Colotis

Accurate identification of species is a prerequisite for successful biodiversity management and further genetic studies. Species identification techniques often require both morphological diagnostics and molecular tools, such as DNA barcoding, for correct identification. In particular, the use of the subunit I of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase (COI) gene for DNA barcoding has proven useful in species identification for insects. However, to date, no studies have been carried out on the DNA barcoding of Nigerian butterflies...

Indirect interactions driven by livestock and wild herbivores are increasingly recognized as important aspects of community dynamics in savannas and rangelands. Large ungulate herbivores can both directly and indirectly impact the reproductive structures of plants, which in turn can affect the pollinators of those plants. We examined how wild herbivores and cattle each indirectly affect the abundance of a common pollinator butterfly taxon, Colotis spp., at a set of long-term, large herbivore exclosure plots in a semiarid savanna in central Kenya...

The males of many pierid butterflies have iridescent wings, which presumably function in intraspecific communication. The iridescence is due to nanostructured ridges of the cover scales. We have studied the iridescence in the males of a few members of Coliadinae, Gonepteryx aspasia, G. cleopatra, G. rhamni, and Colias croceus, and in two members of the Colotis group, Hebomoia glaucippe and Colotis regina. Imaging scatterometry demonstrated that the pigmentary colouration is diffuse whereas the structural colouration creates a directional, line-shaped far-field radiation pattern...

The angular and spectral reflectance of single scales of five different butterfly species was measured and related to the scale anatomy. The scales of the pierids Pieris rapae and Delias nigrina scatter white light randomly, in close agreement with Lambert's cosine law, which can be well understood from the randomly organized beads on the scale crossribs. The reflectance of the iridescent blue scales of Morpho aega is determined by multilayer structures in the scale ridges, causing diffraction in approximately a plane...

Acute pouchitis (AP) after ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) is common and easily treated. However, chronic pouchitis (CP) remains a difficult management problem and may represent a form of Crohn disease (CD) of the ileal pouch. Because CD patients have higher platelet counts than ulcerative colotis (UC) patients, we prospectively evaluated the association between preoperative platelet count and pouchitis development in 159 patients undergoing IPAA. Reactive thrombocytosis (RT) was defined as a platelet count > 450 x 10(9)/L...