LepCourse+2012

=Welcome to LepCourse 2012!=

On this page you will find links to lectures, pictures, and websites from the 4th Annual Lepidoptera Course held at the Southwestern Research Station in Portal, AZ.


 * A note on email addresses: I created image files containing the addresses to prevent spam bots from scraping our addresses off of this site! This requires you to input the addresses manually into your mail clients. *
 * People appear in the order their information was received**

//__Jim Miller__//




I study moths in the //Noctuoidea//, the largest superfamily in the //Lepidoptera// (70,000 described species). My research addresses general issues in taxonomy, biodiversity, phylogeny, and historical ecology. I have focused on one noctuoid group in particular, the Neotropical //Dioptinae// (465 described species). Dioptines, a derived clade within the family //Notodontidae// or prominent moths (3,500 species worldwide), are fascinating for several reasons: First, whereas other notodontids are nocturnal and cryptic, dioptines are diurnal and brightly colored. Second, their caterpillars specialize in feeding on toxic plants such as nightshades (//Solanum//) and passionflowers (//Passiflora//). Other notodontids feed on trees such as oaks and poplar; these typically do not contain toxins. The evolutionary origin of the //Dioptinae// is thus associated with basic changes in life style – from a nocturnal to a diurnal habit, and from feeding on trees to feeding on toxic host plants. The group thus mirrors the evolution of butterflies. In a recent paper, I reclassified the genera of //Dioptinae// (Miller, 2009; Bulletin of the AMNH, No. 321) in order to provide a taxonomic context for future evolutionary and biological research on the group. I am currently involved in two projects: A study of the moth and caterpillar fauna at a site in northeastern Ecuador (http://caterpillars.unr.edu/lsacat/ecuador/index.htm); and a revision of the North American //Notodontidae//, to be published in 2013 as part of the “Moths of North America” project.

//__Bruce Walsh__//
@http://www.azleps.org @http://nitro.biosci.arizona.edu/



My interests are in the macromoth diversity of SE Arizona, and in educating future generations of lepidopterists. When not doing so, I'm a professor of statistical/population genetics at the University of Arizona.

Fun fact: my first described species, //Lithophane leeae//, is a bright pink moth namely in honor of my lovely wife of 20+ years Lee, who also happens to drive a bright pink pickup.

//__Nick Dowdy__//
@http://www.evodivo.com



I am broadly interested in many topics including: insect behavior, bioacoustics, phylogenetics, coevolution, ecology, and the application of emerging technologies to biological research. My work focuses on acoustic mimicry and aposematism in tiger moths (//Erebidae:Arctiinae//). I want to know how these defenses work in the wild against tiger moths' greatest enemies - bats. So, basically, I study a coevolutionary arms race that has been taking place between many species of moths and bats since the dinosaurs went extinct! To learn more visit [|"Research"]. I am also the manager of this wikipage, so please email me with comments, questions, or whatever!

__//Dorit Eliyahu//__


@http://sites.google.com/site/doriteliyahu/

As a chemical ecologist, I am interested to see if and how chemicals are involved in the various interactions between lycaenid caterpillars and ants. I am also interested to see if chemicals are involved in host-location of adult lycaenids. In addition, I am interested in the defensive chemicals of caterpillars, and would like to get more into that, starting with the swallowtails. I had a student during the summer who started a project on osmeteria of //Battus philenor//, and she got some interesting results that are worthy of further exploration.

__//Gary Anweiler//__


Lepidoptera interests focus on the macromoths of Alberta, Canada, and on the systematics of the New World noctuid subfamilies //Acronictinae// and //Pantheinae//. Currently working on a revision of these noctuid subfamilies with Chris Schmidt as part of the MONA (Moths of North America) series project. I have also spent countless hours curating and organizing the Lepidoptera holdings of the University of Alberta Strickland Entomological Museum, and data basing and preparing "species pages" for the University of Alberta on-line Virtual Museum project.

__//Tobin Hammer//__




I’m a doctoral student at the University of Colorado and am investigating the role symbiotic microbial flora play in the biology of //Lepidoptera//. There are a number of examples in other insect groups of native bacteria and other microorganisms having effects on host nutrition, development, coloration, trophic interactions, and mating behavior. However, comparatively little is known about the symbionts of //Lepidoptera//—a group otherwise well studied and widely appreciated. The invisible millions of microbes living in the guts and other tissues of Leps are likely to be as important to them as our own human “microbiome” is to ours. I’m also interested in using certain taxonomic groups within the //Lepidoptera// to study coevolution and biogeographic patterns in host-microbe systems. Currently I am working on a project tracking patterns of microbial transmission over the life cycle of the neotropical butterfly //Heliconius erato//.

A link to a video that documents the gushing of the creek on Aug. 17th:
[]

Collection Locations:
//SWRS, Portal, AZ (nightly):// //31.888N 109.207W// //elevation: 1630 meters//

//Above Onion Saddle (8/12/2012)// //31.9150N 109.2691W// //elevation: 2520 meters//

//Turkey Creek (8/12/2012 & 8/17/2012)// //31.909N 109.252W// //elevation 1954 meters//

//Pinely Canyon Campground (8/10/2012)// //31.934N 109.272W// //elevation: ?//

//John Hands Campground (8/13/2012)// //31.878N 109.223W// //elevation: 1720 meters//

//Paradise Road (8/14/2012)// //31.931N 109.177W// //elevation: 1592 meters//

//Paradise Cemetery (8/16/2012)// //31.932N 109.208W// //elevation: 1675 meters//

//Foothill Road// //31.956N 109.148W// //elevation: 1405 meters//

**COPYRIGHT NOTICE**
//All powerpoints are copyright// //by the corresponding author, all rights reserved. Publishing, distribution, or removing material from these talks is prohibited without explicit written consent.//

Saturday, August 11 th 2012
Lepidoptera Course students greeted with a night of sheet collecting.

Lectures:
__C. Schmidt__ - **Techniques for Collecting, Pinning, Spreading, and Labeling Macrolepidoptera**

__J. Brown__ - **Techniques for Collecting, Pinning, Spreading, and Labeling Microlepidoptera**

__D. Bowers__ - **Applied Lepidopterology** [|Applied Lepidopterology.ppt]

__B. Walsh__ - **Overview of Macrolepidoptera families**

Lectures:
__J. Miller__ - **Larval Morphology** [|Larval Morphology PPT]

__D. Bowers__ - **Lepidoptera-Plant Interactions** [|Lep-Plant PPT]

__D. Wagner__ - **Caterpillar Diversity** To be released

**Tuesday, August 14th 2012**
__J. Miller__ - **Adult Morphology** [|Adult Morphology PPT]

__J. Dombroskie__ - **Male Secondary Sexual Characters** [|Male Secondary Sexual Characters PPTX]

__R. Brown__ - **Wing Patterns** To be released

Wednesday, August 15th 2012
__D. Doussard__ - **Bioprospecting** To be released

__J. Miller__ - **Male Genitalia** No PPT

__C. Schmidt__ - **Male/Female Genitalia Dissection Techniques**

__J. Miller__ - **Female Genitalia** No PPT

Thursday, August 16th 2012
__J. Brown__ - **Microlepidoptera phylogeny and classification**

__J. Dombroskie__ - **Pyraloidea** [|Pyraloidea PPTX]

Friday, August 17th 2012
__P. Goldstein + C. Schmidt__ - **Macrolepidoptera phylogeny and classification** [|Macroheterocera PPT]

__J. Brown__ - **Butterfly Classification**

__D. Bowers__ - **Lepidoptera Predators and Parasitoids** [|Predators and Parasitoid PPT]

Saturday, August 18th 2012
__P. Goldstein__ - **Lepidoptera Conservation** [|Lepidoptera Conservation]

__J. Dombroskie__ - **Historical Lepidopterists**

__D. Bowers__ - **Lepidoptera defenses** [|Lepidoptera Defense PPT]

__P. Goldstein__ - **Phylogenetic Methods**

Sunday, August 19th 2012
__J. Miller__ - **Mimicry** [|Mimicry PPT]

__D. Bowers__ - **//Eucaterva variaria// (Geometridae)** [|Eucaterva variaria PPT]

**COPYRIGHT NOTICE**
//All powerpoints are copyright// //by the corresponding author, all rights reserved. Publishing, distribution, or removing material from these talks is prohibited without explicit written consent.// = Thanks to all the instructors!!! = AND THANKS TO ALL THE STUDENTS--YOU WERE AWESOME!!!

For more Lepidopteran Madness see:
LepCourse 2011

LepLinks