No abstract

Plant tissues may show chemical changes following herbivory. In aromatic plants such changes could affect the specific compounds on which commercial exploitation is based. This possibility was analyzed for Mintosthachys mollis, a member of the Lamiaceae native to Central Argentina with medicinal and aromatic uses in the region, and two types of insect herbivores: a leaf miner and a gall insect. Analysis of the essential oils of mined/undamaged leaves, as well as leaves from stems with and without galls, revealed changes in concentrations of the two main monoterpenes. A decrease in pulegone concentration was associated with both types of insect damage, whereas menthone increased significantly only in mined leaves. Inducible chemical changes in aromatic and medicinal plants may be common and widespread; their economic implications deserve investigation.

Learning plays an important role in the location and utilization of nectar sources for pollinators. In this work we focus on the plant-pollinator interaction between the butterfly Agraulis vanillae (Nymphalidae) and two Glandularia plant species (Verbenaceae) that grow in sympatry. Bioassays using arrays of artificial flowers (red vs. lilac-purple) showed that naïve A. vanillae butterflies do not have innate colour preferences for any of the tested colours. Trained butterflies were able to learn to associate both floral colours with the presence of nectar rewards. Wild A. vanillae butterflies visited the red flowers of Glandularia peruviana much more frequently than the lilac-purple flowers of Glandularia venturii. Standing nectar crop measurements showed that G. peruviana flowers offered three times more sucrose than the flowers of G. venturii. Analyses confirmed that corolla colour of G. peruviana (red flowers) and G. venturii (lilac-purple flowers) were discriminable in the butterfly’s colour space. These findings may indicate flexibility in A. vanillae preferences due to a learned association between red coloration and higher nectar rewards.

Se presenta la primera lista de especies de Saturniidae, Sphingidae y Geometridae (Lepidoptera) de la Reserva de la Biósfera Yabotí y sus alrededores en Misiones, Argentina. Esta Reserva es una de las áreas protegidas más extensas de la “Selva Paranaense”, la ecorregión más biodiversa de Argentina y altamente vulnerable por el extremo grado de fragmentación y degradación a la que está sometida. El trabajo de campo se realizó en ocho localidades durante la primavera y verano de 2012. Se utilizó trampa de luz para la atracción de los ejemplares y captura individual. La completitud de los muestreos se evaluó mediante curvas de acumulación de especies y estimadores no paramétricos de riqueza. Se identificaron 22 especies de Saturniidae, con cuatro nuevos registros para la fauna de Argentina: Paradaemonia meridionalis (Arsenurinae) y Catacantha ferruginea, Hidripa paranensis y Travassosula subfumata (Hemileucinae). Además, se determinaron 21 especies de Sphingidae y 40 de Geometridae, con seis registros nuevos de esta última familia para Argentina: Opisthoxia corinnaria, O. aurelia, Polla carnipennis y P. ochreicosta (Ennominae), Eois isographata (Larentiinae) y el primer registro de Racasta (Oenochrominae). El número de especies colectadas en cada familia representa alrededor del 60 % del total esperado en el área de estudio, por lo que se sugiere aumentar el esfuerzo de muestreo. Además, la carencia de información sobre la biología y ecología de la mayoría de las especies encontradas sustenta la necesidad de realizar más investigación sobre estos aspectos.

Arctiini (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Arctiinae) is the most speciose tribe of tiger moths. In this study, the taxonomy of some Neotropical species of this tribe is reviewed based on habitus and, in some cases, genitalia of type specimens. Lectotypes are designated for two names. Four new combinations are proposed: Agaraea sericeum (Zerny, 1931) comb. n., Biturix nigrostriata (Rothschild, 1909) comb. n., Carales fasciatus (Rothschild, 1909) comb. n. and Opharus pallida (Dognin, 1910) comb. n. Six new synonymies are proposed: Agaraea nigrotuberculata Bryk, 1953 (=Agaraea klagesi (Rothschild, 1909)), Opharus ochracea Joicey & Talbot, 1918 and Pelochyta fergusoni Watson & Goodger, 1986 (=Opharus pallida (Dognin, 1910)), Melese flavescens Joicey & Talbot, 1918 (=Melese paranensis Dognin, 1911), Leucanopsis infucata (Berg, 1882) (=Pareuchaetes aurata aurata (Butler, 1875)) and Tessellota pura Breyer, 1957 (=Tessellota cancellata (Burmeister, 1878)). Moreover, Opharus ochracea Joicey & Talbot, 1918 comb. rev. is returned to the original genus. For each rearrangement, both remarks and information about type specimens are provided.