In a rapidly changing world, a complete understanding of a butterfly species' natural history and information about each of the life stages from egg to adult is more important than ever. For many butterfly species, records on life history strategies and habitat requirements are often lacking, especially for immature stages. The salt marsh skipper (Panoquina panoquin) is one such example of an understudied species. As a specialist of salt marshes, studying these immature stages is important for understanding how this species interacts with and uses its habitat. The goal of this study was to fill in gaps in our knowledge of the natural history and habitat preferences of the salt marsh skipper. We conducted field surveys of ovipositing females in three Virginia coastal marshes (5 sites) between May and October 2021. In doing so, we characterized host plant use and oviposition microhabitat. We also tracked eggs and larvae to assess survival in relation to natal host plant. We observed the oviposition of 32 eggs, 15 of which were on Distichlis spicata and 17 on Spartina alterniflora. All life stages used S. alterniflora, including feeding by larvae, confirming this species as a novel host plant. S. alterniflora was the most abundant grass in egg plots and we found no difference between random and egg plot microhabitat. In the microhabitat analysis, we found that host plant use was largely associated with the more abundant of the two grasses in a plot. D. spicata, however, was preferred in cases of up to 26% more S. alterniflora cover relative to D. spicata. Lastly, we documented an overall successful hatching rate of 19% with equal risk of egg mortality on both host plants. While our results still indicate that the salt marsh skipper is a specialist, it has a broader range of habitat and might be able to cope with marsh decline better than previously thought.

Danaus plexippus (monarch butterfly) populations in North America east of the Rocky Mountains are in decline due to loss of habitat containing Asclepias spp. (milkweed) and blooming forbs. To support D. plexippus recovery, habitat restoration efforts use seed mixes designed to maintain a diversity of species that bloom over the breeding and migration periods. The extent to which these species are uniquely attractive to foraging D. plexippus is unclear. We conducted observational studies at areas in Iowa USA with varying densities and diversities of Asclepias spp. and floral resources to help inform conservation management practices. Forty-two blooming forb species were present across four sites (2-4-ha) in Boone and Story counties from June through September in 2020. Many of the species present are commonly found in pollinator seed mixes. The number of blooming forbs species per site varied from 12 to 24 across the four months; the minimum and maximum density of species-specific inflorescences ranged from 8.45 to 36.3 inflorescence/m². We observed D. plexippus nectaring on 27 of the 42 species across the sites. Based on total feeding events observed and the species-specific density of inflorescences, Asclepias syriaca, Asclepias verticillata, Helianthus grosseserratus, and Cirsium vulgare were favored for nectaring at each site where they were present. Additional species were favored in some, but not all, sites including Symphyotrichum pilosum, Eupatorium altissimum, Trifolium pratense, Echinacea pallida, and Verbena urticifolia. Findings suggest variation in preference may be due, in part, to site-specific and surrounding landscape features. Future studies on D. plexippus foraging behavior could address the interacting roles of habitat and landscape features, as well as species-specific flower size and shape, scent, nutrition, and nectar abundance. While forb utilization is likely influenced by site- and plant-specific features, preferred species we observed are typically included in recommended native seed mix designed to ensure blooms from June through September to support migratory and non-migratory, breeding D. plexippus.

We present the results of a study of the Lepidoptera species inhabiting the various biotic zones of the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, from the Great Central Valley to the mountain crest, in an area around an approximate transect from the city of Fresno to Mono Pass. The investigation methods included day-catching, day- and nocturnal trapping, searching and rearing of immature stages, and catch and release techniques. We identified 1092 species. Most of them represented Noctuoidea, Geometroidea, Gelechioidea, Pyraloidea, and Tortricoidea superfamilies. Most species were encountered at the base of the mountain, in the Foothill Woodland zone, indicating a low-plateau pattern of species richness for our sampled area. We found a bimodal annual species richness curve at the lower elevations (Valley Floor and Foothill Woodland) with a peak in May/June and another one in October. At higher altitudes there was only one richness peak, in July. In the Valley Floor and Foothill Woodland zones there was continuous flight activity throughout the year, while at higher altitudes this activity became gradually restricted to the warmer periods of the year. Anthropogenic changes were detected in the natural habitat at all elevations. These were most pronounced in the Valley Floor and Foothill Woodland zones, thereafter decreasing with the altitude. We found a direct relationship between the mean low temperature values in any given zone and month and the number of species flying at that time and altitude. We assessed this relationship visually, from the charts we plotted for each zone with the pertinent values. During this study, we encountered larval-host plant associations for Udea vacunalis (Pyralidae), Anoncia mosa (Cosmopterygidae), and Aristotelia sp. (Gelechiidae) for which we could not find any references in the literature as well as certain larval habits of Plebejus acmon and Agriades podarce (both Lycaenidae) that expand the awareness concerning their larval behaviors.

Polia nebulosa and Hyboma adaucta (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) were collected from nest boxes of the Siberian flying squirrel Pteromys volans orii (Mammalia: Rodentia: Sciuridae) in Obihiro, Hokkaido, Japan. This is the first record of moths collected from nests of flying squirrels (tribe Pteromyini). These two species probably used the nests of P. volans orii as overwintering sites since all the moths found were in an overwintering state when collected, both moth species do not feed on detritus, and the temperature in the nests is assumed to be higher than that of the outside.