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Ants use cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) as chemical cues for recognition, which are exploited by myrmecophiles to usufruct the benefits of the social habit. We aimed to identify the functional role of CHCs of two riodinid caterpillar species that obligately associate with different multitrophic ant-plant symbioses. Experiments of ant acceptance of caterpillars showed the concerted action of larval-ant-organs that produce liquid rewards (tentacle nectary organs, TNOs) and luring signals (anterior tentacle organs, ATOs) was key to ant appeasement and larval survival. Experiments changing the symbiosis were often lethal for the caterpillars, mainly after emptying the secretions of their TNOs and their ATOs were never activated. Chemical profiles of caterpillars were insignificant. Field bioassays with chemically insignificant palatable insect prey attracted fewer ants, indicating that insignificant cues may reduce the probability of ant attacks. Thus, caterpillars control the emission of signals of ant-organs during symbiosis, whereas the cues of CHCs are silenced. It is possible that a trade-off exists between signals under control and non-controlled cues. Chemical insignificance may allow for a crucial period for caterpillars to make tactical decisions to appease aggressive ants and could be extended to other communication channels according to the sensorial universe of the receiver.

[Aim] Biogeographically puzzling taxa represent an opportunity to understand the processes that have shaped current species distributions. The systematic placement and biogeographical history of Elkalyce cogina, a small lycaenid butterfly endemic to Brazil and neighbouring Argentina, are long-standing puzzles. We use molecular tools and novel biogeographical and life history data to clarify the taxonomy and distribution of this butterfly., [Location] South America, with emphasis on the Atlantic Rain Forest and Cerrado biomes (Brazil and Argentina)., [Methods] We gathered a data set of 71 Polyommatini (Lycaenidae) samples, including representatives of all described subtribes and/or sections. Among these, we contributed new sequences for E. cogina and four additional relevant taxa in the target subtribes Everina, Lycaenopsina and Polyommatina. We inferred a molecular phylogeny based on three mitochondrial genes and four nuclear markers to assess the systematic position and time of divergence of E. cogina. Ancestral geographical ranges were estimated with the R package BioGeoBEARS. To investigate heterogeneity in clade diversification rates, we used Bayesian analysis of macroevolutionary mixtures (bamm)., [Results] Our results confirm the hypothesis that E. cogina belongs to the subtribe Everina and not Lycaenopsina, but unexpectedly recovered it as the sister group to the rest of Everina, with an estimated divergence time of approximately 10 Ma. Ancestral geographical range reconstruction points to an old colonization from Asia, the centre of diversity for the Everina, to the New World. The Neotropical Polyommatina lineage diversified to produce almost 100 species in multiple genera, whereas the E. cogina lineage did not diversify at all. Such lack of diversification is unique among the seven Everina/Polyommatina lineages that colonized the New World. We also show that the larvae of E. cogina feed on Fabaceae, supporting the identification of this host-plant family as the ancestral state for the whole group., [Main conclusions] The age and biogeographical reconstruction of the Elkalyce lineage are similar to those of the Neotropical lineage of Polyommatina and suggest that both travelled via the route proposed by Vladimir Nabokov (Asia-Beringia-North America-South America). This coincidence suggests that the climatic conditions at c. 10 Ma favoured dispersal from Asia to the Neotropics and that later events may have erased traces of these butterfly lineages in North America., Funding was provided by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (project CGL2013-48277-P). G.T. is supported by the grant BP-A00275 (AGAUR-Generalitat de Catalunya), Marie Curie Actions FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IOF (project 622716) and the grant 1.50.1617.2013 at Saint Petersburg State University; L.A.K. was supported by CAPES (3200-14-0); A.V.L.F. thanks ICMBio for research permits (SISBIO no. 10802-5), CNPq (fellowship 302585/2011-7 and grant 564954/2010-1), RedeLep-SISBIOTA-Brasil/CNPq (563332/2010-7), the National Science Foundation (DEB-1256742), BR-BoL (MCT/CNPq/FNDCT 50/2010) and FAPESP (grant 2012/50260-6 and BIOTA-FAPESP Programs 2011/50225-3 and 2013/50297-0).

LAK was supported by FAPESP (10/51340-8), CNPq (163119/2013-9) and CAPES (3200-14-0). CAI thanks FAPESP (2011/08433-8). AVLF was supported by CNPq (fellowship 302585/2011-7) and the National Science Foundation (DEB-1256742). This publication is part of the RedeLep ‘Rede Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservacao de Lepidopteros’ SISBIOTA-Brasil/CNPq (563332/2010-7) of the BIOTA-FAPESP Program (11/50225-3), and of the collaborative grant ‘Dimensions US-BIOTA Sao Paulo: A multidisciplinary framework for biodiversity prediction in the Brazilian Atlantic forest hotspot’, US NSF, NASA and FAPESP (grant 2013/50297-0).

The nymphalid Paulogramma hydarnis (Godart) (n. comb., previously in the genus Callicore) is an endangered butterfly present in a few montane sites in the Atlantic Forest in the Southeastern Brazil. The precise systematic position of P. hydarnis was previously unknown. Based on molecular data, we find that it is sister to Paulogramma pygas (Godart) (n. comb., also previously in Callicore), a common and widespread species in the Neotropics. In addition, we find that Callicore is not monophyletic and that "Callicore" hydarnis (along with other species) is more related to the genus Paulogramma, and should thus be placed in that genus. The genus Paulogramma is now composed by the following species: Paulogramma pyracmon (Godart), Paulogramma eunomia (Hewitson) n. comb., Paulogramma hydarnis (Godart) n. comb., Paulogramma hystaspes (Fabricius) n. comb., Paulogramma pygas (Godart) n. comb., and Paulogramma tolima (Hewitson, 1852) n. comb. Museum specimens and field data report P. hydarnis in four sites in Southeastern Brazil. Recently, P. hydarnis was recorded for the first time at Parque Nacional do Caparaó, states of Espírito Santo and Minas Gerais, expanding its distribution about 200 km northward of the previously known limit. Although regularly recorded in some sites, most records are historic, before the 1960s, and the current conservation situation of this species is delicate, deserving attention.

The pierid Charonias theano (Boisduval), an endangered butterfly species, has been rarely observed in nature, and has not been recorded in the state of São Paulo in the last 50 years despite numerous efforts to locate extant colonies. Based on museum specimens and personal information, C. theano was known from 26 sites in southeastern and southern Brazil. Recently, an apparently viable population was recorded in a new locality, at Serra do Japi, Jundiaí, São Paulo, with several individuals observed during two weeks in April, 2011. The existence of this population at Serra do Japi is an important finding, since this site represents one of the few large forested protected areas where the species could potentially persist not only in the state of São Paulo, but within its entire historical distribution.

[EN] Documenting how diversity patterns vary at fine- and broad scales may help answer many questions in theoretical and applied ecology. However, studies tend to compare diversity patterns at the same scale and within the same taxonomic group, which limits the applicability and generality of the results. Here, we have investigated whether vegetation-dwelling arthropods from different trophic ranks and with distinct life histories (i.e., ants, caterpillars, cockroaches, and spiders) have different beta-diversity patterns at multiple scales. Specifically, we compared their beta diversity across architecturally distinct plant species (fine-scale process) and a latitudinal gradient of sites (broad-scale process) along 2040 km of coastal restinga vegetation in the Neotropics. Over 50 percent of the compositional changes (β-diversity) in ants, caterpillars, and spiders and 41 percent of those in cockroaches were explained by plant identity within each site. Even groups that do not feed on plant tissues, such as omnivores and predators, were strongly affected by plant identity. Fine-scale variation was more important than large-scale processes for all studied groups. Performing a cross-scale comparison of diversity patterns of groups with distinct life histories helps elucidate how processes that act at regional scales, such as dispersal, interact with local processes to assemble arthropod communities., [PT] Entender como os padrões de diversidade variam em escalas finas e amplas pode responder muitas questões em ecologia aplicada e teórica. Porém, muitos estudos comparam padrões de diversidade na mesma escala e dentro do mesmo grupo taxonômico, o que limita a aplicabilidade e generalização dos resultados. Nós investigamos se múltiplos artrópodes que vivem na vegetação e que pertencem a diferentes ordens tróficas e com história de vida distinta (i.e., aranhas, baratas, formigas, e lagartas) apresentam padrões de diversidade beta diferentes em múltiplas escalas. Especificamente, comparamos a diversidade beta entre espécies de plantas com arquiteturas distintas (um processo de escala fina) e localidades diferentes ao longo do gradiente latitudinal (um processo de escala ampla) ao longo de 2.040 km em vegetação costeira de restinga na região Neotropical. Observamos que mais de 50% das mudanças na composição de espécies (diversidade beta) de formigas, lagartas e aranhas, e 41% de baratas foram explicados por diferenças na identidade das plantas em uma mesma localidade. Demonstramos que mesmo grupos que não se alimentam de tecidos vegetais, tais como onívoros e predadores, são fortemente afetados pela identidade da planta. A variação em escala fina foi mais importante que processos em escala ampla para todos os grupos estudados. Sugerimos que, ao desenvolver comparações dos padrões de diversidade entre diferentes escalas com grupos de ordens tróficas distintas, podemos compreender como os processos que atuam em escalas regionais, tais como dispersão, interagem com processos locais para organizar comunidades de artrópodes., This manuscript is part of TG.-S.' PhD thesis developed at the Graduate Program in Animal Biology (Universidade Estadual Paulista UNESP, São José do Rio Preto, Brazil). This study was supported by a doctoral fellowship from FAPESP to TG-S and by FAPESP and CNPq research grants to G.Q.R. L.A.K. was supported by CAPES (3200-14-0), and E.P.B. thanks FAPESP (12/03750-8) for a fellowship. AJS was financially supported by CNPq (proc. 308072/2012-0 and 475179/2012-9), FAPEMIG (PPM-00335-13) and Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia dos Hymenoptera Parasitóides da Região Sudeste Brasileira (http:/www.hympar.ufscar.br/).

We provide the first information on the morphology of the immature stages (egg, larva, and pupa), oviposition and larval behavior, and host plant, for the Brazilian crescent butterfly Ortilia liriope (Cramer), based on material from Santarem Municipality, Para State, Northern Brazil. Females of O. liriope lay eggs in clusters. After hatching, larvae eat the exochorion and remain gregarious in all but the final instar. The host plant recorded in the study site is Justicia sp. (Acanthaceae). Despite the scarcity of data on the immature stages of Neotropical Melitaeini, we can already say that some morphological and behavioral traits observed in the immature stages of O. liriope are also present in all known genera in this tribe.