Affinities, diagnoses, and descriptions are provided for two new species of Plusiotis: P. spectabilis from an unknown locality in Central America and P. dianae from Veracruz state in Mexico. Plusiotis spectabilis is described from a single female and is the largest species in the genus (41 mm in length). THAT GLPITERS IS NOT GOLD. Common Proverb l ntroduction The recent treatment of the genus P...

Past studies that explored the evolutionary arms race between toxic Crotalaria plants and their herbivores have mostly focused on chemical co-evolution. In this highly speciose genus of plants, we hypothesize that other defenses, such as mechanical protection of the seeds, which are exploited by specialist herbivores for their nutrients and alkaloids, have also been evolving, together with the ...

Sequestration of chemical defenses from host plants is a strategy widely used by herbivorous insects to avoid predation. Larvae of the arctiine moth Utetheisa ornatrix feeding on unripe seeds and leaves of many species of Crotalaria (Leguminosae) sequester N-oxides of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) from these host plants, and transfer them to adults through the pupal stage. PAs confer protection...