Seven new species of endemic leaf-roller moths are described from the Hawaiian Islands: Eccoptocera hinanohomauna sp. nov. (O‘ahu), Eccoptocera ohiaha, sp. nov. (O‘ahu), Pararrhaptica kaiona, sp. nov. (O‘ahu), Pararrhaptica pilikuanani, sp. nov. (Kaua‘i), Spheterista huakunana, sp. nov. (O‘ahu), Spheterista hiwakakahi, sp. nov. (Kaua‘i), and Spheterista hakeaiki, sp. nov. (O‘ahu). With the possible exception of S. hakeaiki, all species appear to be single-island endemics. In addition, Pararrhaptica pycnomias (Meyrick), syn. nov. (O‘ahu), is treated as a junior synonym of Pararrhaptica notocosma (Meyrick) (O‘ahu), Macraesthetica Meyrick is transferred from Eucosmini to Olethreutini, and Macraesthetica semicinereana (Swezey), comb. nov. (Hawai‘i), is transferred from Nuritamburia Koçak & Kemal. A conservation status is proposed for each of the newly described species.

Larvae of the federally threatened Euproserpinus euterpe from Walker Basin, Kern Co., CA. and Carrizo Plains, San Luis Obispo Co., CA populations were reared to the pupal and adult stage for the first time. The E. euterpe pupa is described. Mature larvae excavated a subterranean pupal chamber in an unusual (not burrowing solely headfirst) manner, but typical of other species in the sphingid tribe, Macroglossini. Soil depth of pupation ranged from 5 to 11 cm, mean = of 7.14±1.83 cm s.d. cm (n=14) for the Walker Basin population. Pupae were maintained in artificial pupal cells, facilitating observations of development. Multiple-year diapause to three years, predicted based on field observations, was demonstrated in the laboratory. Soil humidity during the fall and winter season appears critical to break pupal diapause. Pupae did not travel through the soil. Adults burrowed to the soil surface after eclosion from the pupa. The wing expansion behavior of adults at the soil surface, along with their vertical, upward wing expansion, are described.

Average development times differed significantly among the test plants and ranged from 27.9 days on Populus nigra to 61.5 days on Ligustrum japonicum. Average pupal mass differed significantly among the test plants and varied from 1330 mg on Prunus serotina to 740 mg on Fraxinus latifolia. There was a significant negative relationship between developmental time and percent larval survival and a significant positive relationship between larval survival and pupal mass. Fast larval development on a plant meant higher survival and heavier pupae. The growth rate of Papilio rutulus larvae varied from a high of 0.256 mg/day on Populus nigra to a low of 0.143 mg/day on Populus alba and 0.126 mg/day on Alnus tenuifolia. The larvae were able to extend their development time on some plants like Alnus tenuifolia and Prunus ilicifolia to produce heavier pupae. Biochemical flexibility in larval survival, developmental time and pupal mass allow P. rutulus larvae to utilize a wide variety of native and introduced plants and to colonize large areas in California with few to no native Populus or Salix hosts including urban areas with extensive plantings of ornamental plants and scattered individual apple and stone fruit trees, and the 651,000+ hectares of commercial California almond, stone fruit and apples. Selection of the host plants with the fastest development times allows P. rutulus to survive at high altitude areas in which there are otherwise too few heat units to allow their offspring to attain the pupal stage and overwinter.

Spodoptera litura (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a highly polyphagous insect pest, which inflicts serious economic damage on many agricultural and horticultural crops globally. During our recent surveillance surveys, an unusual defoliation was noticed by a caterpillar pest on cocoa saplings at ICAR - Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Regional Station, Vittal farm, Karnataka, India. Morphological identification and molecular characterization using mitochondrial cytochrome-c-oxidase (COI) gene confirmed the collected insect samples as S. litura. Hitherto, this species was only known to infest Leucaena leucocephala (CABI), a shade tree of cocoa plantations in Indonesia. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first record of infestation by tobacco cut worm on cocoa in India. Consequently, solarization of rooting medium has been suggested for the destruction of the quiescent pupal stage.

The Indian meal moth (Plodia interpunctella) is becoming an important biological model to study silk. While there are many potential applications to materials science and medicine, many aspects of silk production in this species remain unknown. Here we characterize the silk of P. interpunctella by measuring the width of larval wandering and pupal silk strands and find that the latter is significantly thicker than the former. We also report intraspecific variation in pupal silk production in our lab-reared colony with a very small number of individuals forgoing pupal silk production entirely (< 4%). Overcrowding had no effect on silk formation, but exposure to elevated temperature reduced pupal silk production.