Biology and systematics of Phyciodes (Phyciodes)

• Main Author: Scott, James A.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Colorado State University. Libraries 2007
• Subjects: Butterflies; Lepidoptera; Tutchone
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10217/84915

Nov. 18, 1994. Includes bibliographical references (pages 88-91). Phyciodes (Phyciodes) is revised, using numerous new traits of larvae, pupae, hosts, larval webs, antenna color, wing pattern, male and female genitalia, etc. New hosts and life histories are presented. Twelve new names are used: five new ssp. are named (P. batesii lakota, P. b. apsaalooke, P. b. anasazi, P. pulchella shoshoni, P. p. tutchone), three names are resurrected from long disuse due to synonymy (P. pulchella = pratensis = camoestris, P. mylitta arida), homonymy (selenis vs. homonym morpheus) and synonymy (P. cocyta = selenis), two new combinations are proposed (P. pulchella montana, P. pulchella camillus), and one name is restored to species status (P. pallescens); P. vesta is removed from subgenus Phyciodes and assigned to the same subgenus (Eresia) as P. frisia. Several new western U.S. taxa proved to be ssp. of batesii based on traits of adults, larvae, pupae, diapause, hosts, and ecology. With some exceptions (antenna, some forewing traits, etc.), the tharos-group taxa form a step-cline in most traits, from P. tharos riocolorado to P. tharos to P. cocyta to B. batesii to P. pulchella; in about 10 characters, riocolorado is a "super-tharos", more extreme than tharos and thus at the end of the step-cline, while pulchella clearly forms the other end of the step-cline. Another cline appears in P. batesii. The P. mylitta-group is similar to tharos-group (mylitta/tharos share similar primitive genitalia) and contains three species that are amply distinct in larvae and male and female genitalia. Farther away, the phaon-group is newly defined by many traits of male and female genitalia and non-Aster hosts: pallescens has the wing pattern of camillus, and picta and phaon complete the group.