Michael F. Braby

Australian National University | ANU · Research School of Biology (RSB)

Sarbanissa diana Sugi, 1996 (Agaristinae) is recorded from Christmas Island, Australia for the first time based on two specimens, a female collected in 1964 and a male in 2019. These records represent the first occurrence of this species, and genus, from within the political boundary of Australia.

Biodiversity is in rapid decline, but the extent of loss is not well resolved for poorly known groups. We estimate the number of extinctions for Australian non-marine invertebrates since the European colonisation of the continent. Our analyses use a range of approaches, incorporate stated uncertainties and recognise explicit caveats. We use plausib...

The well-known Richmond Birdwing butterfly, Ornithoptera richmondia (Gray, [1853]), is a junior subjective synonym of Amphrisius australis Swainson, 1851, which has not been used as a valid name after 1899. To protect the stability of the younger, but widely used name, the older and virtually unknown Amphrisius australis (i.e., the senior subjectiv...

Silkmoths (Bombycidae) have a disjunct distribution predominantly in the Southern Hemisphere and Asia. Here we reconstruct the phylogenetic history of the family to test competing hypotheses on their origin and assess how vicariance and long-distance dispersal shaped their current distribution. We sequenced up to 5,074 base pairs from six loci (COI...

The well-known Australian lycaenid butterfly, Candalides albosericea (Miskin, 1891), is a junior subjective synonym of Holochila caeruleolactea T.P. Lucas, 1891, which has not been used as a valid name after 1899. To protect the stability of the younger, but widely used name, the older and virtually unknown Holochila caeruleolactea (i.e., the senio...

New larval food plants are reported for 15 species of butterflies from Australia. Food plants include Terminalia volucris (Combretaceae) for Badamia exclamationis (Fabricius); Poa sieberiana for Atkinsia dominula dominula (Plötz), Alloteropsis semialata for Pelopidas lyelli lyelli (Rothschild), Microlaena stipoides for Argynnina cyrila Waterhouse &...

Issues relating to the fake labelling and theft of the holotypes of Pseudalmenus chlorinda barringtonensis Waterhouse, 1928 and Miletus meleagris Waterhouse, 1903 from Australia by Colin Wyatt are clarified and resolved.

New and interesting distribution records are reported for 13 species of butterflies (Hesperilla picta (Leach), Hesperilla crypsargyra crypsargyra (Meyrick), Ocybadistes flavovittatus flavovittatus (Latreille), Telicota eurychlora Lower, Eurema herla (W.S. Macleay), E. alitha novaguineensis Shriôzu & Yata, Delias nigrina (Fabricius), Hypocysta irius...

A new species of lycaenid butterfly, Paralucia crosbyi sp. nov. (Theclinae: Luciini), is described, diagnosed and illustrated from Namadgi National Park, ACT, and adjacent areas in New South Wales in the highlands of south‐eastern Australia. It is most similar to Paralucia spinifera E.D. Edwards & Common, 1978, but comparative morphology of the adu...

Taxonomy is the science of discovering, naming, describing, diagnosing, identifying, and classifying different kinds of taxa, from species to families. It lays the foundation for all of the biological sciences. The rapid increase in both taxonomic descriptions and malpractice in recent decades indicates a need for consistency in the procedure and q...

Temperature is thought to be a key factor influencing global species richness patterns. We investigate the link between temperature and diversification in the butterfly family Pieridae by combining next generation DNA sequences and published molecular data with fine-grained distribution data. We sampled nearly 600 pierid butterfly species to infer...

Lycaenid butterflies of the Ogyris idmo species group are endemic to Australia and obligatorily associated with Camponotus ants. Several species are threatened with extinction, but there are considerable uncertainties with the present classification. Here, the taxonomy of the species group is revised based on molecular and morphological data. Mitoc...

South-western Western Australia is a global biodiversity hotspot renowned for exceptional diversity of plants and animals. The evolutionary processes that have generated this high biodiversity are not always clear, particularly for invertebrates, yet the area supports a very large number of endemic species that have diversified in situ. We use an i...

Hypochrysops piceatus Kerr, Macqueen & D.P.A. Sands, 1969 is currently known from a restricted area in south-eastern Queensland, Australia and is listed as Endangered under the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992. Although it is well-known that the larvae are monophagous, feeding exclusively on the foliage of mature (old growth) trees of Alloca...

The decline of woodland birds around the world is well known. There are likely to be many causal factors acting together and interacting synergistically, such as habitat fragmentation and the invasion of exotic species. Similarly, insect declines, which likely have been occurring for some time in Australia, have been recorded around the world in re...

The butterfly genus Ogyris Angas, 1847 consists of several striking but poorly resolved complexes endemic to Australia and New Guinea, many of which have an obligate association with ants. Here, we revise the systematics of the Ogyris aenone (Waterhouse, 1902) complex through an integrative taxonomic approach based on molecular phylogenetic analysi...

A new species of skipper butterfly, Toxidia aurantia Braby, sp. nov., is illustrated, diagnosed and described from the northern Kimberley of Western Australia. A molecular phylogeny based on one mito-chondrial (COX1 barcode fragment) and four nuclear genes (EF1-a, RSB2, RSB5, Wingless) for nearly all members of Toxidia Mabille, 1891 and its sister...

Taxonomic investigations of the Eirmocides helenita (Semper, 1879) complex from north-eastern Australia and mainland New Guinea based on adult morphology (male genitalia and wing colour pattern elements), together with a phylogenetic hypothesis of the genus (18 or 69% of the recognised species) based on molecular data (1 mitochondrial and 12 nuclea...

Butterflies are a diverse and charismatic insect group that are thought to have evolved with plants and dispersed throughout the world in response to key geological events. However, these hypotheses have not been extensively tested because a comprehensive phylogenetic framework and datasets for butterfly larval hosts and global distributions are la...

Philiris diana Waterhouse & Lyell, 1914 from the Wet Tropics of northeastern Queensland was previously thought to be monotypic, being most closely related to Philiris papuanus Wind & Clench, 1947 from Cape York Peninsula, Australia, and mainland New Guinea. However, a new subspecies was recently discovered on the Atherton Tableland, which we illust...

Taxonomic review of the monotypic Australian endemic lycaenid genus Cyprotides Tite, 1963, based on comparative evidence of adult and juvenile morphology and biology, indicates that it comprises three allopatric and ecologically distinct species: C. pallescens Tite, 1963 stat. rev., C. cyprotus (Olliff, 1886) and C. maculosus sp. nov. Cyprotides cy...

Australia was predominantly tropical for most of the Early Cenozoic, then transitioned to a cooler and drier climate in the Oligocene. In response to this increasing aridity, some lineages either adapted to xeric ecosystems, contracted to increasingly fragmented mesic refugia, or went extinct. However, the lack of macroevolutionary studies at a con...

Temperature is thought to be a key variable explaining global patterns of species richness. However, to investigate this relationship carefully, it is necessary to study clades with broad geographic ranges that are comprised of species inhabiting diverse biomes with well-characterized species ranges. In the present study, we investigate the link be...

Trapezitinae skippers are restricted to Australia and New Guinea. Despite decades of taxonomic work, their systematics and phylogeny remain little understood. To resolve the composition of genera and determine their evolutionary relationships, we inferred a comprehensive multilocus molecular phylogeny of Trapezitinae. Our results recover a monophyl...

Butterflies are a diverse and charismatic insect group that are thought to have diversified via coevolution with plants and in response to dispersals following key geological events. These hypotheses have been poorly tested at the macroevolutionary scale because a comprehensive phylogenetic framework and datasets on global distributions and larval...

O. B. Lower described, in 1911, the hesperiine skipper Telicota augias mesoptis Lower, 1911, but he neither stated the number of specimens before him nor designated a holotype. Our investigations indicate that Lower had at least 11 syntypes (7 males, 4 females), which are now registered in the Australian Museum, Sydney and South Australian Museum,...

The lycaenid tribe Ogyrini Waterhouse & Lyell, 1914 is endemic to the Australian Region, where it is restricted to mainland New Guinea and Australia. It currently includes 15 species, all assigned to the genus Ogyris Angas, 1847, and most of these are endemic to Australia. One species, Ogyris meeki (Rothschild, 1900) from mainland New Guinea, has b...

The occurrence of the Southern Purple Azure butterfly Ogyris genoveva (Hewitson, 1853) near Melbourne is reviewed, based on historical records (scientific literature, museum specimens and unpublished observations) and more recent observations. Overall, the species has been recorded from a total of 10 sites representing two discrete populations or m...

Deciduous Beech (Fagus spp.) forests have a highly disjunct distribution in the Northern Hemisphere, with greatest diversity in eastern Asia. Although Fagus supports a rich phytophagous insect fauna, the diversity, composition, and host specialization of insects associated with these trees in Asia are less well known compared with Europe and North...

Although changes, particularly declines, in Australian terrestrial insects and other invertebrates have long been suspected and well‐documented for some species, the magnitude, rate and spatial extent of decline remain unclear. Here we use a combination of alternative, qualitative approaches (expert opinion, historical records and temporal replicat...

Conservation biology is a field of science that is heavily biased against insects and allied invertebrates, largely due to a data deficiency feedback loop that maintains a cycle of ignorance and inaction. Because many invertebrate groups are, and remain, extremely data poor, it is frequently difficult to conduct even the most basic conservation act...

The diversity and abundance of native invertebrates is declining globally, which could have significant consequences for ecosystem functioning. Declines are likely to be at least as severe as those observed for vertebrates, although often are difficult to quantify due to a lack of historic baseline data and limited monitoring effort. The Lepidopter...

In this special issue of Austral Entomology, we draw together a collection of nine papers, most of which were presented at a joint scientific conference hosted by the Australian Entomological Society, the Society of Australian Systematic Biologists and the Australasian Arachnological Society in Brisbane in December 2019 for a symposium entitled ‘Po...

Appendix S1. The Eltham Copper, Paralucia pyrodiscus. Table S1. Species of butterflies recorded in the scientific literature from the Eltham district. Table S2. Species of butterflies recorded from the regional scale – wider Eltham region (5.6 km radius of Phillips Estate) – over the 80-year period, 1941–2020. Table S3. Species of butterflies rec...

An annotated list of native larval food plants (131 species) of butterflies and diurnal moths (92 species) is provided for the Darwin region. We also collate information on the broad habitat, life form, plant part eaten, and method of cultivation for each species of food plant. Mistletoes, shrubs, herbs and grasses are predominately used in savanna...

The lycaenid butterfly Erina gilesi (Williams & Bollam, 2001) is endemic to southwestern Western Australia where it is a host specialist of the vine Cassytha racemosa (Lauraceae). We describe, illustrate and compare the immature stages of E. gilesi from two sites south of Perth with other members of the genus. We also illustrate and document variat...

Aim The Tawny Coster Acraea terpsicore is a highly mobile butterfly that has recently expanded its spatial distribution from South Asia to South‐East Asia and Australia. Here, we determine if the realized climatic niche has changed during the expansion and analyse the geographic pattern of spread in Australia. Location Asia and Australia. Metho...

Papilio harpalyce Donovan, 1805 from Australia is a junior primary homonym of Papilio harpalyce Cramer, 1777 from Africa and, under most circumstances, cannot be used to designate the pierid butterfly currently known as Delias harpalyce (Donovan, 1805). The oldest available name for the Australian species is Papilio lewini Thon, 1827. Under Article...

The genus Epsteinius Lin, Braby & Hsu gen. nov. is established to accommodate a new, diminutive species of limacodid moth, E. translucidus Lin, sp. nov., from central Taiwan. Although the new species is the sister taxon to Microleon Butler, 1885 according to molecular phylogenetic data, it differs fundamentally from that genus in adult morphology,...

The butterfly tribe Candalidini is geographically restricted to Australia and mainland New Guinea and its adjacent islands. With 60 species and subspecies, it represents a large radiation of Papilionoidea in the Australian region. Although the species‐level taxonomy is relatively well understood, the number of genera is uncertain, varying from two...

The Australian endemic castniid tribe Synemonini represents a substantial radiation of diurnal Lepidoptera, especially in the southern temperate areas of the continent. The tropical areas of northern Australia support considerably fewer species, however, much of the fauna is presently undescribed. Here we diagnose, describe and illustrate a new cas...

Patterns of species richness and endemism were analyzed for 154 resident/breeding diurnal Lepidoptera in 153 grid cells (100 km×100 km) based on a recently published set of spatial distribution maps (range-map and atlas data) in the western and central Australian Monsoon Tropics biome of northern Australia (~1.2 million km2). Biodiversity hotspots...

Neohesperilla xiphiphora (Lower, 1911) is recorded from Western Australia for the first time in the northern Kimberley. A male was collected from the mainland east of Middle Osborne Island in February 2019, extending the known geographic range approximately 500 km west of the ‘Top End’ (Daly River, NT). This new location, together with previous rec...

As we reflect on the 19th and 20th centuries as the ages of scientific exploration and discovery, the 21st century will probably go down in history as the age of extinction with the realisation that the sixth mass extinction event, and probably a new geological Epoch – the Anthropocene, is well and truly upon us. During the past two centuries, cons...

Abstract Larvae of the cosmopolitan family Limacodidae, commonly known as “slug” caterpillars, are well known because of the widespread occurrence of spines with urticating properties, a morpho‐chemical adaptive trait that has been demonstrated to protect the larvae from natural enemies. However, while most species are armed with rows of spines (“n...

There is a pressing need to develop simplified sampling protocols that allow invertebrates to be routinely incorporated into terrestrial faunal surveys for informing conservation planning. This study assesses the usefulness of sampling invertebrate by-catch from standard vertebrate bucket pitfall traps for documenting spatial patterns of terrestria...

The Australian endemic lycaenid Pseudalmenus H.H. Druce, 1902 occupies a unique phylogenetic position within the Theclinae–Polyommatinae assemblage. Although the genus exhibits complex geographic variation, it has long been considered to be monotypic. However, evidence from adult phenotype (colour pattern), immature stages (final instar larva) and...

The life history, morphology, and biology of the immature stages and phylogenetic relationships of Rotunda rotundapex (Miyata & Kishida, 1990) are described and illustrated for the first time. The species is univoltine: eggs hatch in spring (March or April) and the life cycle from egg to adult is completed in about 3 wk, with larvae developing rapi...

The correct botanical nomenclature for the larval food plant of Hypochrysops cyane (Waterhouse & Lyell, 1914) in the Millmerran-Leyburn district of southeastern Queensland, previously known under the name Angophora costata (Gaertn.) Britten, is Angophora leiocarpa (L.A.S. Johnson ex G.J. Leach) K.R. Thiele & Ladiges.

The lycaenid butterfly Anthene seltuttus affinis (Waterhouse & R.E. Turner, 1905) is newly recorded breeding at Gladstone, Qld, extending the southern geographical (latitudinal) range of the species by approximately 90 km SE of Rockhampton. Larvae were recorded feeding on the foliage of Cupaniopsis anacardioides (A. Rich.) Radlk. (Sapindaceae) and...

Northern Australia is a vast region that includes the Kimberley of northern Western Australia, the ‘Top End’ of the north of the Northern Territory, the ‘Gulf Country’ of central-eastern Northern Territory and western Queensland, and Cape York Peninsula of northern Queensland. Collectively, these areas make up the Australian Monsoon Tropics biome,...

Like many journals that publish taxonomic papers involving nomenclatural acts (i.e. new scientific names and type designations) or taxonomic opinions (e.g. synonymies, revised status, and new combinations), Austral Entomology and its predecessor Australian Journal of Entomology moved to online publishing some years ago. In the case of Austral Entom...

Neolucia hobartensis albolineata ssp. nov. is illustrated, diagnosed, described and compared with the nominate subspecies N. hobartensis hobartensis (Miskin, 1890) from Tasmania and N. hobartensis monticola Waterhouse & Lyell, 1914 from northern New South Wales, Australia. The new subspecies is restricted to montane areas (mainly >1000 m) in subalp...

Acacia irrorata ssp. irrorata Sieber ex Spreng. and Acacia binervata DC. (Fabaceae) are newly recorded as larval food plants in New South Wales for Pseudalmenus chlorinda barringtonensis Waterhouse, 1928 and P. chlorinda chloris Waterhouse & Lyell, 1914, respectively. Attention is drawn to the ecology of the larval attendant ant Anonychomyrma bicon...

The origins, evolutionary history and diversification of the Australian butterfly fauna are poorly known and uncertain. Two competing hypotheses have been proposed to explain the occurrence of butterflies on this isolated continental landmass. The common view is that all Australian butterflies entered the continent relatively recently from the nort...

Despite progress in recent decades, the conservation management of insects and allied invertebrates in Australia is challenging and remains a formidable task against a background of poor taxonomic and biological knowledge, limited resources (funds and scientific expertise) and a relatively low level of community engagement, education and awareness....

Invertebrates make up about 80% of all species, yet they rarely attract conservation attention compared to the more ‘charismatic’ vertebrates such as birds and mammals. Threatened species conservation, a field of conservation biology in which individual species are targeted for protection and conservation management, complements the landscape appro...

Despite progress in recent decades, the conservation management of insects and allied invertebrates in Australia is challenging and remains a formidable task against a background of poor taxonomic and biological knowledge, limited resources (funds and scientific expertise) and a relatively low level of community engagement, education and awareness....

Despite progress in recent decades, the conservation management of insects and allied invertebrates in Australia is challenging and remains a formidable task against a background of poor taxonomic and biological knowledge, limited resources (funds and scientific expertise) and a relatively low level of community engagement, education and awareness....

Candalides geminus gagadju ssp. nov. from the 'Top End' of the Northern Territory is described, illustrated and compared with the nominate subspecies C. geminus geminus Edwards & Kerr, 1978 and C. erinus (Fabricius, 1775). It differs from C. geminus geminus by four fixed phenotypic character states, but not in genitalic morphology nor in morphology...

Invertebrates possibly make up about 80% of all species, yet they rarely attract conservation attention compared to the more ‘charismatic’ vertebrates such as birds and mammals. There are several reasons why insects and allied organisms fare so poorly in the biodiversity conservation arena (Yen & Butcher 1997; New 2009; Cardoso et al. 2011b). First...

The Princess Flash, Deudorix smilis dalyensis (Le Souëf & Tindale, 1970), is a spectacular lycaenid butterfly endemic to the ‘Top End’ of the Northern Territory of northern Australia. In this article, I summarise available information on its geographical distribution, habitat, larval food plant (Strychnos lucida) specialisation, life cycle, seasona...

In the first issue of Volume 47 of the Australian Journal of Entomology published in 2008, Professor Roger Kitching initiated a new section in the journal that was entitled ‘Overview’ (Matthiessen and Kitching 2008). It was intended that the Overview be an invited article that is a broadly appealing and informative contribution to entomology. The O...

The Spinifex Sand-skipper (Proeidosa polysema) (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) is recorded from two sites near Noonamah-Berry Springs, approximately 28 km southeast of Darwin. The species is recorded breeding on the grass Triodia bitextura (Poaceae) growing in eucalypt open-woodland in sandy soil derived from laterite. The butterfly had not been recorde...

An overview of the biodiversity of Australian butterflies is presented based on patterns of composition, species richness, biogeography, endemism and faunal elements. By world standards, the Australian butterfly fauna is depauperate, being composed predominantly of three families (86% of all species) with many widely-distributed lineages absent (e....

New records of butterfly migration in the 'Top End' of the Northern Territory concerning six species, viz: Papilio demoleus Linnaeus, 1758 (Papilionidae), Badamia exclamationis (Fabricius, 1775) (Hesperiidae), Catopsilia scylla (Linnaeus, 1763), Eurema hecabe (Linnaeus, 1758), Belenois java (Linnaeus, 1768) (Pieridae) and Junonia hedonia (Linnaeus,...

Sri Lanka is a small tropical island country, with a landmass area of approximately 65 000km2, located near the southern tip of India just north of the equator in the oriental zoogeographical region. Like most islands, its biota is of considerable biogeographic, evolutionary and conservation interest. Sri Lanka sits on the Indian tectonic plate, an...

Biosystematics and conservation biology are critical scientific disciplines that underpin the management of biological diversity. This is because biosystematics provides two basic elements that are fundamental to conservation management: the circumscription of species and the spatial distribution of species. These elements in turn allow conservatio...

This paper documents 103 Lepidoptera-plant associations for eight families of butterflies/diurnal moths (Castniidae, Immidae, Hesperiidae, Papilionidae, Pieridae, Nymphalidae, Lycaenidae and Noctuidae (Agaristinae)) from the ‘Top End’, central Australia and Kimberley, of which 86 associations are newly recorded for Australia and 17 are newly record...

A female Danaus chrysippus cratippus (C. Felder) is recorded from the Darwin suburb of Wanguri, Northern Territory, on 13 April 2015. This record represents only the third location for the species within Australian limits, the two others being the Black Point and Smith Point areas of Cobourg Peninsula, Northern Territory, and Thursday Island in Tor...