科Nymphalidae的坎带蛱蝶Athyma kanwa Moore, 1858。所有种类附简要描述。