A new species and eight new subspecies of high elevation Actinote from Colombia, Ecuador and Peru (Nymphalidae, Heliconiinae, Acraeini)

We describe one new species and eight new subspecies of high elevation Actinote Hübner, [1819] (Nymphalidae, Heliconiinae, Acraeini) from Colombia, Ecuador and Peru: Actinote pyrrhosticta Lamas, Willmott & Hall, n. sp., Actinote pyrrhosticta quintecocha Lamas & Willmott, n. ssp., Actinote pyrrhosticta apurimac Lamas & Willmott, n. ssp., Actinote pyrrhosticta alfamayo Lamas & Willmott, n. ssp., Actinote eresia albesia Lamas & Willmott, n. ssp., Actinote eresia canyaris Pyrcz & Lamas, n. ssp., Actinote hilaris arcoiris Willmott & Hall, n. ssp., Actinote hilaris sourakovi Willmott & Lamas, n. ssp., and Actinote trinacria alegria Boyer & Willmott, n. ssp. We treat Actinote binghamae Dyar, 1913 as a new synonym of Actinote eresia eresina (Hoffer, 1874) n. syn., and treat Altinote santamarta Winhard, 2017 as a subspecies, Actinote trinacria santamarta rev. stat. We illustrate adult specimens of all described taxa of A. pyrrhosticta n. sp., A. eresia (C. Felder & R. Felder, 1862) and A. hilaris Jordan, 1910, and representatives of A. trinacria (C. Felder & R. Felder, 1862). We also provide illustrations of male and female genitalia for select taxa, distribution maps, and a revised, annotated synonymic list for all four species

A new subspecies of Adelpha messana (C. Felder & R. Felder) from the Brazilian Atlantic forest (Nymphalidae: Limenitidinae)

Article published in the journal Tropical Lepidoptera Research

Hard to catch : experimental evidence supports evasive mimicry

Most research on aposematism has focused on chemically defended prey, but the signalling difficulty of capture remains poorly explored. Similar to classical Batesian and Mullerian mimicry related to distastefulness, such 'evasive aposematism' may also lead to convergence in warning colours, known as evasive mimicry. A prime candidate group for evasive mimicry are Adelpha butterflies, which are agile insects and show remarkable colour pattern convergence. We tested the ability of naive blue tits to learn to avoid and generalize Adelpha wing patterns associated with the difficulty of capture and compared their response to that of birds that learned to associate the same wing patterns with distastefulness. Birds learned to avoid all wing patterns tested and generalized their aversion to other prey to some extent, but learning was faster with evasive prey compared to distasteful prey. Our results on generalization agree with longstanding observations of striking convergence in wing colour patterns among Adelpha species, since, in our experiments, perfect mimics of evasive and distasteful models were always protected during generalization and suffered the lowest attack rate. Moreover, generalization on evasive prey was broader compared to that on distasteful prey. Our results suggest that being hard to catch may deter predators at least as effectively as distastefulness. This study provides empirical evidence for evasive mimicry, a potentially widespread but poorly understood form of morphological convergence driven by predator selection.Peer reviewe

Phylogeny and systematics of the "Pronophila clade," with 2 new genera to resolve the formerly polyphyletic genus Pseudomaniola (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae)

Analysis of a target enrichment molecular dataset confirms the monophyly of the Neotropical montane butterfly group known as the Pronophila Westwood clade, 1 of 2 major lineages of the satyrine subtribe Pronophilina. The Pronophila clade comprises 18-20 recognized genera and some 125 species. Within this group, the genus Pseudomaniola Röber appears as paraphyletic, and is split here into 3 genera, Pseudomaniola sensu novum with 6 species, including 4 previously considered as subspecies of P. phaselis (Hewitson), the monobasic Fahraeusia Pyrcz n. gen. for Catargynnis asuba Thieme, n. comb., and Boyeriana Pyrcz, Espeland & Willmott n. gen., with 9 species. The adults of all 3 genera can be recognized by their wing color patterns, but the strongest synapomorphies are found in the genitalia, especially those of the male, supporting the above systematic de cisions. Notable differences are also found in scale organization and morphology. A divergence time analysis suggests that Fahraeusia diverged from Pseudomaniola + Boyeriana in the mid-Miocene, around 12 Mya, and the subsequent separation of the last 2 genera occurred at the start of the Pliocene at around 5 Mya

Seven new taxa from the butterfly subtribe Euptychiina (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae) with revisional notes on \u3ci\u3eHarjesia\u3c/i\u3e Forster, 1964 and \u3ci\u3ePseudeuptychia\u3c/i\u3e Forster, 1964

Seven new euptychiine (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae) taxa are described and named herein, namely Harjesia argentata Nakahara, Zacca and Lamas, n. sp., Orotaygetis Nakahara and Zacca, n. gen., O. surui Nakahara, Zacca and Lamas, n. sp., Euptychoides sanmarcos Nakahara and Lamas, n. sp., Pseudeuptychia cuzquenya Nakahara and Lamas, n. sp., P. languida austrina Nakahara and Lamas, n. ssp., and Godartiana astronesthes Lamas and Nakahara, n. sp. A revisional note is provided for Harjesia Forster, 1964 and Pseudeuptychia Forster, 1964, and as a result, Taygetis vrazi Kheil, 1896 is removed from Harjesia and a new taxonomic arrangement, Pseudodebis vrazi n. comb., is proposed based on both morphology and molecular data

Revision of the poorly known Neotropical butterfly genus Zischkaia Forster, 1964 (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Satyrinae), with descriptions of nine new species

We provide the first comprehensive taxonomic revision of the poorly known South American butterfly genus Zischkaia Forster, 1964, hitherto regarded as including three described species. A phylogenetic analysis based on DNA sequence data shows that Zischkaia is monophyletic and consists of two morphologically diagnosable clades. Morphological characters and DNA 'barcodes' support the recognition of twelve species in the genus, a significant increase even for the relatively poorly studied subtribe Euptychiina. Consequently, nine new species are described and named herein, including Z. arctoa Nakahara, sp. nov., Z. chullachaki Nakahara & Zacca, sp. nov., Z. baku Zacca, Dolibaina & Dias, sp. nov., Z. arenisca Nakahara, Willmott & Hall, sp. nov., Z. argyrosflecha Nakahara, L. Miller & Huertas, sp. nov., Z. abanico Nakahara & Petit, sp. nov., Z. josti Nakahara & Kleckner, sp. nov., Z. mielkeorum Dolibaina, Dias & Zacca, sp. nov. and Z. warreni Dias, Zacca & Dolibaina, sp. nov. In addition, a neotype is designated for Satyrus pacarus Godart, [1824], and lectotypes are designated for Euptychia amalda Weymer, 1911, Euptychia fumata Butler, 1867 and Euptychia saundersii Butler, 1867.551167CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESP150670/2018-4; 171177/2017-7; 304639/2014-22017/02264-

Reassessment of the type locality of Euptychia stigmatica Godman, 1905, with the description of two new sibling species from Amazonia (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Satyrinae, Satyrini)

A brief historical review regarding the type locality of Euptychia stigmatica Godman, 1905 was conducted, which suggests that its type locality is actually Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, rather than northeastern Argentina, as previously purported. Consequently, E. stigmatica and its senior synonym E. cyanites Butler, 1871, are regarded to be two species-group names representing a taxon in the euptychiine genus Caeruleuptychia Forster, 1964 known from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. A lectotype is designated for E. cyanites. Additionally, two closely related species are named and described using an integrative approach with morphological and molecular evidence. Caeruleuptychia harrisi Nakahara & Freitas, sp. nov. and C. aemulatio Nakahara & Willmott, sp. nov. both occur in Amazonia and COI barcode data recovered these taxa as part of the caerulea clade of Caeruleuptychia

Cryptic speciation associated with geographic and ecological divergence in two Amazonian Heliconius butterflies

International audienc

Into the Andes: multiple independent colonizations drive montane diversity in the Neotropical clearwing butterflies Godyridina.

Understanding why species richness peaks along the Andes is a fundamental question in the study of Neotropical biodiversity. Several biogeographic and diversification scenarios have been proposed in the literature, but there is confusion about the processes underlying each scenario, and assessing their relative contribution is not straightforward. Here, we propose to refine these scenarios into a framework which evaluates four evolutionary mechanisms: higher speciation rate in the Andes, lower extinction rates in the Andes, older colonization times and higher colonization rates of the Andes from adjacent areas. We apply this framework to a species-rich subtribe of Neotropical butterflies whose diversity peaks in the Andes, the Godyridina (Nymphalidae: Ithomiini). We generated a time-calibrated phylogeny of the Godyridina and fitted time-dependent diversification models. Using trait-dependent diversification models and ancestral state reconstruction methods we then compared different biogeographic scenarios. We found strong evidence that the rates of colonization into the Andes were higher than the other way round. Those colonizations and the subsequent local diversification at equal rates in the Andes and in non-Andean regions mechanically increased the species richness of Andean regions compared to that of non-Andean regions ('species-attractor' hypothesis). We also found support for increasing speciation rates associated with Andean lineages. Our work highlights the importance of the Andean slopes in repeatedly attracting non-Andean lineages, most likely as a result of the diversity of habitats and/or host plants. Applying this analytical framework to other clades will bring important insights into the evolutionary mechanisms underlying the most species-rich biodiversity hotspot on the planet

Corporate Governance for Sustainability

The current model of corporate governance needs reform. There is mounting evidence that the practices of shareholder primacy drive company directors and executives to adopt the same short time horizon as financial markets. Pressure to meet the demands of the financial markets drives stock buybacks, excessive dividends and a failure to invest in productive capabilities. The result is a ‘tragedy of the horizon’, with corporations and their shareholders failing to consider environmental, social or even their own, long-term, economic sustainability. With less than a decade left to address the threat of climate change, and with consensus emerging that businesses need to be held accountable for their contribution, it is time to act and reform corporate governance in the EU. The statement puts forward specific recommendations to clarify the obligations of company boards and directors and make corporate governance practice significantly more sustainable and focused on the long term