Journal Articles: 2009 - 2000

The systematic relationships of the butterfly family Pieridae are poorly understood. Much of our current understanding is based primarily on detailed morphological observations made 50–70 years ago. However, the family and its putative four subfamilies...

Abstract. The ant-tended Australian butterfly, Jalmenus evagoras, has been a model system for studying the ecology and evolution of mutualism. A phylogeographic analysis of mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase I sequences from 242 butterflies (615 bp) and...

Phylogenetic relationships among 26 South African species in the tribe Aphnaeini (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) were inferred from DNA characters of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase I (COI), using maximum-parsimony methods. The resulting phylogenetic...

Abstract – A survey at fourteen sites in Eastern North America of populations of the carnivorous lycaenid butterfly, Feniseca tarquinius, confirmed that the sole prey item on Alnus rugosa (Betulaceae) for this species in these regions was Paraprociphilus...

Abstract – Eurybia elvina larvae produce substrate-borne vibrations by grating a cervical membrane studded with teeth against hemispherical protuberances scattered along the surface of the head.

Abstract. 1. A variety of insects prey on honeydew-producing Homoptera and many do so even in the presence of ants that tend, and endeavour to protect, these trophobionts from natural enemies. Few studies have explored the semiochemical mechanisms by...

The moth genus Nemoria (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) includes 134 described species whose larvae and adults display a considerable range of phenotypic plasticity in coloration and morphology. We reconstructed the phylogeny of 54 species of Nemoria and seven...

Background: Evolutionary genetics provides a rich theoretical framework for empirical studies of phylogeography. Investigations of intraspecific genetic variation can uncover new putative species while allowing inference into the evolutionary origin and...

The massive environmentally buffered nests of some social insects can contain millions of individuals and a wide variety of parasites, commensals and mutualists. We suggest that the ways in which these homeostatic fortress environments affect the...

Since the time of Darwin(1), evolutionary biologists have been fascinated by the spectacular adaptations to insect pollination exhibited by orchids. However, despite being the most diverse plant family on Earth(2), the Orchidaceae lack a definitive fossil...