A Ordem Lepidoptera inclui as mariposas e borboletas. Estimativas sobre a diversidade dos lepidópteros em geral expressam números muito aquém da realidade. Acredita-se que, com novas ferramentas como análise molecular, uma intensificação de inventários faunísticos e revisões taxonômicas de famílias pouco estudadas, é possível que se encontre algo em torno de 500 mil espécies de Lepidoptera em todo mundo (Gaston 1991). Essa estimativa demonstra o quanto se desconhece sobre um dos principais grupos de insetos que, reconhecidamente, auxiliam na manutenção de vários ecossistemas. No Brasil, são conhecidas quase 26 mil espécies de lepidópteros, o que representa metade das espécies da região Neotropical (Heppner 1991); são estimadas entre 40 e 60 mil espécies para o país. Das 124 famílias reconhecidas por Heppner (1998), 78 ocorrem no Brasil.

In violation to the Nagoya Protocol (CBD 2011), law number 13.123/2015 does not recognize basic scientific research as a special area that should be fostered and stimulated through streamlined processes. The Nagoya Protocol recommends that parties should “[c]reate conditions to promote and encourage research which contributes to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, particularly in developing countries, including through simplified measures on access for non-commercial research purposes, taking into account the need to address a change of intent for such research” (CBD 2011, Article 8A). Likewise, article 8C stresses the importance of genetic resources for food and agriculture, and their special importance to food safety. While this last recommendation is followed by Decree 8772/2016 (chapter IV), the recommendation for facilitating non-commercial research is ignored. On the contrary, Kafkian bureaucratic restrictions were created.

Butterflies (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea) of the "Baixada Santista" region, coastal São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. A list with 538 species of butterflies recorded in the Baixada Santista, São Paulo ( SE Brazil) is presented. Standard sampling protocols (i.e. with entomological nets) were followed. Baited traps were installed for fruit feeding species. Data from the literature and entomological collections were also considered in the total estimated species richness. The species richness recorded in the Baixada Santista region represents about 16% of the Brazilian butterfly fauna, and 34% of the known butterfly fauna for the state of São Paulo. The present list contains an appreciably higher number of species in comparison to other lists from similar biomes farther south, such as Blumenau in Santa Catarina, and Maquiné in Rio Grande do Sul.Borboletas (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea e Hesperioidea) da região da Baixada Santista, litoral de São Paulo (SE Brasil). Uma lista com 538 espécies de borboletas registradas na Baixada Santista é apresentada. Foram seguidos os protocolos amostrais padronizados (i.e. redes entomológicas). Armadilhas com iscas foram instaladas para coleta de espécies frugívoras. Dados de literatura e coleções entomológicas também foram considerados nas estimativas de riqueza de espécies. A riqueza de espécies registrada na Baixada Santista representa cerca de 16% da fauna de borboletas do Brasil, e 34% da fauna de borboletas do Estado de São Paulo. A presente lista contém um número consideravelmente alto de espécies em comparação com outras listas de biomas similares mais ao sul, como Blumenau em Santa Catarina, e Maquiné no Rio Grande do Sul.FAPESPFAPESP - BIOTACNPqNational Science Foundation (NSF

Details of egg, larval, and pupal morphology are described and illustrated for Calycopis caulonia (Hewitson). In particular, larval chaetotaxy is documented for the first time in Calycopis. Lab methods for inducing wild-caught Calycopis females to lay eggs and for rearing larvae on artificial diet are reported. These methods may be useful in several ways in resolving the basic taxonomy of Calycopis. Evidence concerning detritivory and myrmecophily in C. caulonia is discussed.

Male secondary sexual characters in Lepidoptera may be present or absent in species that otherwise appear to be closely related, an observation that has led to differences of opinion over the taxonomic usefulness of these structures above the species level. An evolutionary issue raised by this debate is whether male secondary sexual characters (1) can be regained after being lost evolutionarily, (2) are not lost after being evolved, or (3) are ‘switched on and off’ by genes that regulate development. A second evolutionary issue is the conditions under which male secondary sexual characters might be lost or gained evolutionarily. Because these structures are thought to promote species recognition, theory predicts evolutionary losses to be most likely in allopatry; evolutionary gains to be most likely during the process of secondarily establishing sympatry or during sympatric speciation. We updated the species-level taxonomy of the brilliant emerald-winged Neotropical lycaenid butterfly genusArcasand performed an analysis of phylogenetic relations among species to assess these evolutionary issues. We morphologically detail a scent pouch on the ventral hindwing ofArcasand report that six species possess the pouch with androconia, one possesses the pouch without androconia, and the remaining two species have neither pouch nor androconia. In addition, eightArcasspecies have a morphologically species-specific male forewing scent pad, and one lacks a scent pad. This variation appears to be the result of three evolutionary losses and no gains of male secondary sexual organs. The fourArcasspecies lacking a scent pouch or a scent pad are allopatric with their closest phylogenetic relatives while four of five with both of these structures are sympatric. AlthoughArcasis a small genus, these results are significantly more extreme than predicted by chance. For taxonomy, this study provides a rationale for the evolutionary loss of male secondary sexual structures and suggests that their absence, but itself, does not indicate a lack of relationship above the species level.