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1955
The Lepidopterists' News
203
ESPECIALLY FOR FIELD COLLECTORS
(Under the supervision of James R. Merritt)
EDITORIAL NOTE
In the last issue of the News an editorial announcement outlined the plans of the committee to promote a special section of the News for field collectors. In response I received a number of provocative and thoughtful letters for which the committee is grateful. These letters contained a multitude of excellent suggestions which eventually will be reflected on these pages. It is a pleasure also to report the generous way in which the expert lepidopterists replied to pleas for articles.
In this issue appears the first one of a series of articles on collecting localities. Some of the localities are famous and others are comparatively unknown. To achieve as much variety as possible in these articles and to exploit the imagination and ingenuity of the authors, no form or content was prescribed for the locality series. Some of the articles are in the nature of collecting guides while others deal with geology, flora, climate, and lists of species. Because the spring collecting season begins earliest in the South, it is appropriate to start the series with an account of collecting in southern Florida.
The committee contemplates some commentaries on techniques both basic and unusual. Drs. C. A. Clarke and P. M. SheppARD were kind enough to prepare a paper describing in some detail the important hand-pairing technique. This article will appear soon in the News.
William E. Sieker of Wisconsin, who specializes in the Sphingidas, has agreed to join the committee for this section of the News.
JAMES R. MERRITT, University of Louisville, Louisville, Ky., U. S. A.
ONE DAY'S SPECIES IN THE FRENCH ALPS
Even if my results do not reach the same number (38) of butterfly species caught in one day by Dr. REMINGTON, partly because I had only occasion to collect during short intervals in the course of an automobile trip in the French Alps, I think it might interest American lepidopterists to know how many butterfly species may be taken in a single day in Europe.
The day was not precisely the best collecting day of the season, being June 30, 1955, and in Europe as in the United States mid-July is by far the best time of the year. The district was the Massif de la Grande Chartreuse which is located between Geneva in Switzerland and Grenoble in Eastern France, a genuine mountain locality densely grown with deciduous forests with numerous clearings where grass and flowers are found in profusion. The trip was not very long, some 15 miles in either direction, so that the territory covered was rather limited.
The species taken were the following:
PAPILIONID/E. — Parnassius apollo, comm.
PIERID/5L — Aporia cratcegi, v. comm.; Leptidea sinapis, rare.
204
ESPECIALLY FOR COLLECTORS
Vol.9: no.6
SATYRID^E. — Erebia oeme, r. comm.; Melanargia galathea, v. comm.; Hipparchia fagi, rare; Brintesia circe, comm.; Aphantopus hyperanthus, comm.; Lopinga achine, comm.; Maniola jurtina, comm.; Coenonympha arcania, comm.; C. pamphilus, v. comm.
NYMPHALID^. — Aglais urticce, r. comm.; Inachis io, 1 spec; Melitcea diamina, comm.; M. britomartis, rather rare; M. athalia, comm.; M. parthenoides, not rare; M. phoebe, a few; M. didyma, r. comm.; Mesoacidalia charlotta, comm.
LYC^NID^E. — Strymon ilicis, r. comm.; Palceochrysophanus hippothoe, v. comm.; Heodes virgaurece, 1 spec; Cupido minimus, a few; C. sebrus, a few; Aricia agestis, comm.; Eumedonia chiton, a few; Cyaniris semiargus, r. comm.; Polyommatus icarus, v. comm.; Lysandra escheri, 1 spec; L. bellargus, r. comm.; L. argester, 1 spec.
HESPERIID^E. — Adopcea lineola, r. comm.; A. silvester, comm.; Thymelicus actceon, comm.; Ochlodes venata, comm.
The total number of species is 37, but the day before I found at nearly the same place another 4 species:
Dira mcera, several; Pieris rapce, 1 spec; Melitcea deione, 1 spec; Coenonympha tullia, many.
A thorough search of the territory, including the tops of the mountains, could not have failed to reveal another half a dozen species which are bound to high altitudes.
T. W. LANGER, Royal Library, Copenhagen, DENMARK
NOTES ON COLLECTING LEPIDOPTERA IN SOUTHERN FLORIDA1
by Frank N. Young
If you are planning a collecting trip to Florida try to travel by automobile if you possibly can. Stop off at Merritt's Island and explore the pine flatwoods and sandy barrens along the way. The northern area of the state produces many interesting insects. The rare Atrytone berryi is found in the pine flatwoods, and Me gay thymus cofaqui sometimes hovers about clumps of yucca (March-April).
At Fort Myers, Okeechobee, or West Palm Beach the Sabalian Biotic District, which covers most of northern Florida, blends with the subtropical region. The characteristic cabbage palms, saw palmettos, and live oaks give way in part to trees, shrubs, grasses, and herbs of more tropical affinities. Many Florida species never even stray as far north as the Ohio; but in the subtropical areas species after species traces back to the Neotropics, and it seems that collectors are turning up new records for the United States every day.
'These notes are intended primarily for the use of the amateur, not the professional entomologist. It is assumed that A. B. KLOTS' invaluable Field Guide to the Butterflies will be available, and it is suggested that road maps be supplemented with county maps in areas where you plan to collect intensively. Excellent county maps can be obtained from the State Highway Commission, Tallahassee, Florida, or at various surveyors' offices in the larger towns. See the appendix for notes on camping, poisonous snakes, mosquitoes, etc.