Under cover of darkness, caterpillars take flight: the immature stages and feeding ecology of the glasswinged butterfly, Oleria baizana in eastern Ecuador.

This paper describes the morphology and behavior of the immature stages of Oleria baizana (Haensch) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) from northeastern Ecuador. Brugmansia aurea Lagerh. (Solanales: Solanaceae) is the larval food plant. Eggs are laid singly, off of the host plant in the leaf litter. During the night, larvae climb a food plant seedling and sever a leaf petiole, parachuting with the leaf to the ground where they remain while feeding. Oleria baizana has five larval stadia, and individuals take 77 days to mature from oviposition to adult stage.

Morphology and behavior of the early stages of the skipper, Urbanus esmeraldus, on Urera baccifera, an ant-visited host plant.

The Neotropical genus Urbanus (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) contains around 34 described species, and is widely distributed from the extreme southern United States to Argentina. Here, we describe the larval morphology and behavior of Urbanus esmeraldus (Hübner)(Hesperiidae) in Urera baccifera (Urticaceae), a plant producing food rewards and fleshy fruits that attract ants (including predacious species) in a Brazilian forest. Larvae pass through five instars and construct two kinds of leaf shelters. Experiments with ejected fecal pellets showed that these can serve as cues to ground-dwelling ants that climb onto host plants and potentially attack the larvae. Manipulation with pellets placed at different distances suggests that ejection behavior decreases larval vulnerability to ant predation. Larval preference for mature leaves may be related with increased predation risk at ant-visited young leaves. The study shows that a combination of natural history and experimental data can help understand the life history of a butterfly using a plant with high predation risk.

First description of the early stage biology of the genus Mygona: the natural history of the satyrine butterfly, Mygona irmina in eastern Ecuador.

The immature stages and natural history of Mygona irmina Doubleday (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae: Pronophilina) from northeastern Ecuadorian cloud forests are described based on 17 rearings. The dwarf bamboo, Chusquea c.f. scandens Kunth (Poaceae, Bambusoidea) is the larval food plant. Eggs are laid singly on the bottom side of mature host plant leaves. Larvae take 102-109 days to mature from egg to adult. Adults are encountered most frequently on sunny days, flying rapidly over areas dominated by their food plant or feeding on the ground at mammal feces. Males are often encountered inside large forest gaps near patches of bamboo guarding perches in the mid-canopy.

The immature stages and shelter building behavior of Falgo Jeconia Ombra Evans, 1955 in eastern Ecuador (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae: Hesperiinae).

We describe the immature stages and shelter building behavior of Falga jeconia ombra Evans, 1955 from eastern Ecuador. Chusquea scandens (Poaceae, Bambusoidea) is the larval food plant. Larvae in all stadia build shelters and forcibly eject frass with the aid of an anal comb. Later instars possess an eversible prothoracic "neck" gland. Larvae are associated with moving water.

The life history and shelter building behavior of Vettius coryna coryna Hewitson, 1866 in eastern Ecuador (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae: Hesperiinae).

Abstract We describe all life-stages of Vettius coryna coryna Hewitson, 1866 in eastern Ecuador. The details of larval shelter structure and associated shelter building behavior are described and illustrated, as observed on two grass species (Poaceae). We provide brief observations on V. coryna adult behavior and a review of known life history information for other species of Vettius Godman, 1901.

Species richness and host associations of lepidoptera-attacking Tachinidae in the northeast Ecuadorian Andes.

Most of the unknown biological diversity of macro-organisms remaining to be discovered and described lies in the tropical regions of the world and consists primarily of insects. Those insects with parasitoid lifestyles constitute a significant portion of insect diversity, yet parasitoids are among the most poorly known of major insect guilds in the humid tropics. Here we describe and analyze the richness of one diverse taxon of parasitoids, flies in the family Tachinidae, reared from Lepidoptera as part of a biological survey of Lepidoptera and their parasitoids in one mid-elevation (2000 m) area in the northeast Ecuadorian Andes. One hundred fifty-seven separable tachinid "morpho-species" were reared from approximately 160 species of Lepidoptera in 16 families. These tachinid flies were recovered from a sample of over 12,800 successful caterpillar rearing events that resulted in either adult Lepidoptera or parasitoids. Tachinid species accumulation and rarefaction curves exhibit no sign of reaching an asymptote and richness estimators indicate that the community likely consists of nearly twice this number of species (at minimum). Most tachinid species were reared infrequently, with 50% being represented by a single individual. The majority of species appeared to be relatively specialized on one or a few related hosts, but sampling was insufficient to make strong inferences regarding host range. The tribes Blondeliini and Goniini were the best represented, but some tribes that were expected to be common such as Tachinini and Winthemiini were poorly represented. The estimates of tachinid species richness derived here are suggestive of a far more diverse tachinid community than in temperate localities in North America. Additional rearing of Lepidoptera, as well as other herbivorous insect taxa, along with the use of additional collecting methods will be necessary to achieve a more accurate understanding of the richness of tropical Tachinidae and their contribution to broader patterns of tropical biodiversity.

The early stages of Pedaliodes poesia ( Hewitson, 1862 ) in eastern Ecuador (Lepidoptera: Satyrinae: Pronophilina).

We describe the immature stages Pedaliodes poesia Hewitson, 1862 from northeastern Ecuador. Chusquea scandens (Poaceae, Bambusoidea) is the larval food plant. Eggs are laid singly or in pairs on the bottom side of host plant leaves. The duration of the egg, larval, and pupal stages, combined, is 99-107 days.

The immature stages and natural history of Veladyris pardalis (Salvin, 1869) in Eastern Ecuador (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Lthomiinae).

Abstract We describe the immature stages and oviposition behavior of Veladyris pardalis (Salvin, 1869) from northeastern Ecuador. An unidentified species of Solanum (Solanaceae) is the larval food plant. Eggs are laid singly on leaves, stems or epiphytes growing on the host. Veladyris pardalis has four larval stadia, and takes 64-70 days to mature from oviposition to adult.

The early stages and natural history of Antirrhea adoptive porphyrosticta (Watkins, 1928) in eastern ecuador (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Morphinae).

Here we describe the immature stages and ecological associations of Antirrhea adoptiva porphyrosticta Watkins, 1928 (Lepidoptera:Nymphalidae:Morphinae). The cloud forest bamboo, Chusquea scandens Kunth (Bambusoidea: Poaceae), serves as the larval food plant for this butterfly in eastern Ecuador, the first hostplant record for Antirrhea outside the family Arecaceae. The larvae of A. adoptiva porphyrosticta are superficially similar to those of other Antirrhea species. We also provide observations on adult and larval behavior. Caterpillars of this butterfly species are parasitized by tachinid flies, as well as by Ichneumonidae and a newly described braconid wasp.

Trait-mediated trophic cascade creates enemy-free space for nesting hummingbirds.

The indirect effects of predators on nonadjacent trophic levels, mediated through traits of intervening species, are collectively known as trait-mediated trophic cascades. Although birds are important predators in terrestrial ecosystems, clear examples of trait-mediated indirect effects involving bird predators have almost never been documented. Such indirect effects are important for structuring ecological communities and are likely to be negatively impacted by habitat fragmentation, climate change, and other factors that reduce abundance of top predators. We demonstrate that hummingbirds in Arizona realize increased breeding success when nesting in association with hawks. An enemy-free nesting space is created when jays, an important source of mortality for hummingbird nests, alter their foraging behavior in the presence of their hawk predators.