Pronophilina

Pronophilina is a Neotropical subtribe of butterflies of the subfamily Satyrinae. They are a species-rich group with highest diversity in the tropical and subtropical mountains, especially the Andes. Before 1970, they were poorly studied, but recent interest has resulted in high rates of species description from previously unexplored mountain ranges. However, there is still a lack of knowledge on their biology and ecology. Their relationship to other groups of Satyrine butterflies and their complex patterns of speciation within and among mountain ranges have led to several biogeographic discussions. Traditionally the name Pronophilini (or Pronophilidi) was used to describe a tribe of Neotropical satyrines, but modern arrangement place them as a subtribe within the Satyrini tribe of the Satyrinae. The number of genera included in Pronophilina is disputed, since some genera were formally transferred to the Erebiina and Hypocystina subtribes,but some authors reject this arrangement. 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), but molecular analysis suggest they are each other's sister taxa and form a monophyletic group. By the time Reuter proposed Pronophilidi as a formal tribe, there were some 230 described species. 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. 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from A.L. Viloria, T.W. Pyrcz and G. Lamas, and it is estimated that the number of known taxa (including several yet unpublished species and subspecies descriptions) has nearly doubled in that period. 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). These characters separate the Pronophilina sensu stricto from other Neotropical montane satyrids previously included in the group. This arrangement has been adopted by Lamas, 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. The life cycle of pronophiline butterflies has been scarcely documented. Schultze 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, or loosely over grass dominated vegetation. Early stages of several species found in Costa Rica were published by DeVries. Recently, life cycle description have been documented for Parapedaliodes parepa (Hewitson) in Ecuador, Pedaliodes zingara Viloria & Heredia in Colombia, Pedaliodes poesia (Hewitson) and Corades medeba Doubleday in Ecuador, and Daedalma dinias emma Pyrcz & Greeney and Daedalma rubroreducta Pyrcz & Willmott. All reported host plants are in the Poaceae family, with the genus Chusquea featuring prominently, and a few records in Cynodon, Saccharum, Bambusa, Guada, Rhipidocladum, Merostachys and Zea, among others.