Parides

Abstract: . The phylogeny of the butterflies Parides (Byasa) alcinous caught at various localities in Japan and the Ryukyu Islands and in the eastern part of the Eurasian Continent was analysed using mitochondrial DNA sequences coding for NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5 (778 bp). The same phylogenetic relationship among P. (B.) alcinous subspecies was obtained with all analytical methods used, and was supported by high bootstrap values. The female butterfly wing pattern that characterizes each subspecies was unrelated to the phylogenetic relationship among the subspecies. The phylogenetic trees show that one group composed of ssp. alcinous and yakushimanus, which are distributed in the main area of the Japan Archipelago, the Korean Peninsula and southern Primorski of Russia, and the other group comprised of ssp. loochooanus, bradanus and miyakoensis, all of which are distributed in the Ryukyu Islands, diverged from a common ancestor. The ssp. loochooanus distributed in Amami and Okinawa Islands then diverged, and ssp. bradanus and miyakoensis distributed in Yaeyama and the Miyako Islands, respectively, finally diverged. This divergence order nearly agrees with the palaeogeography of the Ryukyu Islands that has been established in Pliocene and Pleistocene (0.2–2 MYA), suggesting that P. (B.) alcinous has been isolated in the Ryukyu Islands since the establishment of the islands.

Abstract: The colorful wing patterns of butterflies, a prime example of biodiversity, can change dramatically within closely related species. Wing pattern diversity is specifically present among papilionid butterflies. Whether a correlation between color and the evolution of these butterflies exists so far remained unsolved. We here investigate the Cattlehearts, Parides, a small Neotropical genus of papilionid butterflies with 36 members, the wings of which are marked by distinctly colored patches. By applying various physical techniques, we investigate the coloration toolkit of the wing scales. The wing scales contain two different, wavelength-selective absorbing pigments, causing pigmentary colorations. Scale ridges with multilayered lamellae, lumen multilayers or gyroid photonic crystals in the scale lumen create structural colors that are variously combined with these pigmentary colors. The pigmentary and structural traits strongly correlate with the taxonomical distribution of Parides species. The experimental findings add crucial insight into the evolution of butterfly wing scales and show the importance of morphological parameter mapping for butterfly phylogenetics.

Abstract: Adults of Parides childrenae Gray, Parides arcas mylotes Bates, and Battus crassus lepidus Feld. were collected with pollen loads on the proboscis behind the north end of Playa Llorona in Parque Nacional Corcovado, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica, on 23 March 1978, on the trail toward estacion Corcovado. In all of the pollen loads examined from Parides and Battus, the greatest concentration of pollen was on the ventral side of the proboscis close to the head, conforming exactly to the site of those described for Heliconius (Gilbert 1972). The yellowish pollen loads stuck tightly to the proboscis and could not be blown off, and when the insects were dried, the pollen was light brown, had the consistency of pollen found on the corbicula of pinned bees, and adhered firmly to the proboscis-suggesting that nectar had been added to the pollen. Butterflies with pollen loads were observed to sit on leaves. The adhesion of the pollen load to the proboscis and the settling on leaves is reminiscent of Heliconius processing pollen, and strongly suggests that the pollen was being used as a food item by the Parides and Battus butterflies.