Lepidoptera biodiversity on Isla Socorro, a small volcanic island in the Islas Revillagigedo Archipelago located off the west coast of Mexico, is poorly known. The native flora of this island was severely degraded for more than 140 years of overgrazing by introduced feral sheep. Sheep were successfully eradicated in 2012, and the habitat is now beginning to recover. The few published records of the butterfly fauna (eight species), however, were obtained more than 30 years ago, well before sheep removal. Here we provide results of a recent survey of the Lepidoptera based on collecting and observation of adult butterflies during November, 2019. We confirmed that five of the eight previously recorded species are still present, and in addition show that Pyrisitia lisa centralis (Pieridae) has now become established. We also analyzed DNA barcodes from the endemic hairstreak Strymon istapa socorroica (Lycaenidae) that support maintaining its subspecies status. Whether the three previously recorded species not seen by us have been extirpated will require more exhaustive sampling.

The previously unpublished immature stages and biology of Saturnia centralis are briefly described and illustrated and compared to related species. Taxonomy and biology of the eastern Asian species of Saturnia, traditionally treated under the generic name Eriogyna, are reviewed. Saturnia centralis is a pest in commercial walnut (Juglans) groves in Yunnan Province, China. Mature larvae usually form a communal mass of cocoons on the bark of the host tree, but sometimes spin cocoons singly. Adults of S. centralis emerge and mate prior to sunset, and a female was observed to mate twice with different males. Pupae of S. centralis and Cachosaturnia cachara are sold locally in markets in Yunnan for human consumption. Elderly people in remote villages in Yunnan were surveyed about this entomophagy.

In 1910, Dyar described Nemeris mexicola based on two males. Here I describe the female for the first time. I also document historical records of N. mexicola based on specimens in Mexico's National Insect Collection and Roberto Müller's collection.

The adult stage of Rhectosemia azapaensis new species (Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea: Crambidae: Spilomelinae: Lineodini) from the transverse valleys of the Atacama Desert of northern Chile is described and illustrated. The morphology of the male and female genitalia resembles that of R. antofagastalis , the only representative of the genus previously known from the Atacama Desert. However, the two species can be accurately separated based on wing pattern and the morphology of the juxta and fibula. Similarity between DNA barcode sequences of the two species was 93.86%. Larvae of R. azapaensis feed within fruits of the native Solanum peruvianum L. (Solanaceae) and exit the fruit for pupation. This discovery represents the first host plant record for Rhectosemia Lederer and agrees with the more widespread host plant family used by species of Lineodini.

A prepupa is a non-feeding stage that occurs between the final feeding larval instar and the pupa. It is less common in Lepidoptera because most species pass relatively directly from feeding cessation to pupation. This paper describes the occurrence of such a stage in the thyridid moth, Calindoea trifascialis (Moore). The prepupa is primarily a functional designation based on attributes associated with an extended wandering phase. The distinctness of this stage was demarcated by observed changes in the integument at the transition point to the prepupa. It was also corroborated by morphometric comparisons of length and mass with the final feeding instar. Measures of head capsule width indicated a potential stage-based departure from the Brooks-Dyar rule. The model fit changed with the number of instars assigned to the life cycle and depending on whether the prepupa was considered as a distinct instar. In the latter case the deviation was marked; but with the prepupa excluded, the growth curves still hinted at compensatory adjustments to growth increment prior to the non-feeding period. Molting was cryptic as a result of the use of leaf shelters and the consumption of exuviae after ecdysis.

Hesperia comma is a widely variable species, with a variety of subspecies separated by phenotypic variation, geographic separation, and differences in flight phenology. The subspecies in the Sierra Nevada are described here, especially at the southern end of the range, where a new subspecies, Hesperia comma greenhornensis (J. Scott) is described, and a new clinal population H. c. near-idaho X leussleri is described but not named because it is intermediate between other subspecies.

This manuscript discusses new distribution records for Hemileuca hera (Harris) in the Great Plains states of Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota. In addition to older museum records not previously mentioned in the literature, we report recently discovered populations in Nebraska and South Dakota. Also discussed are observations of life history patterns seen in the Great Plains populations of H. hera.