Papilio vanessa Fabricius, 1793, nomen oblitum, is a synonym of Liptena septistrigata (Bethune-Baker, 1903), nomen protectum (Papilionoidea: Lycaenidae: Poritiinae)

The nominal taxon Papilio vanessa Fabricius, 1793, for long thought to be an unrecognised species of Riodinidae from the Americas, is shown to be a synonym of the West African lycaenid butterfly Liptena septistrigata (Bethune-Baker, 1903), syn. nov. Papilio vanessa is however a nomen oblitum, as it has not been applied to any recognised taxon since 1889. Thus Liptena septistrigata has priority so long as this subjective synonymy is considered valid and, within this context, L. septistrigata should be treated as a nomen protectum

A specimen of Tirumala hamata hamata (Macleay, 1826) (Lepidoptera: Danainae) from Captain Cook’s first voyage

On 29 May 1770 Joseph Banks described a spectacular swarming of ‘milions’ [sic] ‘of one sort’ of butterfly at Thirsty Sound, near what is now Rockhampton, Queensland, comparing it to a species from China that had been named by Linnaeus. Discovery of what appears to be an Endeavour voyage specimen of this Australian butterfly in the Hunterian Zoology Museum, Glasgow, allows us to confirm its long-suspected identity as Tirumala hamata hamata (Macleay) – a species unnamed and unknown at the time of Cook’s first voyage. Investigations into several collections that include eighteenth-century Australian Lepidoptera and associated literature have not positively identified any further specimens taken from the swarm, although a pair in the Oxford University Museum of Natural History could be from the same source. Taxonomic confusion due to mimicry, convergence and/or non-divergence affecting blue tiger patterned butterflies is most likely the principal reason such a specimen has previously gone undetected

A hypothesis to explain accuracy of wasp resemblances

Mimicry is one of the oldest concepts in biology, but it still presents many puzzles and continues to be widely debated. Simulation of wasps with a yellow-black abdominal pattern by other insects (commonly called “wasp mimicry”) is traditionally considered a case of resemblance of unprofitable by profitable prey causing educated predators to avoid models and mimics to the advantage of both (Figure 1a). However, as wasps themselves are predators of insects, wasp mimicry can also be seen as a case of resemblance to one's own potential antagonist. We here propose an additional hypothesis to Batesian and Müllerian mimicry (both typically involving selection by learning vertebrate predators; cf. Table 1) that reflects another possible scenario for the evolution of multifold and in particular very accurate resemblances to wasps: an innate, visual inhibition of aggression among look-alike wasps, based on their social organization and high abundance. We argue that wasp species resembling each other need not only be Müllerian mutualists and that other insects resembling wasps need not only be Batesian mimics, but an innate ability of wasps to recognize each other during hunting is the driver in the evolution of a distinct kind of masquerade, in which model, mimic, and selecting agent belong to one or several species (Figure 1b). Wasp mimics resemble wasps not (only) to be mistaken by educated predators but rather, or in addition, to escape attack from their wasp models. Within a given ecosystem, there will be selection pressures leading to masquerade driven by wasps and/or to mimicry driven by other predators that have to learn to avoid them. Different pressures by guilds of these two types of selective agents could explain the widely differing fidelity with respect to the models in assemblages of yellow jackets and yellow jacket look-alikes

Diversity of Chironomidae (Diptera) breeding in the Great Stour, Kent: baseline results from the Westgate Parks non-biting midge project

Chalk rivers and streams are of conservation importance due their ecological diversity, historical relevance and economic value. With more than 200 chalk watercourses, England is considered unusual in having the most chalk rivers in the world. However, due to increasing anthropogenic activities, many English chalk rivers and streams are becoming badly degraded. The non-biting midges or chironomids (Diptera, Chironomidae) are considered key-stone taxa in aquatic food webs, and have been used as ecological indicators of freshwater quality and environmental stress. Here we determined the generic richness, diversity, and community structure of Chironomidae across six sites in the mid-section of the Great Stour in Kent, a chalk river for which concern has been expressed regarding both water and habitat quality. Based on the morphological identification of 1336 insect larvae from the six sites (four in Westgate Parks, Canterbury, and two at nearby locations upstream and downstream from Canterbury City), a total of 20 genera of Chironomidae were identified, including some taxa indicative of freshwater habitats with low levels of organic pollution. There were different levels of generic richness and diversity among sites, and while there was little variation in the community composition among the sites within Westgate Parks, there were noticeable generic differences among Westgate Parks sites compared with those upstream and downstream, showing the highest complementarity and Beta diversity values. Overall, the results were comparable with other studies on chironomids in chalk rivers and other river systems. Although spatially limited to a small stretch of river, this represents the first study on chironomids in the Great Stour and provides baseline information on the diversity and structure of this important insect group with aquatic larvae, useful for the objective interpretation of any future biological assessments and monitoring programmes on the Kentish Stour, and also for comparisons with other chalk rivers

Papilio hermione Linnaeus, type species of Hipparchia Fabricius (Lepidoptera, Satyrinae): restoring stability to the application of these names

This paper discusses three problems concerning the Woodland Grayling, Hipparchia fagi Scopoli, 1763, with respect to the identity and application of the junior name Papilio hermione Linnaeus, 1764. In 1977, the late Otakar Kudrna designated a specimen of the Rock Grayling, Hipparchia alcyone [Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775, to become the lectotype of Papilio hermione – as a result of which hermione supplanted alcyone as the senior epithet for this species. Because P. hermione is the nominal type species of Hipparchia Fabricius, 1807, Kudrna’s action rendered this a genus based on a misidentified species. Third, while a majority of lepidopterists have ignored Kudrna’s action and continue to apply the name H. alcyone to the Rock Grayling, and still regard P. hermione as a junior subjective synonym of H. fagi, the formal nomenclature for the Rock Grayling has become unstable because a large minority have nonetheless accepted Kudrna’s lectotype designation and all that follows from it. It is demonstrated here that no syntypes of Papilio hermione (or Papilio fagi) have survived; consequently, Kudrna’s lectotype designation for P. hermione is invalid. By designation of a single specimen of the Woodland Grayling as neotype for both P. fagi and P. hermione, the two names are rendered objectively synonymous, thereby restoring stability to the species name for the Rock Grayling (as Hipparchia alcyone), and to the application of Papilio hermione (= Hipparchia fagi) as nominal type species of the generic name Hipparchia

Conserved ancestral tropical niche but different continental histories explain the latitudinal diversity gradient in brush-footed butterflies.

The global increase in species richness toward the tropics across continents and taxonomic groups, referred to as the latitudinal diversity gradient, stimulated the formulation of many hypotheses to explain the underlying mechanisms of this pattern. We evaluate several of these hypotheses to explain spatial diversity patterns in a butterfly family, the Nymphalidae, by assessing the contributions of speciation, extinction, and dispersal, and also the extent to which these processes differ among regions at the same latitude. We generate a time-calibrated phylogeny containing 2,866 nymphalid species (~45% of extant diversity). Neither speciation nor extinction rate variations consistently explain the latitudinal diversity gradient among regions because temporal diversification dynamics differ greatly across longitude. The Neotropical diversity results from low extinction rates, not high speciation rates, and biotic interchanges with other regions are rare. Southeast Asia is also characterized by a low speciation rate but, unlike the Neotropics, is the main source of dispersal events through time. Our results suggest that global climate change throughout the Cenozoic, combined with tropical niche conservatism, played a major role in generating the modern latitudinal diversity gradient of nymphalid butterflies

Euploea dorippus Klug, 1845: species, semispecies, subspecies, junior subjective synonym of Danaus chrysippus chrysippus (Linnaeus), and/or form – what does Klug’s dorippus represent? (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae, Danainae)

The type material of the available name Euploea dorippus Klug, 1845, originated from northern Sudan, an area that lies beyond the core zone of the semispecies or subspecies currently known as Danaus chrysippus dorippus, and the description did not include examples of the phenotype currently referred to as Danaus chrysippus f. ‘dorippus’. Possible consequences for nomenclature of the infraspecific species group taxa and form names of Danaus chrysippus are discussed

In memoriam: Campbell Robert Smith (1951–2019)

Campbell Smith was employed as an entomologist at London’s Natural History Museum for 35 years, during which time he worked on various catalogues, curated parts of the museum collections, and contributed to the output of several research groups. In 2009 he took early retirement to look after his widowed father. His sudden and unexpected death on 11th March 2019 came as a shock to former museum staff and various entomologists around the world, acknowledging his loss with sorrow mixed with good memories of this most amiable colleague and friend

The type material, taxonomy and conservation of Horniman's Swallowtail, Papilio hornimani (Lepidoptera : Papilionidae)

The taxonomy of the East African swallowtail Papilio hornimani is reviewed, with special reference to the three currently recognized subspecies described from the Usambara Mts (P. h. hornimani), Udzungwa Mts (P. h. mwanihanae) and the Oldeani-Mbulu massif (P. h. mbulu), all located in Tanzania. The primary type material is illustrated, and type localities are established, notably with respect to the original source for P. h. hornimani, collected at Magila, Mlinga Forest area, East Usambara mountains. Populations from the Chyulu Hills (Kenya) and Mts Meru and Kilimanjaro (Tanzania), placed here with P. h. mbulu, appear to represent further potential segregates, or clinal variation. Prospects for conservation of the Mlinga Forest population are briefly discussed