Blanca Huertas

Natural History Museum London · Science

Traditional anatomical analyses captured only a fraction of real phenomic information. Here, we apply deep learning to quantify total phenotypic similarity across 2468 butterfly photographs, covering 38 subspecies from the polymorphic mimicry complex of Heliconius erato and Heliconius melpomene . Euclidean phenotypic distances, calculated using a d...

Insects as a group are suffering rapid declines in many parts of the world but are also poorly studied relative to vertebrate taxa. Comprehensive assessments of insect declines must account for both detected and undetected species. We studied extirpations among butterflies, a particularly well-known insect group, in the highly developed and biologi...

The book presents, for the first time, a complete list of the 3,642 butterfly species and 2,085 subspecies found in Colombia, including details of country-level distribution for all taxa and a preliminary list of the endemic butterfly fauna. Of course, names and numbers will change with time, so the book has been published online, to allow it to be...

Colombia se consolida como uno de los países más ricos del mundo en mariposas con más 3700 especies, el equivalente al 20 % de las conocidas en el planeta. Con 500 fotografías a todo color, esta guía ilustra cada una de las casi 200 especies endémicas del país, incluyendo mapas de distribución e información sobre sus hábitats. Colombia is establis...

The diverse, largely Neotropical subtribe Euptychiina is widely regarded as one of the most taxonomically challenging groups among all butterflies. Over the last two decades, morphological and molecular studies have revealed widespread paraphyly and polyphyly among genera, and a comprehensive, robust phylogenetic hypothesis is needed to build a fir...

After 1.5 years work from the authors, the second edition of this book presents an update of the 2021 Checklist published, including a detailed list of all species and subspecies recorded in Colombia and details of country-level distribution for all taxa including the endemic butterfly fauna. The book continues published online only, to allow it to...

Aruba may not be the first destination you think of when eyeing up a Neotropical birding trip, but there are some intriguing reasons why it deserves a place on your radar.

The species-level classification of the "celia clade" of the nymphalid butterfly genus Pseudodebis Forster, 1964, is revised as part of ongoing revisionary work on this genus. The "celia clade" contains three species, of which two, Pseudodebis dar-renthroopi Nakahara & Willmott, n. sp. and P. tigrillo Nakahara & Willmott, n. sp., are described and...

A new satyrine butterfly species, Splendeuptychia tupinamba Freitas, Huertas & Rosa, sp. nov. (Nymphalidae: Satyrinae), is described. This species is found throughout a large geographical range in Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, predominantly in the Cerrado domain, with some records in neighboring Amazonia and Atlantic Forest. Morphology and molecu...

A new species of Taydebis Freitas, 2003 from south Brazil is described using comparative morphology and species distributions. Also, based on morphology, we transfer Neonympha melobosis Capronnier, 1874 (formerly placed in Paryphthimoides Forster, 1964) to Taydebis, and recognize Euptychia peculiaris Butler, 1874 as its junior synonym (syn. nov.)....

Climatic gradients frequently predict large‐scale ecogeographical patterns in animal coloration, but the underlying causes are often difficult to disentangle. We examined ecogeographical patterns of reflectance among 343 European butterfly species and isolated the role of selection for thermal benefits by comparing animal‐visible and near‐infrared...

Catasticta lycurgus is a striking endemic butterfly, restricted to high elevation habitats in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, an isolated mountain range separate from the Andes in the north of Colombia. The type, which for almost a hundred years was the only known specimen, was collected in 1878 by Frederick Simons in the vicinity of Atánquez and...

Climatic gradients frequently predict large-scale ecogeographical patterns in animal coloration, but the underlying causes are often difficult to disentangle. We examined ecogeographical patterns of reflectance among 343 European butterfly species and isolated the role of selection for thermal benefits by comparing visible and near-infrared (NIR) w...

We here transfer an euptychiine taxon hitherto placed in the polyphyletic genus Magneuptychia Forster, 1964, to Caeruleuptychia Forster, 1964. Caeruleuptychia francisca (Butler, 1870), n. comb. is reclassified based on a morphology-based maximum likelihood analysis, which is consistent with ongoing analyses of molecular data. Two putative synapomor...

Vareuptychia Forster, 1964 stat. rest. is revalidated and comprises two species, V. similis (Butler, 1867) comb. rest. and V. themis (Butler, 1867) comb. nov. Vanima Zacca, Casagrande Mielke gen. nov. is described to contain Euptychia labe Butler, 1870 (the type species), E. palladia Butler, 1867 and E. lesbia Staudinger, [1886]. The taxonomy of th...

A new genus of Euptychiina, Emeryus Zacca, Casagrande & Mielke, gen. nov., is herein described using an integrative taxonomic approach to accommodate three species previously placed in Paryphthimoides Forster, 1964: Emeryus argulus argulus (Godart, [1824]), comb. nov. (type species), Emeryus difficilis (Forster, 1964), comb. nov. and Emeryus numeri...

Erebia mani shandura was described by Tytler in 1926 from two specimens. Recent examination at the Natural History Museum collections in London shows that the syntypes do not belong to the same species. We designated here the male inspected by Tytler as the lectotype of Paralasa mani shandura. The female specimen is identified as Paralasa aliceae P...

Colombia has long been much loved by Neotropical birders. But what avian hoard might lure you to the little-known Caribbean island of Providencia?

Malaza fastuosus is a lavishly patterned skipper butterfly from a genus that has three described species, all endemic to the mainland of Madagascar. To our knowledge, M. fastuosus has not been collected for nearly 50 years. To evaluate the power of our techniques to recover DNA, we used a single foreleg of an at least 140-year-old holotype specimen...

A systematic revision of Paryphthimoides , a satyrine genus widely distributed in Central and South America, is presented based on an integrative approach. Molecular phylogeny inferred using multiple methods with nuclear (GAPDH, RpS5) and mitochondrial (COI) genes indicates that Paryphthimoides , as currently circumscribed, is polyphyletic. A new t...

We discuss certain cases of hybrids or intermediate specimens in the genus Atlapetes, some of which have been overlooked in the literature or recently reported. The incidence of hybridization in the genus is approximately double that observed in Passeriformes in general, a factor potentially relevant to the natural history and evolutionary processe...

Tarucus (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) is a group of Afro-Oriental butterflies, with the Indian Subcontinent being one of its centers of diversity with eight species. In this study, we provide a taxonomic and nomenclatural review of these species based on morphology (male genitalia) and type specimens, and designate lectotypes in the Natural History Mus...

We provide the first comprehensive taxonomic revision of the poorly known South American butterfly genus Zischkaia Forster, 1964, hitherto regarded as including three described species. A phylogenetic analysis based on DNA sequence data shows that Zischkaia is monophyletic and consists of two morphologically diagnosable clades. Morphological charac...

[Book abstract] This sumptuous volume reveals the lives of some of history's greatest explorers of the natural world, using the specimens they collected, the letters they wrote and the art they created to record their discoveries. Superb artworks and photographs spanning three centuries have been specially chosen to illustrate each essay and many...

Traditional anatomical analyses captured only a fraction of real phenomic information. Here, we apply deep learning to quantify total phenotypic similarity across 2468 butterfly photographs, covering 38 subspecies from the polymorphic mimicry complex of $\textit{Heliconius erato}$ and $\textit{Heliconius melpomene}$. Euclidean phenotypic distances,...

A new genus, Optimandes Marín, Nakahara & Willmott, n. gen., is described to contain the type species Neonympha eugenia C. Felder & R. Felder, 1867, its junior subjective synonym Euptychia phineus Butler, 1867, and its subspecies Euptychia transversa Weymer, 1911, which are transferred from the genus Euptychoides Forster, 1964. The sister species t...

We here propose a new, monotypic genus, Amiga Nakahara, Willmott & Espeland, gen. n., to harbor a common Neotropical butterfly, described as Papilio arnaca Fabricius, 1776, and hitherto placed in the genus Chloreuptychia Forster, 1964. Recent and ongoing molecular phylogenetic research has shown Chloreuptychia to be polyphyletic, with C. arnaca pro...

We present details of various interesting migratory bird records recorded on Isla Providencia (Old Providence island) in April 2018. These include apparently the first records for the island of Chimney Swift Chaetura pelagica and Antillean Nighthawk Chordeiles gundlachii and the first confirmed record of Purple Martin Progne subis. We also discuss...

We present details of various interesting migratory bird records recorded on Isla Providencia (Old Providence island) in April 2018. These include apparently the first records for the island of Chimney Swift Chaetura pelagica and Antillean Nighthawk Chordeiles gundlachii and the first confirmed record of Purple Martin Progne subis. We also discuss...

Relationships within satyrine butterflies have been notoriously difficult to resolve using both morphology and Sanger sequencing methods, and this is particularly true for the mainly Neotropical subtribe Euptychiina, which contains about 400 described species. Known larvae of Euptychiina feed on grasses and sedges, with the exception of the genus E...

Record of apparently the world's highest urban perch.

The evolution of reproductive isolation via a switch in mimetic wing coloration has become the paradigm for speciation in aposematic Heliconius butterflies. Here, we provide a counterexample to this, by documenting two cryptic species within the taxon formerly considered Heliconius demeter Staudinger, 1897. Amplified fragment length polymorphisms i...

Fieldguide with life-size photographs of 40 diurnal butterflies (and some moths) recorded in La Chocoana (Nuqui, Choco) and surroundings. To facilitate the identification of each butterfly species, a photograph of one of its wings on the upperside (left) and on the underside (right) is presented also its scientific name and current taxonomic classi...

The genus Cissia Doubleday, 1848 is revised and its monophyly is tested using Maximum Likelihood analysis based on three genes (COI, GAPDH and RpS5). A new taxonomic arrangement is proposed based on molecular and morphological evidence, and Cissia now comprises six species, C. penelope (Fabricius, 1775), C. pompilia (C. Felder & R. Felder, 1867), C...

Henry Bates, self-taught British entomologist and naturalist, spent 11 years collecting butterflies in the Amazon, where he braved all kinds of perils from wildlife, weather and disease. He spent much of his time along the river, where disease-carrying mosquitoes, caimans, snakes and piranhas would have been frequent companions. He battled flooding...

Confocal scanning microscopy is widely used in the biological sciences—from tissue protein expression to the study of fossil amber inclusions. However, it is rarely used in insect taxonomy despite its unique feature for the examination of structural detail in small samples. In this study, we use confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) to image ce...

The Natural History Museum, London (NHMUK) has embarked on an ambitious programme to digitise its collections. The first phase of this programme was to undertake a series of pilot projects to develop the workflows and infrastructure needed to support mass digitisation of very large scientific collections. This paper presents the results of one of t...

NMH Georeferencing Guidelines

iCollections Transcription Protocol

The Natural History Museum, London (NHMUK) has embarked on an ambitious programme to digitise its collections. The first phase of this programme was to undertake a series of pilot projects to develop the workflows and infrastructure needed to support mass digitisation of very large scientific collections. This paper presents the results of one of t...

NMH Georeferencing Guidelines

iCollections Transcription Protocol

A systematic review of the Neotropical butterfly genus Orophila Staudinger, 1886 based on morphological characters and geographical distribution is presented. Four species are recognized: O. campaspe (Hewitson, 1869) stat. rest., O. cardases (Hewitson, 1869), O. cecidas (Hewitson, 1869) stat. rest. and O. diotima (Hewitson, 1852). Other changes pro...

A new species of Magneuptychia Forster, 1964 (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae, Satyrinae), Magneuptychia andrei Zacca, Casagrande & Mielke sp. n., is described and illustrated from Venezuela, French Guiana, Trinidad and Tobago and northern Brazil. A comparative diagnosis between the new species and Magneuptychia ocypete (Fabricius, 1776), M. fugitiva Lama...

A distinctive new species of butterfly in the subtribe Euptychiina (Nymphalidae: Satyrinae), which is widespread throughout the upper Amazon in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, is here described. The species is provisionally placed in the genus Magneuptychia Forster, 1964, although this is likely to change as the higher level taxonomy of Euptychiina is...

Background The Natural History Museum, London (NHMUK) has embarked on an ambitious programme to digitise its collections . The first phase of this programme has been to undertake a series of pilot projects that will develop the necessary workflows and infrastructure development needed to support mass digitisation of very large scientific collection...

List of butterfly species in the NHMUK British and Irish Collections

A short study was made of a tepui in Serranía de Chiribiquete, Colombia, focusing on Lepidoptera but also some other faunal groups (Coleoptera, Aves). This was done as part of filming of the documentary Wild Colombia and feature film Colombia Magia Salvaje. 86 morphospecies of Lepidoptera were identified, including 21 butterflies. These include a f...

Insects dominate terrestrial biodiversity in terms of species numbers and biomass and are integral to ecosystem function. Yet there is a dearth of information on their conservation status and population trends - in particular at the global scale. Central to addressing biodiversity loss are appropriate policies, plans and actions at local, national...

There are innate associations between butterflies and sun, butterflies and spring and butterflies of Africa and Torben Larsen. Aside from his professional achievements and insurmountable knowledge, it is worth reflecting on Torben's person, kindness and sharp sense of humour, as this is what his colleagues will most miss here at the Natural History...

A Double-crested Cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus was observed at sea off San Andrés island, Colombia in January 2015. Various distant photographs were taken. It is discussed whether these photographs objectively allow identification for treatment as a first 'confirmed' national record. Noteworthy records on San Andrés from the same week are present...

Eryphanis zolvizora (Hewitson, 1877) is a rare Andean endemic butterfly, described from Bolivia, which has been historically classified either as a unique species, or as part of a group of three allopatric species from Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia. In this paper, the group is revised using more than 200 specimens housed in 34 European, and North a...

Lepidoptera are one of the four major insect orders. They are scale-winged insects, traditionally divided into three major assemblages: micro-moths, butterflies and macro-moths. Before discussing practical conservation of Lepidoptera, it is necessary to consider their known rates and causes of change, and whether these are representative of other i...

We compiled a large database of 58 059 point locality records for 70 species and 434 subspecies of heliconiine butterflies and used these data to test evolutionary hypotheses for their diversification. To study geographical patterns of diversity and contact zones, we mapped: (1) species richness; (2) mean molecular phylogenetic terminal branch leng...

Photographs and sound recordings demonstrate the occurrence on San Andrés island of Aratinga pertinax aeruginosa, a distinctive subspecies which naturally occurs in northern Colombia. This is the first time the subspecies aeruginosa has been recorded as introduced in the Caribbean region, with the nominate subspecies being widely introduced on othe...

In this issue of Zootaxa, Pulido et al. (2011) describe a new species of butterfly based on disjunct populations in the northern East Andes of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. The East Andes population (nominate subspecies) of this new species was previously found in Serranía de los Yariguíes, Santander, Colombia in January 2003. A photograph of a speci...

A new species of Euptychiina butterfly, Splendeuptychia mercedes n. sp. is described from the Amazonian region and Eastern Andean slopes of Peru. The morphology, distribution and conservation status of the new species are described and discussed.

A new species of Euptychiina butterfly, Splendeuptychia mercedes n. sp. is described from the Amazonian region and Eastern Andean slopes of Peru. The morphology, distribution and conservation status of the new species are described and discussed.

We present a list of bird species recorded in Serranía de los Yariguíes, an isolated spur of the East Andes in Santander department, Colombia, and the surrounding region. Details of specific record localities, elevational range and documentation are included for 583 bird species, together with a brief discussion of the avifauna of the region and me...

We present a list of bird species recorded in Serranía de los Yariguíes, an isolated spur of the East Andes in Santander department, Colombia, and the surrounding region. Details of specific record localities, elevational range and documentation are included for 583 bird species, together with a brief discussion of the avifauna of the region and me...

In this study we compared bird species inventories from ornithological collections of San Pedro de los Milagros (Antioquia) and the results of recent rapid assessment fieldwork in the municipality. San Pedro is the type locality of Atlapetes blancae, a critically endangered bird species. Of the 155 bird species recorded in the municipality was pres...

A new butterfly species Splendeuptychia ackeryi n. sp., is described from dry habitats in the Magdalena valley of Colombia. It most closely resembles the Ecuadorian east slope endemic S. toynei Willmott & Hall, 1995. Aspects of the morphology, ecology, distribution and conservation of the new species are discussed.

A new species of Euptychiina butterfly, Splendeuptychia mercedes n. sp. is described from the Amazonian region and Eastern Andean slopes of Peru. The morphology, distribution and conservation status of the new species are described and discussed.