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1962
Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society
195
NOTES ON EURISTRYMON ONTARIO ONTARIO AND SATYRIUM CARY^VORUS (LYCJENIDJE)
by Gordon B. Small, Jr.
The recent Journal article by Dr. Smith (1960) on the occurrence of Erora Iseta Edw. in New Hampshire has prompted me to make a few comments on two other hairstreaks which have in the past been considered rare and local in the Northeast. I refer to Euristrymon Ontario Ontario Edw. and Satyrium carysevorus McDunnough.
Virtually all records of E. Ontario north of Virginia seem to have been based on singletons. A. H. Clark (1934) called it "one of the rarest and least known of our eastern butterflies". More recently, Ehrlich and Ehrlich (1961) have described it as "extremely rare in the Northeast." The only records for New England prior to 1961 of which I am aware are single specimens from Amherst and Waltham, Mass., and Plantsville, Conn., as given by Scudder (1889). It is therefore of interest to report that this elusive species was taken on July 18, 1961 in two separate localities in Rhode Island. More specifically, on a trip in company with Mrs. E. A. Creer to the wildlife reservation in the Great Swamp area in Kingston, one worn female was taken along a wood road. At 5 P.M. on the way back to Providence, a stop was made at Exeter, R. I,, where three more females were found, two worn and one fresh. This locality is an old field with scattered shrubs and Red Cedars (Juniperus) bordered by a woodland, and is an especially rich one for Theclines. Despite the late hour, six additional species of hairstreaks were taken at the same time. These are Satyrium liparops B. & L., carysevorus McD., calanus falacer Godart, edwardsii Saunders, Strymon melinus Hubner and Chrysophanus titus Hubner. In the spring, Callophrys gryneus Hubner, irus Godart, and augustinus Kirby are also to be found here. It is unfortunate that these localities were discovered at a time when Ontario was definitely on the wane. I suspect that if they had been visited a week or so earlier, a fair series would have been obtained. It will be most interesting to see whether this species turns up again next year.
As for Satyrium carysevorus, prior to 1959 this species seems to have been rare and local virtually everywhere. It was usually found in company with S. calanus falacer, with the latter species dominant. However, in the last few years, carysevorus has suddenly become one of the commonest hairstreaks in southern Connecticut and New York and northern New
196 Small: Hairstreaks in Northeast Vol.16: no.3
Jersey, at least locally so. I first took it in Riverside, Conn., in 1959, where it was abundant, and the determination was confirmed by Dr. A. B. Klots. He had found it simultaneously nearby in Greenwich, and described the early stages (1960). Since that time I have found it in a number of additional localities, and with the sole exception of the Exeter, R. I. locality, it was by far the dominant Satyrium species wherever it occurred. Furthermore, the species lias in the past two years been taken far to the south of the range as known prior to that time (see Klots, 1951). Klots (1960) reports it from Kentucky, and I have seen a specimen taken by Lucien Harris, Jr. in Union County, Georgia. That the species has undergone a tremendous population explosion seems evident. This poses many questions, and again it will be interesting to see whether the population level changes significantly in the next few years.
At any rate, it would seem safe to say that 1961 was a banner year for Theclini in the Northeast.
References
Clark, A. H., 1934. Butterflies in Virginia. Exploration & field work of the
Smithsonian institution in 1934: p.35. Ehrlich, P. R. & A. H., 1961. How to know the butterflies. 262 pp. Win. C. Brown
Co., Dubuque, Iowa. Klots, A. B., 1951. A field guide to the butterflies. 349 pp. Hughton Mifflin Co.,
New York. ................. 1960. Notes on Strymon carysevorus McD. Journ. N. Y. ent. soc. 68:
190-198. Scudder, S. H., 1889. The butterflies of the eastern United States and Canada
with special reference to New England, Vol.2. 1008 pp. Publ. by author,
Cambridge, Mass. Smith, R. S., 1961. Erora Iseta (Lycaenidae) in New Hampshire. Journ. lepid.
soc. 14: 239-240.
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