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220

Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society

SIZE VARIATION IN EUPTOIETA CLAUDIA IN MISSISSIPPI (NYMPHALIDAE)1

Bryant Mather2

213 Mt. Salus Drive, Clinton, Mississippi 39056

Variation in size of individuals of Euptoieta claudia (Cramer) has been reported, but no quantitative data have been found in the literature. Mather & Mather (1958) wrote of Mississippi that, "February specimens are characteristically very small." Harris (1972) wrote of Georgia that, "The individuals of E. claudia vary in size, and an interesting series may

1 Contribution No. 271, Bureau of Entomology, Division of Plant Industry, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Gainesville, Florida 32601.

2 Research Associate, Florida State Collection of Arthropods, Division of Plant Industry, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Gainesville.

N

N

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3' 2 1

37 FEMALES

-1—1—1—1—r—1—1—1—1—1—r 20 22 24 26 28 30

10

10

10

10

32 34

t—1—1—r 36 38 40 42

FW LENGTH (mm)

Fig. 1. Forewing-length distribution of 75 Mississippi specimens of Euptoieta claudia.

Volume 28, Number 3                                                                                   221

Table 1. Data on 75 specimens of Euptoieta claudia from Mississippi.

222                                                          Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society

Table 1. (Continued)

be obtained. Very small specimens may be found at times, especially in early spring, and unusually large ones may be found in the summer." Rahn (1972) reported on five specimens taken 18-21 August 1970 in North and South Dakota. He stated that these showed a "wing span range from 1%" to 2"." Measurements made on the figure in his paper, adjusted for scale reduction in reproduction, indicate forewing lengths of 20, 24, 30, 30, and 32 mm.

A group of 75 Mississippi specimens was examined; results are given in Table 1. Forewing-length distributions for males and females are shown in Fig. 1. As previously noted, very small specimens have been taken in February. Other small specimens were taken in November; but there does not appear to be the progressive increase in size through the season that characterises such species as Colias eurytheme Boisduval or Papilio glaucus Linnaeus. The major factors affecting size in E. claudia appear

Volume 28, Number 3

223

to be (a) sex, females are typically significantly larger than males; and (b) winter, November and February specimens are characteristically smaller than average. The size range of the Mississippi series is 20 to 38 mm (1 to 1.9). The range of the series of five August specimens reported by Rahn (1972) was 20 to 32 mm (1 to 1.6). The size range for six Mississippi August specimens was 28 to 37 mm (1 to 1.3).

Literature Cited

Harris, L., Jr. 1972. Butterflies of Georgia. Univ. Okla. Press, Norman, p. 280. Mather, B. & K. Mather. 1958. The butterflies of Mississippi. Tulane Stud. Zool.

6: 63-109. Rahn, R. A. 1972. A dwarf form of Euptoieta claudia (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae).

Great Lakes Entomol. 5: 101. (Reproduced, with minor editorial changes

and reversal of the figure, in J. Res. Lepid. 11: 174.)

PHYCIODES MYLITTA (NYMPHALIDAE) ON VANCOUVER ISLAND

In Jones' "Annotated Check List of the Macrolepidoptera of British Columbia" (1951), Phyciocles mylitta is listed as occurring in a number of localities in mainland British Columbia including the coast adjacent to Vancouver Island, but there were at the time no records for Vancouver Island. I have myself collected intensively over a large part of Vancouver Island during the past 30 years, without encountering P. mylitta before 1972.

In August of that year P. mylitta turned up in Bright Angel Park near Duncan. The first specimens were handed to me by a friend, Mrs. Betty McKinnon, who said that they were then quite plentiful in the park area. Looking at the butterflies through the semi-transparent envelopes in which they were packed, I took them for Phyciodes campestris Behr. which I have often taken on Vancouver Island, though I was surprised at the late date, 10 August. I did not examine them more closely until late the following winter, when I at once saw that they were not P. campestris. Later, I sent some examples to Dr. dos Passos, who pronounced them typical Phyciodes mylitta.

The following April, P. mylitta showed up in a number of localities from Victoria on the southern tip of the Island north about 40 miles to Chemainus. Either the species had maintained itself in such small numbers as to escape detection, and then suddenly exploded; or it had gained access to Vancouver Island two years ago and built up a large population with amazing speed. In some respects the case resembles that of Coenonympha tullia, which after being confined to the immediate vicinity of Victoria until about 1965, suddenly started to spread northward, again coming to a stop near Chemainus. The latter species, however, was always very common near Victoria.

I cannot account for the flight season for P. mylitta as given by Jones, he states merely "June." Last year I observed a spring brood starting to fly very early in April, followed by a summer flight in July and August. P. campestris here is single brooded, flying in June and early July.

Richard Guppy, Thetis Island, British Columbia, Canada.