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174
Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society
Monica, and San Gabriel Mountains by C. Henne (pers. comm.) and in the Laguna Mountains by R. Breedlove (pers. comm.).
The larvae of S. walterorum exhibit two distinct color phases; one green, and the other reddish-orange. The bark of Arctostaphylus and areas of new growth on both species of Rhus are characteristically red in color. Therefore, each color phase of the larvae may blend into different portions of its environment. This adaption may make them less conspicuous to natural enemies while on the hostplant. Larvae of both color phases emerged from the ova of one female in a ratio of 1:1.
The cocoon, which is brown and coarsely constructed, appears similar to the dried inflorescences of Rhus. This similarity may be advantageous, for reared larvae usually pupate at the terminal ends of branches among dried flowers or at the base of the plant, thus concealing the pupation site.
I would like to thank the following individuals for allowing me to examine their records and specimens: Christopher Henne of Pearblossom; Fred Thorne of El Cajon; Dave and Jean Roldness of San Diego; James Tilden of San Jose; Eric Walters of Anaheim; and Charles Hogue and Julian Donahue of the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History.
P. M. Tuskes, Department of Entomology, University of California, Davis, California 95616.
AN UNUSUALLY LONG PUPAL STAGE OF BATTUS POLYDAMAS POLYDAMAS L. (PAPILIONIDAE)
For a number of years my sons and I have been breeding butterflies found in El Salvador. Among them we have reared from egg to adult, several times, groups of Battus polydamas polydamas L. The full process has taken an average of 40 days, pupation alone from ten to eighteen days. According to Young (1971, Ann. Entomol. Soc. Amer. 60: 595-599), in Costa Rica the total development for this species averages 41.32 days, ranging from 36 to 46 days, with pupation ranging from 14 to 16 days.
On 14 June 1972 we saw a female lay seven eggs, which were collected and put in a transparent plastic bag. On the 20th, the eggs hatched. The larvae were fed with fresh leaves of the foodplant, Aristolochia anguicida L., until pupation, which occurred between 8 and 10 July. Only five larvae had survived out of the seven. On 17 July, the first adult, a male, emerged, that is 9 days after pupation, which is a little shorter than usual. The next adult, another male, emerged on 19 July, 11 days after pupation, being this time closer to average.
With the remaining three individuals, pupation time was completely unexpected. The third adult, a male again, emerged on 27 October; the fourth, another male, on 7 December; and the fifth, a female, on 25 January 1973! The pupal stage in these three cases was 110, 150 and 199 days respectively. All of these adults were absolutely normal and healthy.
We emphasize the fact that this species is gregarious during the early stages, and that the seven larvae were kept in the same bag, and therefore under the same conditions of food, light and temperature. When pupation occurred, the pupae were placed in the same pupation box, and again they were exposed to the same environmental conditions until the first two adults emerged. At that time one of the pupae was given to Mr. Steve R. Steinhauser, who lives in the neighboring town of Santa Tecla, some 13 km. from San Salvador, at a slightly higher altitude. This pupa was the one that lasted 199 days. The other two were in the same box at all times.
Volume 28, Number 2
175
We have found a report of aestivation in one species of Saturniidae, Rothschildia lebeaui ? aroma Schaus (Quezada 1967, Rev. Biol. Trop. 19: 211-240), whose pupa spends the six months of the dry season waiting for the first rains to fall. The dry season in this country starts in November and ends in April. The wet season starts in May and ends in October. Consequently the case we are reporting happened during part of the wet season and part of the dry. It is true that the weather was somewhat chaotic during 1972, there being a long spell of dry weather during July (20 days) and August (15 days), and then copious rain during November and the beginning of December.
Alberto Muyshondt, 101 Avenida Norte 322, Lomas Verdes, San Salvador, El Salvador.
AN INVASION OF EASTERN COLORADO BY VANESSA CARDUI (NYMPHALIDAE)
My notes for the Spring of 1973 show that cardui first came to my attention at Fountain Valley School (11 miles SE of Colorado Springs, Colo.) on 19 April. That day had started with near freezing temperatures and a light snow flurry. At noon I saw two cardui flutter over the lawn. A week or ten days of warmish weather followed with early morning temperatures as high as 44° F. Around 1430 on 28 April I was driving south from Denver on State Highway 83. About five miles north of Parker I met swarms of cardui drifting toward the northeast. I estimated about 100/150 passing directly in front of me each mile. This continued almost all of the way home, about 70 miles. There was a break going over the Platte-Arkansas Divide.
Examination of the insect, as flying at Fountain Valley, showed the specimens to be badly worn to tattered and the ground color to be quite pale. The concentration on the lawns may have reached 500 per acre. These butterflies were feeding at dandelion flowers and later apple blossoms. The numbers held reasonably steady until 11 May when another wave arrived. These specimens were considerably larger, and much fresher and darker in color. A careful estimate made around 1530 that afternoon placed the numbers on the lawns (30 acres) at about 1,000 per acre and on the prairie (2,000 acres sampled) about 150 per acre. These concentrations remained relatively constant until the weekend of 19-20 May and the two succeeding days when the weather was rainy and cold. By 23 May there were very few cardui around, just about the normal situation.
On 18 May driving south on 1-25 to New Mexico, the numbers of cardui flying across the highway were high enough to materially reduce the efficiency of the automobile's radiator. It was necessary to stop after about 100 miles to clean the radiator and scrape the squashed remains from the windshield. This situation continued through the 18th and 19th.
There are very few thistles in the vicinity of Fountain Valley School. It will interesting to see if we have an abnormally large crop of cardui in early summer. If we do, it will be important to discover the alternate foodplant here. The several large patches of thistie known to me along highway 83 in Douglas County will be watched with interest.
Postscript: Larvae used Helianthella and two species of Lupinus after the few thistles were stripped to the ground.
F. Martin Brown, Fountain Valley Rural Station, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80911.