Pronophilina

Traditionally the name Pronophilini (or Pronophilidi) was used to describe a tribe of Neotropical satyrines,^[1][2] but modern arrangement place them as a subtribe within the tribe Satyrini of the Satyrinae.^[3] The number of genera included in Pronophilina is disputed, since some genera were formally transferred to the subtribes Erebiina and Hypocystinas,^{[4] [5]} but some authors reject this arrangement.^[6]

Morphological analysis indicates there is a distinct core group of Pronophilina sensu stricto, and one or two additional groups (Neotropical Erebiina and Hypocystina in their original designation),^[4] but molecular analysis suggest they are each other's sister taxa and form a monophyletic group.^[7]

By the time Reuter proposed Pronophilidi as a formal tribe, there were some 230 described species.^[4] That number rose to 300 species by 1907, and 370 by 1970, primarily due to the work on museum and collection specimens by (in chronological order) William Chapman Hewitson, Cajetan Freiherr von Felder & Rudolf Felder, Arthur Gardiner Butler, Otto Staudinger, Theodor Otto Thieme and Gustav Weymer.^[3] More detailed field studies in the northern Andes by Adams and Bernard during the 1970s and 1980s resulted in many new taxa descriptions and a better understanding of their distribution and ecology and lead to an increased interest in this group after the 1990s. More than 100 species have been described since 1970, mostly due to contribution from A. L. Viloria, T. W. Pyrcz and G. Lamas,^[3] and it is estimated that the number of known taxa (including several yet unpublished species and subspecies descriptions) has nearly doubled in that period. ^[8][9]

The subtribe Pronophilina can be separated from other American satyrines by the following three external morphological synapomorphies: eyes always densely hairy; hindwing cross vein m1-m2 always curved or angled basally into the discal cell; maximum length of hindwing discal cell equal to or longer than half the total maximum length of the hindwing (excluding tails).^[4] These characters separate the Pronophilina sensu stricto from other Neotropical montane satyrids previously included in the group. This arrangement has been adopted by Lamas,^[3] but phylogenetic analysis based on molecular data suggests a larger, more inclusive delimitation of Pronophilina is needed.

The background color of most species is dominated by brown, dark gray or black, with few and slight distinctive features in the wings, but some species show colorful variations between white, yellow, orange, red and iridescent blue.^[4]

The life cycle of pronophiline butterflies has been scarcely documented. Schultze^[10] described incomplete life histories for Pedaliodes phoenissa (Hewitson), Lymanopoda samius Westwood and Junea doraete (Hewitson). Other authors have observed oviposition on Chusquea (Poaceae) or other woody bamboos,^[11][12] or loosely over grass dominated vegetation.^[13] Early stages of several species found in Costa Rica were published by DeVries.^[14] Recently, life cycle description have been documented for Parapedaliodes parepa (Hewitson) in Ecuador,^[15] Pedaliodes zingara Viloria & Heredia in Colombia,^[16] Pedaliodes poesia (Hewitson) and Corades medeba Doubleday in Ecuador,^[17][18] and Daedalma dinias emma Pyrcz & Greeney and Daedalma rubroreducta Pyrcz & Willmott.^[8]

All reported host plants are in the family Poaceae, with the genus Chusquea featuring prominently, and a few records in Cynodon, Saccharum, Bambusa, Guada, Rhipidocladum, Merostachys and Zea, among others.^[4][19][20]

Parasitoids in the early stages of pronophiline butterflies have not been properly documented, although they might be locally important.^[4] Incidence of ectoparasitic Diptera (probably Ceratopogonidae) have been documented for seven species of the genera Corades, Lasiophila, Lymanopoda, Mygona and Pedaliodes.^[21]

There are 18 documented examples of convergent coloration patterns between coexisting pairs of pronophiline species from different genera (three examples), between pronophiline species and other satyrines (eight examples), and between pronophiline species and other butterflies or skippers (seven examples).^[4] Most examples involve species of Lymanopoda or Eretris. Some of these observations have been described as mimetic relationships, but the degree of resemblance is not so accurate as in other mimetic butterfly groups, there is no direct evidence of unpalatability of pronophiline butterflies, and no clear understanding of the ecological consequences of such resemblance.^[4]