This lab studies butterfly diversity patterns in time and space, as well as their evolutionary causes. Its end goal is to answer longstanding questions regarding the limits between species, chromosomal evolution and the link between phylogeography and ecology. When did a group of butterflies colonise the New World and what route did they follow? How did parasitism evolve from a friendly association between species? Are there species that we cannot visually distinguish? Can a butterfly cross the Sahara desert? These are a few examples of the questions addressed by the Butterfly Diversity & Evolution lab.

Lab website: Butterfly Diversity & Evolution Lab

Roger Vila Ujaldón

Vila Ujaldón, Roger
CSIC Tenured Scientist
Butterfly Diversity and Evolution Lab

Valéria Carvalho Marques

Carvalho Marques, Valéria
Predoctoral Researcher
Butterfly diversity and evolution

Cecilia Corbella Felip

Corbella Felip, Cecilia
Laboratory Technician
Butterfly Diversity & Evolution Lab

Mattia Menchetti

Menchetti, Mattia
Predoctoral Researcher
Butterfly Diversity and Evolution

Loukia Spilani

Spilani, Loukia
Predoctoral Researcher
Butterfly diversity and evolution

Eric Toro Delgado

Toro Delgado, Eric
Predoctoral Researcher
Butterfly diversity and evolution

Pitteloud C, Arrigo N, Suchan T, Mastretta-Yanes A, Vila R, Dincă V, Hernández-Roldán J, Brockmann E, Chittaro Y, Kleckova I, Fumagalli L, Buerki S, Pellissier L, Alvarez N. 2017. Climatic niche evolution is faster in sympatric than allopatric lineages of the butterfly genus Pyrgus. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 284(1852):20170208. DOI:10.1098/rspb.2017.0208

Marín MA, Cadavid IC, Valdés L, Álvarez CF, Uribe SI, Vila R, Pyrcz TW. 2017. DNA Barcoding of an Assembly of Montane Andean Butterflies (Satyrinae): Geographical Scale and Identification Performance. Neotropical Entomology, 46(5):514-523. DOI:10.1007/s13744-016-0481-z

Koubínová D, Dincă V, Dapporto L, Vodă R, Suchan T, Vila R, Alvarez N. 2017. Genomics of extreme ecological specialists: Multiple convergent evolution but no genetic divergence between ecotypes of Maculinea alcon butterflies. Scientific Reports, 7(1):1-10. DOI:10.1038/s41598-017-12938-8

Hinojosa JC, Martín R, Maynou X, Vila R. 2017. Molecular taxonomy of the Sympetrum vulgatum (Odonata: Libellulidae) complex in the West Palaearctic. European Journal of Entomology, 114:373-378. DOI:10.14411/eje.2017.048

Habel JC, Vila R, Vodă R, Husemann M, Schmitt T, Dapporto L. 2017. Differentiation in the marbled white butterfly species complex driven by multiple evolutionary forces. Journal of Biogeography, 44(2):433-445. DOI:10.1111/jbi.12868

Fattorini S, Borges PAV, Dapporto L, Strona G. 2017. What can the parameters of the species–area relationship (SAR) tell us? Insights from Mediterranean islands. Journal of Biogeography, 44(5):1018-1028. DOI:10.1111/jbi.12874

Dincă V, Székely L, Bálint Z, Skolka M, Török S, Hebert PDN. 2017. Improving knowledge of the subgenus Agrodiaetus (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae: Polyommatus) in Eastern Europe: Overview of the Romanian fauna. European Journal of Entomology, 114:179-194. DOI:10.14411/eje.2017.023

Dapporto L, Cini A, Menchetti M, Vodă R, Bonelli S, Casacci LP, Dincă V, Scalercio S, Hinojosa JC, Biermann H, Forbicioni L, Mazzantini U, Venturi L, Zanichelli F, Balletto E, Shreeve TG, Dennis RLH, Vila R. 2017. Rise and fall of island butterfly diversity: Understanding genetic differentiation and extinction in a highly diverse archipelago. Diversity and Distributions, 23(10):1169-1181. DOI:10.1111/ddi.12610.

Vodă R, Dapporto L, Dincă V, Shreeve TG, Khaldi M, Barech G, Rebbas K, Sammut P, Scalercio S, Hebert PD, Vila R. 2016. Historical and contemporary factors generate unique butterfly communities on islands. Scientific Reports, 6(May):1-11. DOI:10.1038/srep28828

Talavera G, Kaminski LA, Freitas AVL, Vila R. 2016. One-note samba: The biogeographical history of the relict Brazilian butterfly Elkalyce cogina. Journal of Biogeography, 43(4):727-737. DOI:10.1111/jbi.12671

Stefanini I, Dapporto L, Berń L, Polsinelli M, Turillazzi S, Cavalieri D. 2016. Social wasps are a saccharomyces mating nest. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 113(8):2247-2251. DOI:10.1073/pnas.1516453113

Stefanescu C, Soto DX, Talavera G, Vila R, Hobson KA. 2016. Long-distance autumn migration across the Sahara by painted lady butterflies: Exploiting resource pulses in the tropical savannah. Biology Letters, 12(10):6-9. DOI:10.1098/rsbl.2016.0561

Šíchová J, Ohno M, Dincă V, Watanabe M, Sahara K, Marec F. 2016. Fissions, fusions, and translocations shaped the karyotype and multiple sex chromosome constitution of the northeast-Asian wood white butterfly, Leptidea amurensis. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 118(3):457-471. DOI:10.1111/bij.12756

Mutanen M, Kivelä SM, Vos RA, Doorenweerd C, Ratnasingham S, Hausmann A, Huemer P, Dincă V, van Nieukerken EJ, Lopez-Vaamonde C, Vila R, Aarvik L, Decaëns T, Efetov KA, Hebert PD, Johnsen A, Karsholt O, Pentinsaari M, Rougerie R, Segerer A, Tarmann G, Zahiri R, Godfray HC. 2016. Species-level para- and polyphyly in DNA barcode gene trees: Strong operational bias in European Lepidoptera. Systematic Biology, 65(6):1024-1040. DOI:10.1093/sysbio/syw044

Kaminski LA, Iserhard CA, Freitas AVL. 2016. Thisbe silvestre sp. nov. (Lepidoptera: Riodinidae): A new myrmecophilous butterfly from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Austral Entomology, 55(2):138-146. DOI:10.1111/aen.12159

Hernández-Roldán JL, Dapporto L, Dincă V, Vicente JC, Hornett EA, Šíchová J, Lukhtanov VA, Talavera G, Vila R. 2016. Integrative analyses unveil speciation linked to host plant shift in Spialia butterflies. Molecular ecology, 25(17):4267-4284. DOI:10.1111/mec.13756

Gutiérrez D, Vila R, Wilson RJ. 2016. Asymmetric constraints on limits to species ranges influence consumer-resource richness over an environmental gradient. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 25(12):1477-1488. DOI:10.1111/geb.12510

Dapporto L, Stefanini I, Rivero D, Polsinelli M, Capretti P, De Marchi P, Viola R, Turillazzi S, Cavalieri D. 2016. Social wasp intestines host the local phenotypic variability of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains. Yeast, 33(7):277-287. DOI:10.1002/yea.3173

Adamowicz SJ, Chain FJ, Clare EL, Deiner K, Dincă V, Elías-Gutiérrez M, Hausmann A, Hogg ID, Kekkonen M, Lijtmaer DA, Naaum A, Steinke D, Valdez-Moreno M, Van der Bank M, Wilson JJ, Xu J. 2016. From Barcodes to Biomes: Special Issues from the 6th International Barcode of Life Conference. Genome, 59(9):v-ix. DOI:10.1139/gen-2016-0159

Vodə R, Dapporto L, Dincə V, Vila R. 2015. Why do cryptic species tend not to co-occur? A case study on two cryptic pairs of butterflies. PLoS ONE, 10(2):1-18. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0117802

Vodă R, Dapporto L, Dincă V, Vila R. 2015. Cryptic matters: Overlooked species generate most butterfly beta-diversity. Ecography, 38(4):405-409. DOI:10.1111/ecog.00762

Talavera G, Espadaler X, Vila R. 2015. Discovered just before extinction? The first endemic ant from the Balearic Islands (Lasius balearicus sp. nov.) is endangered by climate change. Journal of Biogeography, 42(3):589-601. DOI:10.1111/jbi.12438

Šíchová J, Voleníková A, Dincă V, Nguyen P, Vila R, Sahara K, Marec F. 2015. Dynamic karyotype evolution and unique sex determination systems in Leptidea wood white butterflies Speciation and evolutionary genetics. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 15(1):1-16. DOI:10.1186/s12862-015-0375-4

Oliveira KN, Coley PD, Kursar TA, Kaminski LA, Moreira MZ, Campos RI. 2015. The effect of symbiotic ant colonies on plant growth: A test using an Azteca-Cecropia system. PLoS ONE, 10(3):1-13. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0120351

Kaminski LA, Dell’Erba R, Barbosa EP, Freitas AVL. 2015. New distribution records and notes on the habitat of Magneuptychia flavofascia Zacca & Siewert, 2014 (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Check List, 11(4). DOI:10.15560/11.4.1692

Kaliszewska ZA, Lohman DJ, Sommer K, Adelson G, Rand DB, Mathew J, Talavera G, Pierce NE. 2015. When caterpillars attack: Biogeography and life history evolution of the Miletinae (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae). Evolution, 69(3):571-588. DOI:10.1111/evo.12599

Gonçalves-Souza T, Araújo MS, Barbosa EP, Lopes SM, Kaminski LA, Shimizu GH, Santos AJ, Romero GQ. 2015. Fine-scale Beta-diversity Patterns Across Multiple Arthropod Taxa Over a Neotropical Latitudinal Gradient. Biotropica, 47(5):588-594. DOI:10.1111/btp.12242

Espeland M, Hall JP, DeVries PJ, Lees DC, Cornwall M, Hsu YF, Wu LW, Campbell DL, Talavera G, Vila R, Salzman S, Ruehr S, Lohman DJ, Pierce NE. 2015. Ancient Neotropical origin and recent recolonisation: Phylogeny, biogeography and diversification of the Riodinidae (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 93:296-306. DOI:10.1016/j.ympev.2015.08.006

Dincă V, Montagud S, Talavera G, Hernández-Roldán J, Munguira ML, García-Barros E, Hebert PD, Vila R. 2015. DNA barcode reference library for Iberian butterflies enables a continental-scale preview of potential cryptic diversity. Scientific Reports, 5(January):1-12. DOI:10.1038/srep12395

Marín MA, Álvarez CF, Giraldo CE, Pyrcz TW, Uribe SI, Vila R. 2014. Mariposas en un bosque de niebla andino periurbano en el valle de Aburrá, Colombia. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad, 85(1):200-208. DOI:10.7550/rmb.36605

Hernández-Roldán JL, Bofill R, Dapporto L, Munguira ML, Vila R. 2014. Morphological and chemical analysis of male scent organs in the butterfly genus Pyrgus (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae). Organisms Diversity and Evolution, 14(3):269-278. DOI:10.1007/s13127-014-0170-x

Dapporto L, Voda R, Dinca V, Vila R. 2014. Comparing population patterns for genetic and morphological markers with uneven sample sizes: An example for the butterfly Maniola jurtina. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 5(8):834-843. DOI:10.1111/2041-210X.12220

Dapporto L, Fattorini S, Voda R, Dinca V, Vila R. 2014. Biogeography of western Mediterranean butterflies: Combining turnover and nestedness components of faunal dissimilarity. Journal of Biogeography, 41(9):1639-1650. DOI:10.1111/jbi.12315

Cavalleri A, Kaminski LA. 2014. Two new ectoparasitic species of Aulacothrips Hood, 1952 (Thysanoptera: Heterothripidae) associated with ant-tended treehoppers (Hemiptera). Systematic Parasitology, 89(3):271-278. DOI:10.1007/s11230-014-9526-z

Talavera G, Lukhtanov VA, Rieppel L, Pierce NE, Vila R. 2013. In the shadow of phylogenetic uncertainty: The recent diversification of Lysandra butterflies through chromosomal change. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 69(3):469-478. DOI:10.1016/j.ympev.2013.08.004

Talavera G, Lukhtanov VA, Pierce NE, Vila R. 2013. Establishing criteria for higher-level classification using molecular data: The systematics of Polyommatus blue butterflies (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae). Cladistics, 29(2):166-192. DOI:10.1111/j.1096-0031.2012.00421.x

Sañudo-Restrepo CP, Dincâ V, Talavera G, Vila R. 2013. Biogeography and systematics of Aricia butterflies (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 66(1):369-379. DOI:10.1016/j.ympev.2012.10.010

Giraldo CE, Willmott KR, Vila R, Uribe SI. 2013. Ithomiini Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) of Antioquia, Colombia. Neotropical Entomology, 42(2):146-157. DOI:10.1007/s13744-012-0102-4

Dincă V, Wiklund C, Lukhtanov VA, Kodandaramaiah U, Norén K, Dapporto L, Wahlberg N, Vila R, Friberg M. 2013 Reproductive isolation and patterns of genetic differentiation in a cryptic butterfly species complex. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 26(10):2095-2106. DOI:10.1111/jeb.12211

Dinca V, Runquist M, Nilsson M, Vila R. 2013. Dispersal, fragmentation, and isolation shape the phylogeography of the European lineages of Polyommatus (Agrodiaetus) ripartii (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 109(4):817-829. DOI:10.1111/bij.12096

Dapporto L, Ramazzotti M, Fattorini S, Talavera G, Vila R, Dennis RLH. 2013. Recluster: An unbiased clustering procedure for beta-diversity turnover. Ecography, 36(10):1070-1075. DOI:10.1111/j.1600-0587.2013.00444.x

Carnicer J, Stefanescu C, Vila R, Dincǎ V, Font X, Peñuelas J. 2013. A unified framework for diversity gradients: The adaptive trait continuum. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 22(1):6-18. DOI:10.1111/j.1466-8238.2012.00762.x

Talavera, G.; Lukhtanov, V.A.; Pierce, N.E.; Vila, R.  2012. Establishing criteria for higher level taxonomic classification using molecular data: an example with blue butterflies (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae). Cladistics 1-27. doi: 10.1111/j.1096-0031. (2012).00421.x.

Hernández-Roldán JL, Munguira ML, Wagner W, Vila R. 2012. Comparative Analysis and Taxonomic Use of the Morphology of Immature Stages and Natural History Traits in European Species of Pyrgus Hübner (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae, Pyrginae). Zootaxa, 71(3470):1-71. DOI:10.11646/zootaxa.3470.1.1. 

Dapporto L, Bruschini C, Dincǎ V, Vila R, Dennis RLH. 2012. Identifying zones of phenetic compression in West Mediterranean butterflies (Satyrinae): Refugia, invasion and hybridization. Diversity and Distributions, 18(11):1066-1076. DOI:10.1111/j.1472-4642.2012.00903.x

Vila R, Bell CD, Macniven R, Goldman-Huertas B, Ree RH, Marshall CR, Bálint Z, Johnson K, Benyamini D, Pierce NE. 2011. Phylogeny and palaeoecology of polyommatus blue butterflies show beringia was a climate-regulated gateway to the new world. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 278(1719):2737-2744. DOI:10.1098/rspb.2010.2213

Ugelvig L V., Vila R, Pierce NE, Nash DR. 2011. A phylogenetic revision of the Glaucopsyche section (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae), with special focus on the Phengaris-Maculinea clade. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 61(1):237-243. DOI:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.05.016

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