While conducting a population ecological study of a distinctive epiphytic bromeliad, we witnessed a substantial amount of folivory in some populations on Andros, Bahamas. Finding two caterpillars on damaged plants, we reared a species of moth previously recorded only from Cuba. We report here on the damage to Catopsis berteroniana plants by larvae of Dahana cubana, and conclude from our data that both plant size and location (site) influence the amount of damage that plants experienced.

In warm climates, lizards may be important as predators of butterflies and thus exert selection pressure on butterfly colour patterns, including eyespots. However, this has received little attention. Two studies reported no evidence that butterfly eyespots deflect lizard attacks, while possible intimidating effects of butterfly eyespots on lizards have not been investigated. We exposed common evening brown butterflies (Melanitis leda) with a wide range of eyespot sizes (dry season forms with very small and faint eyespots, intermediate phenotypes with small eyespots, and wet season forms with large or very large eyespots) to house geckos, and recorded the location and shape of wing surface loss. We supplemented these data with direct observations of attacks of house geckos (Hemidactylus frenatus) and bronze skinks (Eutropis macularia) on common evening brown butterflies. We found that about three quarters of symmetrical wing surface loss, and about half of the non-symmetrical wing surface loss was rounded like the mouth of a gecko. Symmetrical as well as non-symmetrical wing surface loss was significantly more common in hindwings. We surmise that rounded wing surface loss and a bias in symmetrical wing surface loss to hindwings can be taken as evidence for failed lizard attacks. Rounded wing surface loss was more common in butterflies with small eyespots than in those with very small eyespots or with large eyespots. This suggests that small eyespots can deflect lizard attacks away from the head towards the wing margins, and that large eyespots can thwart lizard attacks. In four cases, skinks appeared to explore rather than attack butterfly eyespots. In contrast to earlier studies, our data provide evidence that butterfly eyespots can be an effective defence against lizards, and thus that predation by lizards can select for eyespots in butterflies.

The frosted elfin (Callophrys irus Godart) is a globally rare butterfly that inhabits disturbance-dependent habitats often managed by prescribed fire. Natural history observations and published data are equivocal on whether frosted elfin caterpillars pupate below or above the soil surface, and some evidence suggests that pupation sites differ for caterpillars that feed on lupine (Lupinus spp.) versus wild indigo (Baptisia spp.). Pupation site has important implications for management because pupae located beneath the soil surface will likely be afforded greater protection from fire than those above the soil surface. Our study of both lupine- and indigo-feeding larvae at a single site in Worcester County, Maryland, found that pupation occurs above the soil surface in the leaf litter 92% of the time, and does not differ significantly with food plant preference. We recommend that land managers using prescribed fire as a habitat management tool for frosted elfin habitat assume some level of pupal mortality in burned areas and utilize a rotational burn schedule that maintains areas of unburned refugia in high-density elfin areas. We also recommend that managers try to establish a metapopulation structure for frosted elfin to address the possibility of natural occurring fires.

DnB (Database of nymphalids in Brazil) centralizes the state of the art of all Nymphalidae species lists ever reported in Brazil. Butterflies are diverse, ecologically relevant, charismatic, and are effective flagships and bioindicators for conservation. With about 850 described species in Brazil, Nymphalidae is the group with the most stable taxonomy among the three richest Neotropical butterfly families and are frequently used in several biological disciplines as a model system. This study was developed from the need of an up-to-date, curated, and throughout database of species occurrences, the first of its kind in this continental, heterogeneous, and highly diverse country. The data can be used as a starting point for several purposes, such as mapping the distribution of Brazilian nymphalids, producing regional species lists with information of their richness, estimating priority regions (due to species occurrence or lack of sampling) and niche modeling – see DnB tutorials. Using both coarse-grained and exhaustive search strategies, we compiled 489 studies (peer-reviewed or not), from which 357 had species lists and were thus catalogued in a user-friendly software. We provide a separate worksheet with 34 columns of additional information, to filter DnB by e.g. biome, urban sampling, collection method; or to assess the quality of studies. Descriptive analyses revealed, as commonly reported, sampling bias towards large urban centers and proximity to research institutions (Wallacean shortfall), as well as taxonomic (Linnaean) shortfall of biodiversity. Aiming to standardize the publication and peer-review of species lists, we suggest a protocol, or checklist, of all steps required to ensure the comparability and minimum quality of such publications. DnB is available at  https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2561408, with a translated version in Portuguese available at  http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2561417 and we aim to update and re-publish it every 10 years so we encourage authors to send corrections and new species lists, published in any media, to 2018dnb@gmail.com.

Eight species of Nearctic Eucosmini previously considered to be of uncertain generic assignment are reviewed and illustrated. The following new or revised combinations are proposed: Pelochrista aspidana (Walsingham), comb.n.; Eucosma delphinoides (Heinrich), comb.n.; Eucosma delphinus (Heinrich), comb.n.; Pelochrista excerptionana (Heinrich), comb.n.; Pelochrista fuscana (Kearfott), comb.n. and new synonymy with Pelochrista nandana (Kearfott); Eucosma sublapidana (Walsingham), comb.rev. Eucosma apriliana (Grote) and Eucosma gomonana Kearfott retain their former generic placements. Eucosma baggetti, a new species similar to Eucosma gomonana Kearfott, is described from southeastern United States.

Communal roosting behavior in Heliconius passion-vine butterflies has fascinated scientists for centuries. Despite recent research on the complex dynamics involved with this behavior, little work has been done to examine whether butterflies regulate their communal roost sizes and if there is preference to form roosts of a particular size. Here I present results from two studies, that tested 1) whether wild-captured Heliconius erato butterflies, exposed to different roost sizes in captivity, prefer to join small, medium, or large-sized roosts; and 2) whether established H. erato butterflies in natural wild populations abandon roosts when they become too large. In captivity, butterflies significantly preferred to join small- and medium-sized aggregations, and avoided large aggregations, when introduced to a new environment. In the wild, butterfly attendance decreased significantly as roost size increased, showing that butterflies leave natural roosts when they become too large or crowded. Although a number of potential explanations exist for the adaptive significance of communal roost size regulation in H. erato, one of the most striking details about these results are that preferred roost size by individual butterflies corresponds with the average number of butterflies found in natural roosts. This preferred roost size also overlaps with previous studies showing an experimentally optimal roost size with the same number of butterflies (for anti-predatory benefits), in this species in this same field location. These results combine multiple sources of evidence from old and new data suggesting that optimal communal roost sizes exist in Heliconius and that the butterflies regulate their roost sizes in their home ranges. Further studies are welcome to help understand the decision-making process used by these butterflies for joining – or abandoning – communal roosts.