Biology ofPterolonche inspersa (Lep.: Pterolonchidae), a biological control agent forCentaurea diffusa andC. maculosa in the United States

The moth,Pterolonche inspersa (Staudinger) (Lepidoptera: Pterolonchidae), is widely distributed in southern Europe, north Africa, Turkey and the former Soviet Union. It occurs in both thick and scattered stands of knapweeds in disturbed sites, usually on sandy and/or stony soil. Larvae bore in the roots of diffuse and spotted knapweeds (Centaurea diffusa De Lamarck andC. maculosa De Lamarck). There is one generation per year in northern Greece, and larvae feed in the roots for about 11 months during the growing season (August–September, to the following July–August). In the laboratory garden, emergence took place between the second half of July and the end of August, with peak emergence during mid August. In the field, adults were observed from early to late July. Female moths oviposited on rosettes during the first ten days of July and continued through the end of July. Eggs were laid singly or in groups of five or six, firmly attached to the leaves of the host plant. In the laboratory, females mated within 24 hours of emergence and the preoviposition period lasted 2.6±0.8 days. The oviposition period lasted 7.4±2.2 days and the average number of eggs per female was 142.2±59.2. The incubation period was 12±4.7 days; the pupal stage lasted 14.7±2.4 days; and females lived 15.8±2.4 days, while males lived 10.7±1.4 days. First instar larvae failed to survive on economically important Compositae in the generaCynara L.,Helianthus L.,Zinnia L. andCalendula L. (Dunnet al., 1989).     

A new Brazilian Passiflora leafminer: Spinivalva gaucha,gen. n., sp. n. (Lepidoptera,Gracillariidae, Gracillariinae), the first gracillariid without a sap-feeding instar

Male, female, pupa, larva and egg of a new genus and species of Gracillariidae (Gracillariinae), Spinivalva gaucha Moreira and Vargas from southern Brazil are described and illustrated with the aid of optical and scanning electron microscopy. A preliminary analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequences including members of related lineages is also provided. The immature stages are associated with Passiflora actinia, Passiflora misera and Passiflora suberosa (Passifloraceae), and build mines on the adaxial leaf surface. Initially the mines are serpentine in shape, but later in larval ontogeny become a blotch type. Although the larvae are hypermetamorphic as in other Gracillariidae, there is no sap-feeding instar in Spinivalva gaucha; the larva feeds on the palisade parenchyma, thus producing granular frass during all instars. Pupation occurs outside the mine; prior to pupating, the larva excretes numerous bubbles that are placed in rows on the lateral margins of the cocoon external surface. This is the second genus of gracillariid moth described for the Atlantic Rain Forest, and the second gracillariid species known to be associated with Passifloraceae.     

A new species of plume moth (Lepidoptera: Pterophoridae) from Jordan

The species Hellinsia jordanica Ustjuzhanin & Kovtunovich sp. n. is newly described from Jordan.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:EED698C9-1943-41BC-A503-13A2128A62C5     

Peripheral genetic structure of Helicoverpa zea indicates asymmetrical panmixia

Seasonal climatic shifts create peripheral habitats that alternate between habitable and uninhabitable for migratory species. Such dynamic peripheral habitats are potential sites where migratory species could evolve high genetic diversity resulting from convergence of immigrants from multiple regionally distant areas. Migrant populations of Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) captured during two different seasons were assessed for genetic structure using microsatellite markers and for host plant type using stable carbon isotope analysis. Individuals (N = 568) were genotyped and divided into 13 putative populations based on collection site and time. Fixation indices (F‐statistics), analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA), and discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC) were used to examine within and among population genetic variation. Mean number of alleles per locus was 10.25 (± 3.2 SD), and allelic richness ranged from 2.38 to 5.13 (± 3.2 SD). The observed and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.07 to 0.48 and 0.08 to 0.62, respectively. Low F_ST (0.01 to 0.02) and high F_IS (0.08 to 0.33) values suggest captured migrants originated from breeding populations with different allele frequencies. We postulate that high genetic diversity within migrant populations and low genetic differentiation among migrant populations of H. zea are the result of asymmetrical immigration due to the high dispersal and reproductive behavior of H. zea, which may hinder the adaptation and establishment of H. zea to peripheral habitat. These findings highlight the importance of assessing peripheral population structure in relation to ecological and evolutionary dynamics of this and other highly reproductive and dispersive species.     

Energetic cost of hovering flight in nectar-feeding bats (Phyllostomidae: Glossophaginae) and its scaling in moths, birds and bats

Three groups of specialist nectar-feeders covering a continuous size range from insects, birds and bats have evolved the ability for hovering flight. Among birds and bats these groups generally comprise small species, suggesting a relationship between hovering ability and size. In this study we established the scaling relationship of hovering power with body mass for nectar-feeding glossophagine bats (Phyllostomidae). Employing both standard and fast-response respirometry, we determined rates of gas exchange in Hylonycteris underwoodi (7 g) and Choeronycteris mexicana (13–18 g) during hover-feeding flights at an artificial flower that served as a respirometric mask to estimate metabolic power input. The O₂ uptake rate (V˙ _o2) in ml g⁻¹ h⁻¹ (and derived power input) was 27.3 (1.12 W or 160 W kg⁻¹) in 7-g Hylonycteris and 27.3 (2.63 W or 160 W kg⁻¹) in 16.5-g Choeronycteris and thus consistent with measurements in 11.9-g Glossophagasoricina (158 W kg⁻¹, Winter 1998). V˙ _o2 at the onset of hovering was also used to estimate power during forward flight, because after a transition from level forward to hovering flight gas exchange rates initially still reflect forward flight rates. V˙ _o2 during short hovering events (<1.5 s) was 19.0 ml g⁻¹ h⁻¹ (1.8 W) in 16-g Choeronycteris, which was not significantly different from a previous, indirect estimate of the cost of level forward flight (2.1 W, Winter and von Helversen 1998). Our estimates suggest that power input during hovering flight P _h (W) increased with body mass M (kg) within 13–18-g Choeronycteris (n = 4) as P _h  = 3544 (±2057 SE) M ^{1.76 (±0.21 SE)} and between different glossophagine bat species (n = 3) as P _h  = 128 (±2.4 SE) M ^{0.95 (±0.034 SE)}. The slopes of three scaling functions for flight power (hovering, level forward flight at intermediate speed and submaximal flight power) indicate that: 1. The relationship between flight power to flight speed may change with body mass in the 6–30-g bats from a J- towards a U-shaped curve. 2. A metabolic constraint (hovering flight power equal maximal flight power) may influence the upper size limit of 30–35 g for this group of flower specialists. Mass-specific power input (W kg⁻¹) during hovering flight appeared constant with regard to body size (for the mass ranges considered), but differed significantly (P < 0.001) between groups. Group means were 393 W kg⁻¹ (sphingid moths), 261 W kg⁻¹ (hummingbirds) and 159 W kg⁻¹ (glossophagine bats). Thus, glossophagine bats expend the least metabolic power per unit of body mass supported during hovering flight. At a metabolic power input of 1.1 W a glossophagine bat can generate the lift forces necessary for balancing 7 g against gravitation, whereas a hummingbird can support 4 g and a sphingid moth only 3 g of body mass with the same amount of metabolic energy. These differences in power input were not fully explained by differences in induced power output estimated from Rankine-Froude momentum-jet theory. Accepted: 10 November 1998     

Predation risk and mating behavior: the responses of moths to bat-like ultrasound

In the presence of predators, animals may reduce or alter theirmating activities. There has been little experimental studyof whether mating behavior varies with the level of predationrisk. Two species of moths, Pseudaletia unipuncta (Noctuidae)and Ostrinia nubilalis (Pyralidae), significantly reduced theirmate-seeking behavior under high levels of simulated predationrisk. Male moths aborted upwind flight in a pheromone plume,and females stopped releasing pheromone in response to soundssimulating the echolocation calls of bats. For O. nubilalis,but not for P. unipuncta, the response varied significantlywith the level of predation risk. Interspecific differencesin behavioral responses likely reflect differences in physiologicalauditory sensitivity and/or behavioral thresholds. Female behavioralresponses to sounds simulating the calls of bats that gleantheir prey from surfaces were significantly weaker than theirresponses to sounds resembling the calls of aerially hawkingbats; these results support the neurophysiological data thatthe calls of gleaning bats are relatively inaudible to moths.This study indicates that some animals can modify their reproductiveactivities in response to auditory cues from predators.     

Variable coloration is associated with dampened population fluctuations in noctuid moths

Theory and recent reviews state that greater genetic and phenotypic variation should be beneficial for population abundance and stability. Experimental evaluations of this prediction are rare, of short duration and conducted under controlled environmental settings. The question whether greater diversity in functionally important traits stabilizes populations under more complex ecological conditions in the wild has not been systematically evaluated. Moths are mainly nocturnal, with a large variation in colour patterns among species, and constitute an important food source for many types of organisms. Here, we report the results of a long-term (2003–2013) monitoring study of 115 100 noctuid moths from 246 species. Analysis of time-series data provide rare evidence that species with higher levels of inter-individual variation in colour pattern have higher average abundances and undergo smaller between-year fluctuations compared with species having less variable colour patterns. The signature of interspecific temporal synchronization of abundance fluctuations was weak, suggesting that the dynamics were driven by species-specific biotic interactions rather than by some common, density-independent factor(s). We conclude that individual variation in colour patterns dampens population abundance fluctuations, and suggest that this may partly reflect that colour pattern polymorphism provides protection from visually oriented predators and parasitoids.     

Integrative taxonomy reveals a new species of Callisto (Lepidoptera,Gracillariidae) in the Alps

Europe has one of the best-known Lepidopteran faunas in the world, yet many species are still being discovered, especially in groups of small moths. Here we describe a new gracillariid species from the south-eastern Alps, Callisto basistrigella Huemer, Deutsch & Triberti, sp. n. It shows differences from its sister species Callisto coffeella in morphology, the barcode region of the cytochrome c oxidase I gene and the nuclear gene histone H3. Both Callisto basistrigella and Callisto coffeella can co-occur in sympatry without evidence of admixture. Two Callisto basistrigella specimens show evidence of introgression. We highlight the importance of an integrative approach to delimit species, combining morphological and ecological data with mitochondrial and nuclear sequence data. Furthermore, in connection with this study, Ornix blandella Müller-Rutz, 1920, syn. n. is synonymized with Callisto coffeella (Zetterstedt, 1839).     

Pollination and seed predation by moths on Silene and allied Caryophyllaceae: evaluating a model system to study the evolution of mutualisms

Nursery pollinators, and the plants they use as hosts for offspring development, function as exemplary models of coevolutionary mutualism. The two pre-eminent examples--fig wasps and yucca moths--show little variation in the interaction: the primary pollinator is an obligate mutualist. By contrast, nursery pollination of certain Caryophyllaceae, including Silene spp., by two nocturnal moth genera, Hadena and Perizoma, ranges from antagonistic to potentially mutualistic, offering an opportunity to test hypotheses about the factors that promote or discourage the evolution of mutualism. Here, we review nursery pollination and host-plant interactions in over 30 caryophyllaceous plants, based on published studies and a survey of researchers investigating pollination, seed predation, and moth morphology and behavior. We detected little direct evidence of mutualism in these moth-plant interactions, but found traits and patterns in both that are nonetheless consistent with the evolution of mutualism and merit further attention.     

Masquerade is associated with polyphagy and larval overwintering in Lepidoptera

Masquerading animals benefit from the difficulty that predators have in differentiating them from the inedible objects, such as twigs, that they resemble. The function of masquerade has been demonstrated, but how it interacts with the life history of organisms has not yet been studied. Here, we report the use of comparative analyses to test hypotheses linking masquerade to life‐history parameters. We constructed a phylogenetic tree of the British species of the lepidoptera families Geometridae and Drepanidae, and compiled life history and coloration data from the literature. We found that masquerade is associated with the exploitation of a greater diversity of host plants whether measured by the number of families or genera. We found a positive relationship between body size and polyphagy among masquerading species, and no relationship among cryptic species. Among those species predominantly found on woody host plants, masquerading species are more likely to overwinter as larvae while cryptic species mostly overwinter as pupae. Polyphenism was associated with multivoltinism in masquerading species but not cryptic species. Taken together, our results show that masquerade must be viewed as a strategy distinct to crypsis and hence may provide insights into the evolution of both defensive strategies. Our study further demonstrates the utility of broad‐scale between‐species comparisons in studying associations between diverse life‐history parameters and sensory aspects of predator‐prey interactions. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 106 , 90–103.