Malagasy Polka Dot Moths (Noctuoidea: Erebidae: Arctiinae: Syntomini) of Ambohitantely-endemism in the most important relict of Central Plateau rainforest in Madagascar.

Malagasy Syntomini (Polka Dot Moths) are one of the largest endemic lineages of Lepidoptera on the island, belonging to the Tiger Moth subfamily (Arctiinae). This diverse radiation comprises nearly 100 valid described species that share a single ancestor. Despite a monograph in 1964 by Paul Griveaud, systematics of the group greatly needs modern revision, and their distribution on the island is still poorly known. This contribution concerns the diversity of Syntomini of the Réserve Spéciale d'Ambohitantely, which protects the largest remaining, but already highly fragmented, vestige of Central Plateau rainforest in Madagascar. Here we provide an annotated checklist of the eight species occurring in the Reserve. Two species are recorded from the forest for the first time, while five endemics are until now known only from Ambohitantely. We also describe for the first time the female of Thyrosticta vestigii Griveaud, 1964 and of Maculonaclia tampoketsya Griveaud, 1969, as well as a yellow morphotype of Thyrosticta dilata Griveaud, 1964, and we redescribe and illustrate the genitalia of the remaining species. The significance of such colour pattern variation in aposematic moths and the role of this Reserve as a local centre of diversity of Malagasy Syntomini together with its importance in the protection of the biodiversity of Madagascar are discussed.

First records of 31 species of butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera) in Cameroon, with remarks on their elevational ranges.

BACKGROUND: The biodiversity of West and Central Africa is understudied, including butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera). Cameroon, through its position in between few biogeographic regions and diversity of habitats, is an important hotspot of lepidopteran diversity. However, the country also ranks low when it comes to local biodiversity knowledge. During our long-term ecological projects in the Cameroonian part of the Gulf of Guinea Highlands, we collected rich material of butterflies and moths, including a number of interesting faunistic records. NEW INFORMATION: In this study, we report 31 species of butterflies and moths which have not yet been recorded in Cameroon. These species comprised eight new genera records for the country. In many cases, our records represented an important extension of the species' known distribution, including ten species whose distribution ranges extended into the Guinean biogeographic region. We also comment on the species' elevational distribution ranges on Mount Cameroon where most of our records originated. Additionally, we confirm the presence of a butterfly Telchinia encedena, after more than a century since its first and so far its only record in Cameroon.

Amerila (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae) of Cameroon with morphological remarks on male and female genitalia.

Amerila is one of the most studied Afrotropical genera of Arctiinae. However, based on a regionally constrained sample of specimens from Mount Cameroon, we show how superficial our knowledge on these tiger moths is. Among six collected Amerila species, A. femina's female is described here for the first time, and A. mulleri and A. roseomarginata had never been recorded before in the country. Moreover, novel biological data are presented, including individual species' elevational ranges. Finally, female reproductive organs of the genus are illustrated here for the first time. The value of such regional studies is highlighted, with some remarks on necessary requirements of such small-scaled field sampling.

Flying between raindrops: Strong seasonal turnover of several Lepidoptera groups in lowland rainforests of Mount Cameroon.

Although seasonality in the tropics is often less pronounced than in temperate areas, tropical ecosystems show seasonal dynamics as well. Nevertheless, individual tropical insects' phenological patterns are still poorly understood, especially in the Afrotropics. To fill this gap, we investigated biodiversity patterns of Lepidoptera communities at three rainforest localities in the foothills of Mount Cameroon, West Africa, one of the wettest places in the world. Our multitaxa approach covered six lepidopteran groups (fruit-feeding butterflies and moths, the families Sphingidae, Saturniidae, and Eupterotidae, and the subfamily Arctiinae of Erebidae) with diverse life strategies. We sampled adults of the focal groups in three distinct seasons. Our sampling included standardized bait trapping (80 traps exposed for 10 days per locality and season) and attraction by light (six full nights per locality and season). Altogether, our dataset comprised 20,576 specimens belonging to 559 (morpho)species of the focal groups. The biodiversity of Lepidoptera generally increased in the high-dry season, and either increased (fruit-feeding moths, Arctiinae, Saturniidae) or decreased (butterflies, Sphingidae) in the transition to the wet season in particular groups. Simultaneously, we revealed a strong species turnover of fruit-feeding Lepidoptera and Arctiinae among the seasons, indicating relatively high specialization of these communities for particular seasons. Such temporal specialization can make the local communities of butterflies and moths especially sensitive to the expected seasonal perturbations caused by the global change. Because of the key role of Lepidoptera across trophic levels, such changes in their communities could strengthen this impact on entire tropical ecosystems.

Semiautomated Identification of European Corn Borer (Lepidoptera: Crambidae).

The European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner, 1796) is a serious and widely studied pest of corn. The most common method of its control is by means of insecticides. However, biological control is becoming more and more popular. The hymenopteran parasitoid Trichogramma sp. is the most promising and effective one among the biological agents and is now widely used in North America and Europe. Its application should occur at the time when the European corn borer is at the beginning of the eggs laying period. However, the discrimination between the European corn borer and some other species occurring in agricultural landscapes at the same time can be difficult, especially for farmers which are neither familiar with the morphological nor molecular methods of identification. The scope of this study is to test the ability of the automatic computer equipment to determine the European corn borer and to separate it from the most common Lepidoptera pests found in corn plantations. The experiment showed that the 97.0% of the 247 specimens belonging to four common pestlepidopterans were correctly classified by the use of a personal computer, desktop scanner, and the special software. The obtained results showed that this technique based on wing measurements can be an effective tool for monitoring of the European corn borer. In the future, this method can be used by farmers to identify this pest and apply control measures at optimal time.

Polyommatus ripartii: the biological basis for the conservation and the morphology of the developmental stages of a critically endangered, relict population in central Europe.

Ripart's Anomalous Blue Polyommatus ripartii (Freyer, 1830) is one of the most seriously endangered butterfly species in central Europe, a small, relict population of which has survived in two localities in Poland. This isolated population is undoubtedly the last and northernmost remnant of a once much wider range in central Europe. P. ripartii is associated with highly xerophilous vegetation on gypsum and calcareous soils. Only active conservation measures can ensure its survival. For these to be successful, however, precise information on the butterfly's biology, behavior and also its morphology is crucial. The first to do so, this article describes the butterfly's egg-laying preferences, and specifies the numbers of eggs on a single shoot and their placement on it. A unique behavioral trait of the female--the secretion of oviposition-deterring pheromones--is reported. The preferred plant associations and nectar sources have been investigated, and information on overnight roosts is given. In addition, an exhaustive description of the morphologies of the egg, final instar and pupa, as well as new details of adult behavior are provided. The main conclusion of the this study is that the existence of a stable population in the Nida Region is determined by the presence of large patches of sainfoin, which is both the larval host plant and a source of nectar for the imago. Moreover, stress is laid on the importance of Inula ensifolia L. as the secondary nectaring plant, which may facilitate dispersion among patches of suitable habitat. Finally, the study shows that searching for the easily detected eggs may be the best method for proving the existence of the species in a given locality.