Robbins, Robert
Research Entomologist and Curator of Lepidoptera
Robbins, Robert
Research Entomologist and Curator of Lepidoptera
Systematics of Lycaenidae, evolutionary biology of butterflies, patterns of butterfly diversity.
Background And Education
Education And Training
- B.A., Brown University
- Ph.D., Tufts University
Publications
Selected Publications
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Article
- Faynel, Christophe and Robbins, Robert K. 2022. "Cunoniaceae, nuevo registro de familia de plantas hospederas para los géneros altoandinos Penaincisalia y Micandra (Lycaenidae: Theclinae: Eumaeini)." Revista Peruana de Biología, 29, (3). https://doi.org/10.15381/rpb.v29i3.23216. 2022
- Robbins, Robert K., Cong, Qian, Zhang, Jing, Shen, Jinhui, Busby, Robert C., Faynel, Christophe, Duarte, Marcelo, Martins, Ananda R. P., Prieto, Carlos, Lamas, Gerardo, and Grishin, Nick V. 2022. "Genomics‐based higher classification of the species‐rich hairstreaks (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae: Eumaeini)." Systematic Entomology, https://doi.org/10.1111/syen.12541. 2022
- Mota, Luisa L., Boddington, Stephen J., Jr, Keith S. Brown, Callaghan, Curtis J., Carter, Gill, Carter, Will, Dantas, Sidnei M., Dolibaina, Diego R., Garwood, Kim, Hoyer, Richard C., Robbins, Robert K., Soh, Aaron, Willmott, Keith R., and Freitas, Andre V. L. 2022. "The butterflies of Cristalino Lodge, in the Brazilian southern Amazonia: An updated species list with a significant contribution from citizen science." Biota Neotropica, 22, (3) e20221367–e20221367. https://doi.org/10.1590/1676-0611-BN-2022-1367. 2022
- D'Ercole, Jacopo, Dincă, Vlad, Opler, Paul A., Kondla, Norbert, Schmidt, Christian, Phillips, Jarrett D., Robbins, Robert, Burns, John M., Miller, Scott E., Grishin, Nick, Zakharov, Evgeny V., deWaard, Jeremy R., Ratnasingham, Sujeevan, and Hebert, Paul D. N. 2021. "A DNA barcode library for the butterflies of North America." PeerJ, 9. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.11157. 2021
- Robbins, Robert K., Cong, Qian, Zhang, Jing, Shen, Jinhui, Quer Riera, Julia, Murray, Debra, Busby, Robert C., Faynel, Christophe, Hallwachs, Winnie, Janzen, Daniel H., and Grishin, Nick V. 2021. "A switch to feeding on cycads generates parallel accelerated evolution of toxin tolerance in two clades of Eumaeus caterpillars (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 118, (7). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2018965118. 2021
- Prieto, Carlos, Faynel, Christophe, Robbins, Robert K., and Hausmann, Axel. 2021. "Congruence between morphology-based species and Barcode Index Numbers (BINs) in Neotropical Eumaeini (Lycaenidae)." PeerJ, 9. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.11843. 2021
- Valencia-Montoya, Wendy, Quental, Tiago B., Tonini, João Filipe R., Talavera, Gerard, Crall, James D., Lamas, Gerardo, Busby, Robert C., Carvalho, Ana Paula S., Morais, Ana B., Oliveira Mega, Nicolás, Romanowski, Helena Piccoli, Liénard, Marjorie A., Salzman, Shayla, Whitaker, Melissa R. L., Kawahara, Akito Y., Lohman, David J., Robbins, Robert K., and Pierce, Naomi E. 2021. "Evolutionary trade-offs between male secondary sexual traits revealed by a phylogeny of the hyperdiverse tribe Eumaeini (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 288, (1950). https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.2512. 2021
- Dos Santos Cajé, Suianne O., Duarte-De-Melo, Jefferson, Alves Dos Santos, Keylla L., Suenia-Bastos, Ayane, Robbins, Robert K., and De Moura Lima, Iracilda M. 2021. "Natural History and Parasitoids of <i>Arawacus ellida</i> (Lycaenidae: Eumaeini) in Brazil." Journal of the Lepidopterists Society, 75, (4) 235–240. https://doi.org/10.18473/lepi.75i4.a2. 2021
- Lamas, Gerardo, McInnis, Michael L., Busby, Robert C., and Robbins, Robert K. 2021. "The lycaenid butterfly fauna (Lepidoptera) of Cosñipata, Peru: annotated checklist, elevational patterns, and rarity." Insecta Mundi, 0861 1–34. 2021
- Nishida, Kenji and Robbins, Robert K. 2020. "One side makes you taller: a mushroom–eating butterfly caterpillar (Lycaenidae) in Costa Rica." Neotropical Biology and Conservation, 15, (4) 463–470. https://doi.org/10.3897/neotropical.15.e57998. 2020
- Gripenberg, Sofia, Basset, Yves, Lewis, Owen T., Terry, J. Christopher D., Wright, S. Joseph, Simón, Indira, Fernández, D. Catalina, Cedeño-Sanchez, Marjorie, Rivera, Marleny, Barrios, Héctor, Brown, John W., Calderón, Osvaldo, Cognato, Anthony I., Kim, Jorma, Miller, Scott E., Morse, Geoffrey E., Pinzón-Navarro, Sara, Quicke, Donald L. J., Robbins, Robert K., Salminen, Juha-Pekka, and Vesterinen, Eero. 2019. "A highly resolved food web for insect seed predators in a species-rich tropical forest." Ecology Letters, 22, (10) 1638–1649. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13359. 2019
- Melo, Douglas H. A., Duarte, Marcelo, Mielke, Olaf H. H., Robbins, Robert K., and Freitas, André V. L. 2019. "Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea) of an urban park in northeastern Brazil." Biota Neotropica, 19, (1). https://doi.org/10.1590/1676-0611-bn-2018-0614. 2019
- Martins, Ananda Regina Pereira, Duarte, Marcelo, and Robbins, Robert K. 2019. "Hairstreak butterflies (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae) and evolution of their male secondary sexual organs." Cladistics, 35, (2) 173–197. https://doi.org/10.1111/cla.12355. 2019
- Martins, Ananda Regina Pereira, Duarte, Marcelo, and Robbins, Robert K. 2019. "Phylogenetic Classification of the Atlides Section of the Eumaeini (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae)." Zootaxa, 4563, (1) 119. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4563.1.6. 2019
- Selfridge, J., Bachran, K., McElveen, D., Robbins, Robert K., and Ransom, T. 2019. "Pupation Sites and Conservation of Frosted Elfins (Lycaenidae) in Maryland, USA." Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society, 72, (2) 87–92. https://doi.org/10.18473/lepi.73i2.a3. 2019
- Basset, Yves, Dahl, Chris, Ctvrtecka, Richard, Gripenberg, Sofia, Lewis, Owen T., Segar, Simon T., Klimes, Petr, Barrios, Héctor, Brown, John W., Bunyavejchewin, Sarayudh, Butcher, Buntika A., Cognato, Anthony I., Davies, Stuart, Kaman, Ondrej, Knizek, Milos, Miller, Scott E., Morse, Geoffrey E., Novotny, Vojtech, Pongpattananurak, Nantachai, Pramual, Pairot, Quicke, Donald L. J., Robbins, Robert K., Sakchoowong, Watana, Schutze, Mark, Vesterinen, Eero J. et al. 2018. "A cross-continental comparison of assemblages of seed- and fruit-feeding insects in tropical rain forests: Faunal composition and rates of attack." Journal of Biogeography, 45, (6) 1395–1407. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.13211. 2018
- Cong, Qian, Shen, Jinhui, Borek, Dominika, Robbins, Robert K., Opler, Paul A., Otwinowski, Zbyszek, and Grishin, Nick V. 2017. "When COI barcodes deceive: complete genomes reveal introgression in hairstreaks." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 284, (1848) 20161735. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.1735. 2017
- Thompson, Paul M. and Robbins, Robert K. 2016. "Allopatry and parapatry in hairstreak butterflies (Lycaenidae, Eumaeini) with uniform male sexual structures." Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera, 14 53–68. 2016
- Cock, Matthew J. W. and Robbins, Robert K. 2016. "Annotated checklist and biogeographic composition of the Lycaenidae (Lepidoptera) of Trinidad, West Indies." Insecta Mundi, 0506 1–33. 2016
- Cong, Qian, Shen, Jinhui, Borek, Dominika, Robbins, Robert K., Otwinowski, Zbyszek, and Grishin, Nick V. 2016. "Complete genomes of Hairstreak butterflies, their speciation, and nucleo-mitochondrial incongruence." Scientific Reports, 6 24863. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep24863. 2016
- Heredia, María Dolores and Robbins, Robert K. 2016. "Natural history of the mistletoe-feeding Thereus lomalarga (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae, Eumaeini) in Colombia." Zootaxa, 4117, (3) 301. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4117.3.1. 2016
- Martins, Ananda Regina Pereira, Faynel, Christophe, and Robbins, Robert K. 2016. "Variation of Male Secondary Sexual Structures and the Taxonomy of Theritas lisus and Relatives (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae, Eumaeini)." Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 118, (4) 555–573. https://doi.org/10.4289/0013-8797.118.4.555. 2016
- Faynel, Christophe and Robbins, Robert K. 2015. "Siderus nouraguensis n. sp., Nicolaea salki n. sp. et Ostrinotes silva n. sp. (Lepidoptera : Theclinae : Eumaeini)." Annales de la Société entomologique de France (N.S.): International Journal of Entomology., 51, (2) 196. https://doi.org/10.1080/00379271.2015.1064201. 2015
- Thompson, Paul M. and Robbins, Robert K. 2015. "A New Montane Hairstreak Species from Central America in the Detritivorous Genus Kisutam ( Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae: Eumaeini)." Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 117, (1) 36–44. https://doi.org/10.4289/0013-8797.117.1.36. 2015
- Robbins, Robert K. and Busby, Robert C. 2015. "Evolutionary gain of male secondary sexual structures in the widespread Neotropical montane genus Lathecla (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae, Eumaeini)." Brill, 46, (1) 47–78. https://doi.org/10.1163/1876312X-45032115. 2015
- Frye, Jennifer A. and Robbins, Robert K. 2015. "Is the globally rare frosted elfin butterfly (Lycaenidae) two genetically distinct host plant races in Maryland? DNA evidence from cast larval skins provides an answer." Journal of Insect Conservation, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-015-9783-4. 2015
- Robbins, Robert K., Heredia, Maria D., and Busby, Robert C. 2015. "Male Secondary Sexual Structures and the Systematics of the Thereus oppia species Group (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae, Eumaeini)." Zookeys, 520 109–130. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.520.10134. 2015
- Prieto, Carlos D. and Robbins, Robert K. 2015. "Phylogenetic position of Electrostrymon picoloro, a new high elevation hairstreak from western Colombia (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae: Eumaeini)." Zootaxa, 4012, (2) 369–374. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4012.2.7. 2015
- Nobre, C. E. B. and Robbins, Robert K. 2014. "Arawacus euptychia (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae: Eumaeini) is no longer an obscure species." Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera, 47 73–78. 2014
- Faynel, Christophe and Robbins, Robert K. 2014. "Description d’un nouveau Lycaenidae de l’inselberg des Nouragues et de deux autres espèces inédites provenant de la forêt de la Montagne de Kaw en Guyane (Lepidoptera : Theclinae : Eumaeini)." Annales de la Société entomologique de France (N.S.): International Journal of Entomology, 50, (2) 191–201. https://doi.org/10.1080/00379271.2014.934040. 2014
- Davies, Neil, Field, Dawn, Amaral-Zettler, Linda, Bicak, Mesude, Bourlat, Sarah, Coddington, Jonathan A., Deck, John, Drummond, Alexei, Gilbert, Jack A., Glöckner, Frank Oliver, Kottmann, Renzo, Meyer, Christopher P., Morrison, Norman, Obst, Matthias, Robbins, Robert, Schriml, Lynn, Sterk, Peter, and Stones-Havas, Steven. 2014. "Report of the 14th Genomic Standards Consortium Meeting, Oxford, UK, September 17-21, 2012." Standards in Genomic Sciences, 9, (3) 1236–1250. https://doi.org/10.4056/sigs.4319681. 2014
- Robbins, Robert K. and Glassberg, Jeffrey. 2013. "A butterfly with olive green eyes discovered in the United States and the Neotropics (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae, Eumaeini)." ZooKeys, 305 1–20. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.301.5081ZooKey. 2013
- Robbins, Robert K. and Lamas, Gerardo. 2013. "Comment on the proposed establishment of availability of Balintus d’Abrera, 2001, Gulliveria d’Abrera & Bálint, 2001, Salazaria d’Abrera & Bálint, 2001, Megathecla Robbins, 2002 and Gullicaena Bálint, 2002 (Insecta, Lepidoptera, LYCAENIDAE) (Case 3458; see BZN 65: 188–193; 66: 271–272, 349–351; 68: 206–211; 69: 60–61, 281–283; 70: 201)." The Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature, 70, (4) 250. 2013
- Sermeño, José Miguel, Robbins, Robert K., Lamas, Gerardo, and Gámez, J. A. 2013. "Cría en laboratorio de las "joyas vivientes" de El Salvador, Evenus regalis (Cramer) y Evenus batesii (Hewitson) (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)." Bioma, 3 4–9. 2013
- Robbins, Robert K. and Lamas, Gerardo. 2012. "Comment on the proposed establishment of availability of Balintus d’Abrera, 2001, Gulliveria d’Abrera & Bálint, 2001, Salazaria d’Abrera & Bálint, 2001, Megathecla Robbins, 2002 and Gullicaena Bálint, 2002 (Insecta, Lepidoptera, LYCAENIDAE)." The Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature, 69, (1) 60–61. ((Case 3458; see BZN 65: 188–193; 66: 271–272, 349–351; 68: 206–211)) 2012
- Robbins, Robert K., Martins, Ananda Regina Pereira, Busby, Robert C., and Duarte, Marcelo. 2012. "Loss of male secondary sexual structures in allopatry in the Neotropical butterfly genus Arcas (Lycaenidae: Theclinae: Eumaeini)." Insect Systematics & Evolution, 43, (1) 35–65. https://doi.org/10.1163/187631212X626195. 2012
- Faynel, Christophe, Busby, Robert C., and Robbins, Robert K. 2012. "Review of the species level taxonomy of the neotropical butterfly genus Oenomaus (Lycaenidae, Theclinae, Eumaeini)." ZooKeys, 222 11–45. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.222.3375. 2012
- Robbins, Robert K., Anderson, Richard A., and Sullivan, J. Bolling. 2012. "The Nicaraguan Hairstreak Butterfly Fauna (Theclinae: Eumaeini), its Biogeography, and the History of Nicaraguan Collectors." Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society, 66, (2) 61–75. 2012
- Faynel, Christophe, Busby, Robert C., Moser, Alfred, and Robbins, Robert K. 2011. "Species level taxonomy of the Neotropical hairstreak genus Porthecla (Lycaenidae: Theclinae: Eumaeini)." Annales de la Société Entomologique de France (n.s.), 47, (1-2) 241–259. 2011
- Robbins, Robert K., Aiello, Annette, Feinstein, Julie, Berkov, Amy, Caldas, Astrid, Busby, Robert C., and Duarte, Marcelo. 2010. "A tale of two species: detritivory, parapatry, and sexual dimorphism in Lamprospilus collucia and L. orcidia(Lycaenidae: Theclinae: Eumaeini)." Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera, 42 64–73. 2010
- Duarte, Marcelo, Robbins, Robert K., Freitas, André Victor Lucci, Brown, Keith Spalding, Jr., Monteiro, Ricardo Ferreira, Casagrande, Mirna Martins, Mielke, Olaf Hermann Hendrik, Nascimento, Milena de Sousa, and Alves, Tatiane Gisele. 2010. "Borboletas Da Mata Atlântica do Estado do Rio De Janeiro: Lycaenidae (Lepidoptera)." Arquivos do Museu Nacional, 67, (3-4) 291–302. 2010
- Duarte, Marcelo and Robbins, Robert K. 2010. "Description and phylogenetic analysis of the Calycopidina (Lycaenidae, Theclinae, Eumaeini): a subtribe of detritivores." Revista Brasileira de Entomologia, 54, (1) 45–65. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0085-56262010000100006. 2010
- Robbins, Robert K. 2010. "Four Commonly Confused Hairstreaks (Lycaenidae, Theclinae, Eumaeini): Three Need Names, One does Not." Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society, 64, (1) 1–13. 2010
- Harris, Brian P., Lamas, Gerardo, and Robbins, Robert K. 2010. "Identity of Palaeonympha avinoffi Schaus, a Satyrine Butterfly from China (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)." Acta Zootaxonomica Sinica, 35, (3) 680–681. 2010
- Robbins, Robert K., Busby, R. C., and Duarte, M. 2010. "Phylogeny and Taxonomy of the Neotropical Thepytus (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae, Theclinae)." Arthropod Systematics & Phylogeny, 68, (1) 35–52. 2010
- Robbins, Robert K. 2010. "The “upside down” systematics of hairstreak butterflies (Lycaenidae) that eat pineapple and other Bromeliaceae." Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment, 45, (1) 21–37. https://doi.org/10.1080/01650521003751712. 2010
- Lamas, Gerardo and Robbins, Robert K. 2009. "A replacement name for Thecla maculata Lathy, 1936 (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae, Eumaeini)." Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 111, (3) 758–758. https://doi.org/10.4289/0013-8797-111.3.758. 2009
- Robbins, Robert K. and Lamas, Gerardo. 2009. "Comment on the proposed establishment of availability of Balintus d’Abrera, 2001, Gulliveria d’Abrera & Bálint, 2001, Salazaria d’Abrera & Bálint, 2001, Megathecla Robbins, 2002 and Gullicaena Bálint, 2002 (Insecta, Lepidoptera, LYCAENIDAE) (Case 3458; see BZN 65: 188–193, 66: 271–272)." The Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature, 66, (4) 349–351. 2009
- Duarte, Marcelo and Robbins, Robert K. 2009. "Immature Stages of Calycopis bellera (Hewitson) and C. janeirica (Felder) (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae, Theclinae, Eumaeini): Taxonomic Significance and New Evidence for Detritivory." Zootaxa, 2325 39–61. 2009
- Janzen, Daniel H., Hallwachs, Winnie D., Blandin, Patrick, Burns, John M., Cadiou, Jean-Marie, Chacon, Isidro, Dapkey, Tanya, Deans, Andrew R., Epstein, Marc E., Espinoza, B., Franclemont, J., Haber, W., Hajibabaei, M., Hallwachs, J., Hebert, Paul D. N., Gauld, I. D., Harvey, D., Hausmann, A., Kitching, Ian, Lafontaine, D., Landry, J. F., Lemaire, C., Miller, Jacqueline Y., Miller, James S., Miller, Lee et al. 2009. "Integration of DNA barcoding into an ongoing inventory of complex tropical biodiversity." Molecular Ecology Resources, 9, (S1) 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-0998.2009.02628.x. 2009
- Gareca, Y., Reichle, S., and Robbins, Robert K. 2009. "Lista preliminar de los Lycaenidae (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) en Bolivia [preliminary checklist for Lycaenidae (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) in Bolivia]." Kempffiana, 5, (1) 56–64. 2009
- Robbins, Robert K. and Busby, Robert C. 2009. "Updated Phylogeny, Taxonomy, and Diversification of Janthecla Robbins & Venables (Lycaenidae: Theclinae: Eumaeini)." Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera, 41 5–13. 2009
- Robbins, Robert K. and Lamas, Gerardo. 2008. "Balintus D’Abrera, 2001, Gulliveria D’Abrera & Bálint, 2001, Salazaria D’Abrera & Bálint, 2001, Megathecla Robbins, 2002 and Gullicaena Bálint, 2002 (Insecta, Lepidoptera, LYCAENIDAE): proposed establishment of availability (Case 3458)." The Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature, 65, (3) 188–193. 2008
- Robbins, Robert K. and Lamas, G. 2008. "Nomenclature, variation, and the biological species concept in Lamasina (Lycaenidae : Theclinae : Eumaeini)." Revista Brasileira de Zoologia, 25, (1) 116–127. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0101-81752008000100016. 2008
- Robbins, Robert K. and Busby, Robert C. 2008. "Phylogeny, Taxonomy, and Sympatry of Timaeta (Lycaenidae: Theclinae: Eumaeini): An Andean Montane Forest Endemic." Tijdschrift voor Entomologie, 151, (2) 205–233. https://doi.org/10.1163/22119434-900000265. 2008
- Evolution, Comparative Morphology, and Identification of the Emaeine Butterfly Genus Rekoa Kay (Lycaenidae: Theclinae). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology. 1-64.
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Blog Posting
- Caldas, Astrid and Robbins, Robert K. 2012. "Climate Change and Extinctions at the Edge." Defenders of Wildlife Defenders of Wildlife. Nov 6, 2012. https://repository.si.edu/handle/10088/21134. 2012
- Caldas, Astrid and Robbins, Robert K. 2012. "Climate Change, Extinctions and Edges." The Huffington Post The Huffington Post. Nov 21, 2012. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/astrid-caldas/climate-change-extinction_b_2166748.html. 2012
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Book
- Busby, Robert C., Faynel, Christophe, Moser, Alfred, and Robbins, Robert K. 2017. Sympatric Diversification in the Upper Amazon: A Revision of the Eumaeine Genus Paraspiculatus (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae). Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press. In Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology, 649. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.1943-6696.649. 2017
Affiliation
Member Of
Contact
Location
- National Museum of Natural History Academic Department
