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Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 36(4), 1982, 264-268

THE BUTTERFLIES OF KENT ISLAND, GRAND MANAN, NEW BRUNSWICK

G. David Maddox1

Duke University, Department of Zoology, Durham, North Carolina 27705

AND

Peter F. Cannell

American Museum of Natural History, Department of Ornithology, 79th St. & Central Park West, New York, New York 10024

ABSTRACT. A list of 23 species of butterflies found to be on Kent Island, New Brunswick has been compiled.

Kent Island, New Brunswick (44°35'N, 66°45'W) is the southernmost island in the Grand Manan archipelago in the Bay of Fundy. Kent Island is approximately 7.2 kilometers from Grand Manan and 9.3 kilometers from Maine, which is the nearest point of mainland (Fig. 1).

Thirty-four of Kent Island's 75.15 hectares are characteristically Canadian Zone forest, dominated by white spruce (Picea glauca) and balsam fir (Abies balsamea). The rest of the island is open grassy fields. McCain et al. (1973) and McCain (1975) have described the vegetation in some detail. Kent Island's weather is dominated by cool wet maritime air with frequent and dense summer fog. The Bowdoin College Scientific Station maintains a weather recording station on the island and data from this station for several meteorological variables are presented in Table 1.

Twenty-three species of butterflies have been found on Kent Island. Over 95 species have been recorded in nearby Maine (Brower & Payne, 1956) and, though it has not been systematically studied, Grand Manan hosts many lepidopteran species not found on Kent Island (Cannell & Maddox, personal observations). The number of species occurring on Kent Island is probably limited by its remote location, small size, and climatic conditions. Gobiel's (1965) preliminary study of Kent Island butterflies included one species, Limenitis archippus Cramer, not found during our study, but each of the twenty-three species listed here is also found in Maine (Brower & Payne, 1956) and Nova Scotia (Ferguson, 1954).

Many of the species in the following list are known migrants (P. interrogations, V. atalanta, V. virginiensis, N. antiopa, N. j-album,

1 Present address: Section of Ecology and Systematic^, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853.

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265

and D. plexippus) and would be expected to reach such an island even if they could not breed there. Since there is no Salix or Populus on Kent Island L. archippus must be a non-breeding migrant. This is surprising since it is usually considered a fairly sedentary species.

The following list is based on observations conducted between June and early September 1979 and between June and mid-October 1980. Daily abundances for 1980 were derived from daily estimates of population sizes (counts of flying adults) and are presented in Fig. 2. Larvae were not systematically hunted; so, for most species, definite statements about breeding status cannot be made. Nomenclature follows Howe (1975). Voucher specimens are held at the Bowdoin College Scientific Station, Kent Island.

Systematic List

Danaus plexippus L. Seen regularly in summer and abundant in fall.

No Asclepias species are found. Cercyonis pegala Fabricius. Infrequent and uncommon in both years. Limenitis arthemis Drury. One seen in each year. The principal larval

food plants (Howe, 1975) are not found. However, Alnus and Sor-

bus, secondary hosts, are common. Limenitis archippus Cramer. Seen rarely in 1960 (Thomas Skaling,

communication to C. Huntington) and once in 1964 (Gobiel, 1965).

There is no Salix on Kent Island and therefore L. archippus must

be a migrant. Chlosyne harrisii Scudder. Seen only once, on 8 July 1980. The larval

food plant, Aster unmbellatus, is uncommon. Polygonia interrogationis Fabricius. Common for a brief period in

July of both years. Adults were always seen near an Alnus bog but

never near the reported larval food plant, Urtica dioica, which is

common. Vanessa atalanta L. Very common in both years. Adults often seen

visiting flowers. The larval food plant, Urtica dioica, is common. Vanessa virginiensis Drury. Frequently seen in 1979, but less common in 1980. Usually found in open field of Achillea millefolium.

Potential larval food plants are abundant, especially Artemisia,

Gnaphalium, and Anaphalis. Nymphalis antiopa L. Frequently seen in August of both years. Larval

food plants are not present. Nymphalis j-album Boisduval. Seen only once, in late August 1980.

Larval food plants are not present. Nymphalis milberti Godart. Uncommon during July of both years. U.

dioica, the larval food plant, is common.

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Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society

Speyeria cybele Fabricius. Very common from early July until mid-August. Larval food plants, Viola cucullata and V. pollens, are common.

Speyeria aphrodite Fabricius. Seen once but not collected on 28 June 1980.

Speyeria atlantis Edwards. Rare in both years.

Lycaena phleaus americana Harris. The first butterfly seen each summer. This species was common in June and July of both years. A second brood seemed to appear in late August (Fig. 2). The principal larval food plant, Rumex, is abundant.

Lycaena epixanthe Boisduval & Le Conte. In each year ten to twenty individuals appeared over a two day period in July. These were restricted to a small acid bog. The only reported larval food plant, Vaccinium macrocarpum, is not found, but V. oxycoccus is locally abundant.

Glaucopsyche lygdamus Doubleday. This species was seen only once, in mid-July 1980. Some of the food plants, Lathyrus and Vicia, are found.

Pieris rapae L. Very common in late summer of both years. Crucifers are not numerous, but Cakile edentula and Capsella bursa-pastoris are present. August females were seen ovipositing on the latter species.

Colias eurytheme Boisduval. Not seen in 1979 and uncommon in 1980. Several Trifolium species are common. C. eurytheme is an annual immigrant to this region but is probably unable to overwinter. It is surprising that C. philodice, a much commoner insect in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, did not occur on Kent Island.

Colias interior Scudder. Fairly common in August 1980. Several Vaccinium species are uncommon.

Papilio glaucus L. Seen once in 1979 and once in 1980. One of the larval food plants, Sorbus, is common.

Papilio polyxenes Fabricius. Seen twice in late August 1980.

Polites coras Cramer. The only skipper seen in the two years, on 21 July 1980. The food plant in nature is unknown.

Acknowledgments

We wish to thank Amanda Cannell for advice on aesthetic moralism, Jeff Cherry for lively discussions about food and politics, Lisa Reid for optimism, and all of the above for help with the collections. We also thank an anonymous reviewer for comments on the manuscript and Dr. Charles Huntington and Bowdoin College for our use of the Kent Island Scientific Station. Special thanks to Ronny Brite. This is contribution no. 50 of the Bowdoin College Scientific Station.

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Literature Cited

Brower, A. E. & R. M. Payne. 1956. Check list of Maine butterflies. Maine Field

Naturalist 12:42-44. Ferguson, D. C. 1954. The Lepidoptera of Nova Scotia, Pt. 1, Macrolepidoptera.

Proc. Nova Scotian Inst. Sci. 23(3): 161-375. Gobeil, R. E. 1965. Butterflies on Kent Island. J. Lepid. Soc. 19:181-183. Howe, W. H. 1975. The butterflies of North America. Doubleday & Co., New York. McCain, J. W. 1975. A vegetational survey of the vascular plants of the Kent Island

Group, Grand Manan, New Brunswick. Rhodora 77:196-209. ---------, R. B. Pike & A. R. HODGDON. 1973. The vascular flora of Kent Island, Grand

Manan, New Brunswick. Rhodora 75:211-220.

Table 1. Meteorological variables for Kent Island in 1979 and 1980.

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Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society

68°

67°

66°

65°

Fig. 1. Map of the Bay of Fundy indicating the position of Grand Manan and Kent Island.

JUNE            JULY               AUG                SEPT              OCT

10 20 30 10 20 30 10 20 30 10 20 30 10 20 30

Dt plexippus

R interrogation!*

V. atalanta

V. virginiensls

Nantiopa

N.milberti

S. cybele

L. phleas R rapae C eurytheme C. interior

i i i i i i iii i i i i i i •• •! Hh* >• 'M-H'

ijM"1

• i • i ►

• «+#t*l4|WM»'ii inMi'* i

» * • i<             «l I* \m |

•                     i I «ll I' ► 1141 'II

■ i i                                   i

IWMIHP

Hi^Mllll       1*4 | |l| llll II

■.>iH~<im iiMiiim • i •                                            i

>• MM ilUHHBi

Fig. 2. Abundance and phenology for 1980 of the eleven species seen at least four times in 1980.