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The article focuses on the history of butterfly and moth collecting in the United States. Topics include the history of lepidopterology, the association developed between butterfly collecting and psychopathy, and the portrayal of lepidopterology in the 1965 film "The Collector," directed by William Wyler, starring Terence Stamp and Samantha Eggar.

BACKGROUND Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is one of the major pests of maize and is in the same feeding guild as the noctuid pests Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) and Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner), recently reported in South and North America. The intraguild interactions of these species were assessed in laboratory and field conditions by determining the survival of larvae in interaction scenarios with non- Bt maize silks and ears. Moreover, a video tracking system was utilized to evaluate behavioral parameters during larval interactions in scenarios with or without food. RESULTS In intraguild interactions, S. frugiperda had greater survival (55-100%) when competing with Helicoverpa spp. in scenarios where larvae were the same instar or when they were larger (fourth versus second) than their competitor. Frequency and time in food of S. frugiperda larvae were negatively influenced by interactions. Larvae of S. frugiperda moved shorter distances (less than 183.03 cm) compared with H. zea. CONCLUSION Overall, S. frugiperda had a competitive advantage over Helicoverpa spp. This study provides significant information regarding noctuid behavior and larval survival during intraguild interactions, which may impact pest prevalence and population dynamics, thereby affecting integrated pest management and insect resistance management of these species in maize. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nun moth, Lymantria monacha L., is one of the most important defoliators of Eurasian coniferous forests. Outbreaks during 2011-2015 in the natural/planted larch, and larch-birch mixed forests of the Greater Khingan Range in Inner Mongolia, China, caused tremendous timber losses from severe defoliation and tree mortality. A series of trapping experiments were conducted in these outbreak areas to evaluate the efficacy of a synthetic species-specific pheromone lure based on the female pheromone blend of European nun moth populations. Our results clearly show that the nun moth in Inner Mongolia is highly and specifically attracted to this synthetic pheromone, with few gypsy moths ( Lymantria dispar) captured. Flight activity monitoring of L. monacha male moths using pheromone-baited Unitraps at 2 locations during the summer of 2015 indicated that the flight period started in mid-July, peaking in early August at both locations. Based on male moth captures, there was a strong diurnal rhythm of flight activity throughout the entire scotophase, peaking between 22:00 and 24:00. Unitraps and wing traps had significantly and surprisingly higher catches than the gypsy moth traps. Unitraps fastened to tree trunks 2 m above ground caught significantly more male moths than those at the ground level or at 5 m height. Male L. monacha moths can be attracted to pheromone-baited traps in open areas 150-200 m distant from the infested forest edge. Our data should allow improvement on the performance of pheromone-baited traps for monitoring or mass-trapping to combat outbreaks of this pest in northeastern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oriental armyworm, Mythimna separata Walker (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a severe pest of graminaceous crops in Asia and Australia. In this study, we investigated the impacts of Cry2Ab, cantharidin and its analogues (cantharidin-23 and cantharidin-24) on M. separata growth, hydrolytic enzymes and detoxifying enzymes. Differences in weight gain and enzyme activities among all treatments were observed. Larval and pupal weight gain and hydrolytic enzyme activities declined when larvae were treated with Cry2Ab, cantharidin and its analogues, individually or in combination. The combination of Cry2Ab and cantharidin or cantharidin-24 had a markedly adverse effect on larval weight gain. Alkaline phosphatase and acid phosphatase were inhibited, whereas glutathione S-transferase was upregulated in all treatments with sublethal doses. The maximum reduction in alkaline phosphatase activity and increase in glutathione S-transferase activity occurred after the larvae were treated with a combination of Cry2Ab and cantharidin-24 over 48 h. The results suggest that the compositions of Cry2Ab, cantharidin and cantharidin-24 have a potential use in pest management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conilepia nigricosta ( Leech 1888) is very similar to Lithosia quadra in the superficial appearance of females. We re-examined their morphologies and analyzed their DNA barcode regions to assess their taxonomic status and phylogenetic relationships with other related genera. Our morphological study confirmed the diagnostic value of the wing venation and the genital structures in both sexes. Our analyses with DNA barcodes showed sufficient genetic divergences ranging from 6.21% to 7.16% between those two species. The phylogenetic relationship using the barcoding region for the members belonging to lithosiina showed that Conilepia and Lithosia are suggested as having strong monophyly compared to other genera. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sex-peptide receptor ( SPR) acts in D rosophila females to detect male sex-peptide ( SP) and trigger changes in female behaviour. Further study on SPR and its ligand family from different taxa will not only provide insight into ligand-receptor coevolution but also facilitate finding new approaches for pest control. Our previous studies on the tobacco cutworm S podoptera litura ( Fabricius, 1775) showed that mating usually results in marked changes in female behaviour and determined that factors from male accessory gland ( MAG) secretions play a key role in such switches in females after mating. In the present study, we report the cloning of a transcript encoding a G-protein-coupled receptor from S . litura. This 3 kb transcript contains an ORF encoding a protein of 421 amino acids that shared significant amino acid identity to the SPR identified in D rosophila. Real-time PCR showed that the expression levels of the receptor in adults correlate well with the process of sexual maturation and mating rates; mating resulted in distinct sexual dimorphic differences in gene expression. Our results suggest that this gene is involved in mediating reproductive behaviour in adult moths. To test the hypothesis, we further studied the possible function of this receptor ( SplSPR) on mediating female post-mating behaviour by using RNA interference ( RNAi) and treatment with MAG secretions. RNAi reduced the expression levels of SplSPR by 65-88% and significantly prevented the effect of MAG secretions. Injection of MAG secretions causes normal virgin females to behave as though they had mated (they are sexually unreceptive and start to lay eggs), whereas SPR RNAi females fail to respond to MAG factors and continue to show virgin behaviours (lay very few eggs and copulate readily). These results support the hypothesis that the SplSPR functions in mediating female post-mating behaviour and the existence of an SP-like ligand in MAG secretions in S . litura. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Six species of sterrhine genus Idaea Treitschke are reported for the first time from Korea: Idaea roseomarginaria ( Inoue), I. paraula ( Prout), I. sugillata ( Bastelberger), I. imbecilla ( Inoue), I. kyushuensis Sato, and I. nudaria ( Christoph). To date, 23 species of Idaea have been reported from Korea. Diagnosis and descriptions of adults and photos of male and female genitalia are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Florida Museum of Natural History's McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Florida, has become one of the world's largest institutions for research on butterflies and moths, and an important research facility for insect science. The facility was constructed by combining the staff and merging the Lepidoptera holdings from the Allyn Museum of Entomology, the Florida State Collection of Arthropods and other University of Florida collections, and now includes over ten million specimens from all over the world, rivaling some of the largest Lepidoptera research collections globally. The facility includes a team of domestic and international researchers studying many areas of lepidopterology, including behavior, biodiversity, biogeography, ecology, genomics, physiology, systematics and taxonomy. In this paper, we introduce the McGuire Center, its staff, and the many research activities for researchers across entomological disciplines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]