Even Dankowicz

Brandeis University

This study provides a heuristic model linking gross morphological features of compound eyes in butterflies and moths and potential visual functions related to detectability, resolution and stereopsis. This framework, combined with empirical data from 2,730 specimens representing 224 species widely sampled across a tribal level phylogeny of butterfl...

Butterflies are a diverse and charismatic insect group that are thought to have evolved with plants and dispersed throughout the world in response to key geological events. However, these hypotheses have not been extensively tested because a comprehensive phylogenetic framework and datasets for butterfly larval hosts and global distributions are la...

The Poritiinae are a diverse subfamily of lycaenid butterflies with about 700 species divided into two major groups: the Asian endemic tribe Poritiini, and the African endemic tribe Liptenini. Among these, the Liptenini are notable for their lichenivorous diet and the strong but apparently non‐mutualistic ant associations of many species. We presen...

As the number of observations submitted to the citizen science platform iNaturalist continues to grow, it is increasingly important that these observations can be identified to the finest taxonomic level, maximizing their value for biodiversity research. Here, we explore the benefits of acting as an identifier on iNaturalist.

“The Natural History of Caterpillar-Ant Associations” was previously published non-open access. It has now been changed to open access under a CC BY 4.0 license and the copyright holder updated to ‘The Author(s)’. The book has also been updated with this change.

Host plant specialization by moths and butterflies has been a primary research focus in the field of coevolution and ecological specialization. However, factors underlying the evolution of host specificity remain largely unclear despite decades of research. Here, we demonstrate that host plant specialization is closely linked to diurnality in the L...

Host plant specialization of Lepidoptera has been a primary research focus in the field of coevolution and ecological specialization. However, factors associated with diet breadth evolution remain unclear despite decades of research. Here, we demonstrate that host plant specialization is linked to herbivore diurnality and timing of plant volatile e...

Butterflies are a diverse and charismatic insect group that are thought to have diversified via coevolution with plants and in response to dispersals following key geological events. These hypotheses have been poorly tested at the macroevolutionary scale because a comprehensive phylogenetic framework and datasets on global distributions and larval...

The caterpillars of many Lepidoptera are neither attacked nor tended by ants but nevertheless appear to be obligately ant-associated and benefit from the enemy-free space created by ants. Obligate myrmecophiles that do not attract ants through stridulatory or chemical signaling are limited to habitats where ants are reliably present for other reaso...

At least 30 different groups in seventeen butterfly and moth families (Lepidoptera) include ant-associated caterpillars. The life histories of more than 900 ant-associated species have been documented from the butterfly families Lycaenidae and Riodinidae, with relationships ranging from parasitism to mutualism. Caterpillars that appear to secrete f...