butterflies of the inani reserve forest were studied between may 2014 and may 2015. one hundred twenty five species of butterflies belonging to 84 genera and six families (hesperiidae, papilionidae, pieridae, lycaenidae, riodinidae and nymphalidae) were recorded during this study. the highest number of species comprised family nymphalidae (38 species, 30.4%) followed by lycaenidae (35 species, ...

Here we examine the ability of butterflies to learn colour cues in two different behavioural contexts, nectar foraging and oviposition, more or less simultaneously. We first trained female Battus philenor (Papilionidae) butterflies to associate a given colour with the presence of host plant leaf extract and assayed their colour preference; we then trained a subset of these butterflies to associ...

A newly developed flight simulator allows monarch butterflies to fly actively for up to several hours in any horizontal direction while their fall migratory flight direction can be continuously recorded. From these data, long segments of virtual flight paths of tethered, flying, migratory monarch butterflies were reconstructed, and by advancing or retarding the butterflies' circadian clocks, we...

To elucidate the purpose of butterfly puddling, we measured the amounts of Na+, K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ that were absorbed or excreted during puddling by male Japanese Papilio butterflies through a urine test. All of the butterflies that sipped water with a Na+ concentration of 13 mM absorbed Na+ and excreted K+, although certain butterflies that sipped solutions with high concentrations of Na+ excr...

Butterflies of the neotropical Genus Heliconius feed on pollen. This is the first known instance in butterflies of a habit that is well known for other insects. The butterflies remove amino acids and proteins from pollen; this feeding innovation plays a role in the reproductive and population biology of these insects. It is suggested that other animals may use pollen in a similar fashion.

To establish the indices evaluating the ecological conditions of forests in Bangladesh, total number of butterflies counted in 5 observation sites reached 27,805 (76 species, 10 families). Number of butterflies (IND) and species showed bimodal pattern of seasonal fluctuations peaked in April and November-toDecember. The values of I(R5) also showed bimodal seasonal fluctuations peaked in January...

Bates hypothesized that some butterfly species that are palatable gain protection firom prédation by appearing similar to distasteful butterflies. When undisturbed, distasteñil butterflies fly slowly and in a straight line, and palatable Batesian mimics also adopt this nonchalant behaviour. When seized by predators, distasteñil butterflies are defended by toxic or nauseous chemicals. Lacking ch...

Bates hypothesized that some butterfly species that are palatable gain protection from predation by appearing similar to distasteful butterflies. When undisturbed, distasteful butterflies fly slowly and in a straight line, and palatable Batesian mimics also adopt this nonchalant behaviour. When seized by predators, distasteful butterflies are defended by toxic or nauseous chemicals. Lacking che...

1. Like other checkerspots, Euphydryas gillettii butterflies may contain the defensive chemicals, iridoid glycosides, which are sequestered from their hostplants during larval feeding. 2. We analysed the iridoid glycoside content of E.gillettii adults from two different populations, Warm Lake, Idaho, and Granite Creek, Wyoming, that have different patterns of hostplant use. 3. Gas chromatograph...

Rearing environment can have an impact on adult behavior, but it is less clear how rearing environment influences adult behavior plasticity. Here we explore the effect of rearing temperature on adult mating behavior plasticity in the butterfly Bicyclus anynana, a species that has evolved two seasonal forms in response to seasonal changes in temperature. These seasonal forms differ in both morph...