Diversidad y patrones de distribución de mariposas de la subtribu Pronophilina (Lepidoptera : Nymphalidae : Satyrinae) en un transecto altitudinal en el nor-oeste de Ecuador

Samplings of Pronophilina, a species-rich group of neotropical montane butterflies, were carried out along an elevational transect in Ecuador to assess the effect of altitude on their distribution patterns, diversity and community structure. All diversity indices were significantly correlated with altitude. Maximum diversity expressed in species-richness, Shannon index and Fisher alpha was recorded at 2600 m. Two assemblages of species were identified in the lower (below 2100 m) and upper (above 2300 m) sections of the transect by means of correspondence (CA) and cluster analysis. A comparison of Sørensen similarity coefficients showed lower values, thus higher turnover in the intermediate elevational band. Several closely related morphologically and ecologically species were found to have mutually exclusive altitudinal distribution patterns. A comparison with similar studies in Venezuela, Colombia and Peru revealed far reaching congruency of the patterns of altitudinal diversity of Pronophilina in distant areas of the Andes. In particular, the Shannon index reaches its maximum values at 2600-2850 m, which invariably correspond to ca. 400-500 m below the upper limit of cloud forest. Increase of diversity of Pronophilina with altitude is marginally related to higher limited resource availability. The lower pressure of predators and parasites at higher elevation can contribute with higher abundance, but cannot be directly correlated with higher diversity. Higher diversity is related with intrisic characteristics of the group, such as aggregated diversity by overlapping of elevational faunal assemblages and higher speciation ratio towards high elevations, particularly near timberline

An imperfect imago? Post-mating loss of iridescent scales in Cheimas butterflies may change female from attractive to cryptic (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae)

Cet article étudie la place des femmes, minime jusque dans les années 1970-1980, dans les mouvements environnementaux italiens au xxe siècle. Les premières associations pour la protection de l’environnement et du patrimoine italien apparaissent durant « l’époque libérale », une période durant laquelle les femmes sont exclues de la sphère publique. C’est avec l’avènement du fascisme que surgissent les premiers enjeux environnementaux qui mettent les femmes au premier plan. Néanmoins, après la Seconde Guerre mondiale, les activistes italiennes se battent surtout pour la conquête de droits civils et politiques. Il faut donc attendre la fin des années 1970 pour qu’une femme, Laura Conti, s’impose dans la mouvance environnementale en dénonçant la catastrophe de Seveso. L’article étudie ensuite l’écoféminisme italien, qui fait long feu, avant de présenter une étude de cas sur un groupe de femmes, les « Mamans contre l’incinérateur », qui sont représentatives du mouvement de justice environnementale en Italie.This paper aims at outlining the presence of women in contemporary Italy environmental movements, which had been hardly detectible almost until the 1970 and 1980s. It was during the Epoca Liberale that the first associations for the protection of the environment and of the Italian cultural heritage appear, an era in which women were excluded from most public activities. With the advent of Fascism, the first environmental issues arose, with women at the forefront of the protests. However, after World War II, Italian women activists focus chiefly on the conquest of civil and political rights. It is only at the end of the 1970s, during a time of major political enthusiasm, that a female figure, Laura Conti, began to stand out in the environmental milieu, by denouncing the environmental disaster of Seveso, a crucial event in the history of environmentalism and political ecology in Italy. This article analyses the long posterity of Italian ecofeminism and presents a case study of a group of women embodying the environmental justice movements in Italy, the Mamme No Inceneritore

An imperfect imago? Post-mating loss of iridescent scales in Cheimas butterflies may change female from attractive to cryptic (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae)

<p>Adults of both sexes of <i>Cheimas opalinus</i> (Staudinger), a Satyrinae butterfly occurring in the cloud forests of the Venezuelan Cordillera de Mérida, have simple wing colour patterns, dark brown dorsa marked by one conspicuous element, large greenish-blue patches in the discal area of the hind wing. It was observed that in young, freshly emerged females these patches are frequently absent. They fade away and eventually disappear during mating and nuptial flights when brushed out by lateral movements of the male’s hind wing put between folded female hind wings. The falling off of the scales is made easy because they do not adhere to the wing as firmly as brown background scales due to their particular folded extremities. We speculate that this process is related to the fitness of the females. Prior to mating, blue-green patches are advantageous because they attract the attention of the opposite sex and enhance the chances of successful mating. After mating they lose their sexual role. Females without the blue-green patches become cryptic. Thus, they are less apparent not only for the males, which helps them avoid sexual harassment, but also for potential bird predators. Additionally, the loss of blue reflecting scales may speed up the warming up of the abdomen and egg maturation. In the males, positive role of the patches (signalling), and negative (bird attraction), is balanced during their entire life span, and they fade gradually due to regular usage of wings scaling in flight. Our hypothesis is supported by morphological, optical, experimental and statistical analysis in which we used 509 individuals of both sexes. A similar ratio of young (with undamaged wing) females with or without blue patch was recorded, whereas in the males no individuals without any trace of blue patch were reported, and a correlation of age (wing damage) and gradual fading off of the patch was demonstrated. Such an adaptation involving an active change of the appearance of adults, i.e. colour patterns related to sexual selection, has not been reported previously in Lepidoptera.</p

Diversity and relationships of Andean shrubland puna butterflies of the genus Punargentus (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae)

Two new species and two new subspecies of the satyrine butterfly genus Punargentus Heimlich, P. atusparia sp. n., P. heimlichi sp. n., P. blanchardi libertas ssp. n. and P. atusparia yupania ssp. n., are described from north-central Peru (Ancash, Huánuco and La Libertad). The affinities of the new taxa are evaluated based on molecular data obtained using target enrichment and COI barcoding. Punargentus is fully supported and consists of two branches, the P. lamna clade with four species and P. blanchardi clade with three species, two of which are described here. Species in the P. blanchardi clade occur in Andean shrubland, at altitudes between 2800-3600 m, whereas those in the P. lamna clade occur in puna grassland at 3600-4600 m, with occasional overlaps. Based on their habitat preferences, none of the newly described species are in need of immediate conservation measures. The genus Etcheverrius Herrera is reinstated, with E. chiliensis (Guérin-Méneville) and E. tandilensis (Köhler), comb. n