In allozyme generated trees, test populations of species of the North American Callophrys (sensu lato) (a group of hairstreak/elfin butterflies) clustered within the genera Mitoura, Callophrys, Incisalia, and Loranthomitoura. The pine-feeding species of Incisalia clustered weakly, but separately from non-pine feeding species of Incisalia (Deciduphagus). The trees present dissimilarities from recent taxonomic arrangements of Mitoura species and subspecies. Larval food plants (Calocedrus, Juniperus, and Cupressus), often used for distinguishing Mitoura taxa, do not necessarily follow the pattern of genetic relationships among populations. Mitoura thornei and M. muiri probably deserve no greater than subspecies status under M. loki and M. siva respectively. Mitoura gryneus and M. siva populations, considered conspecific by some workers, do not display a gradual geoclinal blend zone and are probably best considered separate taxa. A putative population of M. gryneus from Arkansas may deserve species status.

Egg microsculpture has been used at various phylogenetic levels as an informative morphological character set; in particular, the structure of the micropylar rosette has been used to differentiate between closely related taxa at the species-level, but intraspecific variation in this character set remains largely undocumented. Here we show that the number and shape of elements in the micropylar rosette can vary substantially within a population of a single species and even within individual females. A significant proportion (52%) of this variation is attributable to the source female (but uncorrelated with female size), suggesting that some unknown maternal effect influences micropyle structure. Due to this large intrapopulation variation, the utility of this character set and the taxonomic rank to which it is applied should be evaluated carefully.

Temperature-dependent development is described by three variables termed thermal characteristics: the developmental zero temperature, below which no development is assumed to occur; the high cutoff temperature, above which development slows; and the developmental index, a measure of physiological time required for a given phase to develop. Physiological time in this study refers to number of degree-days, units that combine temperature and time. The phase of interest here is the entire larval stage. Degree-days track developmental progress more precisely than calendar days and better alert the observer for optimally timing planned interventions. Thermal characteristics are usually derived from simple Type I regressions fitted to the linear portion of plots of rate of development on rearing temperature, where rate is the reciprocal of duration. Existing thermal characteristics for 131 published datasets are revised here using an improved Type II regression proposed by Ikemoto & Takai (2000). These datasets represent species in 11 families and originated between 1927 and 2007 on six continents. Each dataset consists of ≥4 associated rates and temperatures. Revised developmental zero temperatures ranged from 3.9 to 16.0. They varied directly with mean annual temperatures at localities of dataset origin, forming a continuum of low to high values between cool and warm climates. Among other relations, the mathematical product of voltinism × the natural logarithm (ln) of developmental index, which encompasses multivoltinism, varied directly with developmental zeros. In 91% of datasets, number of degree-days for the larval phase calculated using official mean daily air temperatures agreed within ±2 calendar days with those using constant laboratory temperatures. Official temperatures were summarized from records at 18 mid-temperate North American weather stations. Thermal characteristics are found to be adapted to climatic regimes, and local weather-station temperatures are usually suitable for degree-day summations.

Opportunistic observations on the seasonal biology of Argynnis coronis in central Washington obtained over 40 years, suggest that the ecology of this species is characterized by well defined seasonal population movements between low and high elevations. Unfed first instar larvae diapause and overwinter in lithosol shrub-steppe areas immediately east of the Cascade Mountains feeding and developing on sagebrush violets (Viola trinervata) during March–May. Males eclose 7–14 days before females in mid-late May. After mating, females delay egg development and migrate 50–100 km westward reaching high elevations in the Cascades by late June-early July. Most males die in the shrub-steppe but a few migrate with the females. Female-dominated populations over-summer at 2,000–2,500m and are active feeding on flowers but remain non-reproductive. Ovaries develop in early August and females begin an eastward downslope movement returning to shrub-steppe areas by early September. Oviposition on soil, stones, rocks and ground level woody plants where violets grow in spring, occurs during September and early October.

The account represents the first record of E. imperialis (Drury) as cocoa pest. The moth was founded in Milagro - Ecuador producing prominent defoliation on cocoa and other fruit trees.

Females of the Japanese sulfur butterfly, Colias erate, eclose in the grassland vegetation in early morning and copulate immediately after their wings fully expand. Once mated, females lose their interest in mating with males that approach them. Receptive females exposed their abdomens toward courting males, whereas unreceptive females hide their abdomen. Field observation of males' courtship behavior to females was carried out by focusing on the abdomen posture of females. We glued the wings of females together, forced their abdomen to be either exposed from their wings or hidden in their wings, and presented them to males. When males found the females, most males hovered around the female. Males alighted near the females when their abdomens were exposed. However, when their abdomens were hidden, males stopped courting and left the females. Females with exposed abdomens, irrespective of mating experience, copulated with the male courting. Thus, the female posture of hiding her abdomen was a signal of unreceptivity, as well as the rejection of the courting males.