Table Of Content184 Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society
This studywas funded in partbya grant from the Non-game Wildlife Division ofthe
Minnesota Department ofNatural Resources. Field assistancewas funded bya Research
Explorations forTeachers grant to the UniversityofMinnesota Curriculum and Instruc-
tion Department. I thank Dave Andow, Theresa Leahy, Bill Miller, Susan Wellerand the
site managers forall theirhelp. I especially appreciate the thorough reading andprofes-
sionalattitudes ofthe reviewers.
Literature Cited
Arnold, R. A. 1983. Ecological studies ofsix endangeredbutterflies (Lepidoptera, Ly-
caenidae): island biogeography, patch dynamics, and the design ofhabitatpreserves.
Univ. Calif. Publ. Entomol. 99:1-161.
Covell, C. V, Jr. 1984. A field guide to the moths ofeastern North America. Houghton
Mifflin, Boston. 496pp.
CUSHMAN, H. & D. D. MURPHY. 1993. Susceptibilityoflycaenidbutterflies to endan-
J.
germent. Wings (Xerces Society) 17:16-21.
DEMPSTER, R 1991. Fragmentation, isolation and mobility of insect populations,
pp. 143-1J.54. In Collins, N. M. &J.A.Thomas (Eds.),Theconservationofinsectsand
theirhabitats. AcademicPress, London.
EHRLICH, P. R. & D. D. MURPHY. 1987. Conservation lessons from longterm studies of
checkerspotbutterflies. Cons. Biol. 1:122-131.
Great Plains FloraAssociation. 1986. Floraofthe Great Plains. Univ. Kansas Press,
Lawrence, Kansas. 1402pp.
OPLER, P. A. 1991. NorthAmericanproblems andperspectivesininsectconservation,pp.
9-32. In Collins, N. M. & A. Thomas (Eds.), The conservation ofinsects andtheir
J.
habitats. AcademicPress, London.
OPLER, P. A. & G. O. KRIZEK. 1984. Butterflies east ofthe Great Plains. Johns Hopkins
UniversityPress, Baltimore. 294pp.
ORWIG,T. T. 1992. Loesshillsprairiesandbutterflysurvivia: opportunitiesandchallenges,
pp. 132-135. In Smith, D. D. & C. A. Jacobs (Eds.), Proceedings ofthe Twelfth
North American Prairie Conference. Univ. Northern Iowa, CedarFalls, Iowa.
PANZER, R., D. Stillwaugh, R. GNAEDINGER&G. DERKOVITZ. 1995. Prevalenceofrem-
nant-relianceamongtheprairieandsavanna-inhabitinginsectsofthe Chicagoregion.
NaturalAreasJournal 15:101-116.
REED, C. C. 1995. Insects surveyedonflowers in native and reconstructedprairies (Min-
nesota). Restoration and Management Notes 13:210-213.
SCOTT, A. 1986. The butterflies of North America: a natural history and field guide.
J.
Stanford Univ. Press, Stanford, California. 585pp.
Catherine C. Reed, Entomology Department, 219 Hodson Hall, University ofMin-
nesota, SaintPaid, Minnesota 55108, USA.
Receivedforpublication20December1994; revisedandaccepted12 March 1996.
JournaloftheLepidopterists'Society
51(2), 1997, 184-187
YOU CAUGHTWHATIN YOUR BACKYARD?
Additional key words: Electrostrymon angelia, Ministrymon azia, Dryas iulia,
Florida, dispersal.
What butterflies are in your back yard? This question has been asked before in the
pagesoftheJournal (Howe 1959) andmanysubsequentnotes. Howeidentified64butter-
fly species on a nine-acre plot in Kansas, at the time a truly impressive feat. We also
Volume 51, Number 2 185
FlG. 1. Electrostrymon angelia angelia. Male, upper (left) and under (right) surfaces.
Florida: Manatee Co.; 2 mi. E ofSamoset, March 1992 (leg. Y. Miller).
J.
beeninformally monitoringthe butterflyfaunas in two localities adjacent orcloseto our
respective homes on the Florida GulfCoast, one in Manatee County (Millers) and the
otherin Pinellas County (Anderson). These studies are recreational ratherthan scientific
andundertaken more forcuriositythan foranyotherreason.
The butterflyfaunaofeach areawas reasonablywellknown as ofearly 1992, soitwas
surprisingthat each ofus independentlycollected, duringthe latterhalfofthatyear, two
species previouslyunrecorded from thewest coastal areaofthe state. Both ofthesewere
lycaenids, and both have been recorded only recentlyfrom southeastern Florida and the
FloridaKeys.
Electrostrymon angelia angelia (Hewitson) has become a recent residentin southeast-
ern Florida (Anderson 1974), and its known range extends along the Atlantic coast to
about Fort Lauderdale. In March, and again in October 1992, Lee andJackie Milleren-
countered this small hairstreakin theirbackyard nectaring on flowers ofHyptis verticil-
lata Jacq. (Lamiaceae) (determinationbyR. Wunderlin, Univ. So. Florida). Andersonfirst
found this species in Pinellas Countyin November 1992, nectaringon flowers ofgolden-
rod, Solidago sp. (Asteraceae). Since the first sightings ofthis butterflyon thewest coast
ofFloridawerein March 1992, priortothe destructionwroughtby HurricaneAndrewin
southern Floridain August 1992, that storm could nothave been the cause ofthis range
extension. These specimens, one ofwhich is illustrated here (Fig. 1), represent the first
records ofE. angelia for Pinellas and Manatee Counties, and resident populations, al-
though quite small, havebeen seen in the areauntilpresent. The species was previously
reportedin LeeCountyontheFloridaGulfCoastbyHeinrichin 1989 (seeBaggett1989).
Specimens ofMinistrymon azia (Hewitson) were collected by Anderson during No-
vember1992inPinellasCounty(Figs. 2, 3). Aboutthesametimein ManateeCounty, Lee
andJackie Millermade two positive sight records, with an additional sight recordon the
grounds ofthe Allyn Museum in Sarasota, Sarasota County. The first Manatee County
specimen, afemale, flewoutofatree andlandedon thewindshieldofacarduringacool
day; then itproceeded to thermoregulate there for several minutes withits wings alter-
nately opening and closing, thus revealing the diagnostic ventral red spotband, and the
gray-powdered upper hindwingthat establishedits sex. These specimens, ortheirances-
tors, might have been introduced through the actions ofHurricane Andrew but due to
theirfresh condition,we suspectthe species hasbeen resident longerand simplyavoided
detectionbecauseofits smallsizeandsimilarappearancetoLeptotescassiastheonus (Lu-
cas). There also is one record ofM. azia from NewPort Richey, Pasco County (Baggett
1989) capturedlate thatyear.
BothE. angelia andM. aziawillfeedas larvae on Brazilianpepper, Schinus terebinthi-
folius Raddi (Anacardiaceae), aubiquitousweedinsouthernpeninsularFloridathatiswell
186 Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society
f\
>v s
• -.r
"<•
FIGS. 2-3. Ministrymon azia. 2, male; 3, female (3). Upper (left) and under (right)
surfaces. BothFlorida: PinellasCo.; St. Petersburg, November1992 (leg. R.A.Anderson).
established on the Millerproperty, andM. azia alsois known to feed uponLeucaena leu-
cocephala (Lam.) de Wit (Fabaceae). It seems likelythat there has been an established
breedingpopulationofoneorbothspecies forseveralyears duringaseriesofconsecutive
extremely mildwinters since 1989. Because both butterflies have broad ranges and dis-
perse readilythroughout the Caribbean (Smith et al. 1994) andhave recentlybecome es-
tablishedinFlorida,itis likelythatthesebutterflies arrivedinwestcoastalFloridabynat-
ural dispersal. Lee andJackie Millerhave seen E. angelia everyyear since, through the
spring of 1996, and Anderson has taken both species in Pinellas County, so apparently
both species are still firmlyestablished. The butterflies certainlyare not limited bytheir
anacardiaceous foodplant, which ranges to near Clearwaterin northern Pinellas County,
andbothspecies shouldbe soughtelsewhereinsouthwestern Florida.
LeeandJackie MilleralsoobservedaspecimenofDryasiulialargo Clenchon28Feb-
ruarytakingnectarat Citrus flowers. Itwas captured, foundtobe araggedmale, andun-
fortunatelyreleasedbefore the real significance ofthe recordwas realized, as D. i. largo
was known previouslyonly from extreme southern Florida (Kimball 1965). The Manatee
County specimen was observed farther north in west coastal Florida than anyprevious
record, althougharecentsightingin OrlandobyDeuerling(see Baggett 1993)wouldsug-
gest that this is another species actively expanding its range, possibly duringthe recent
warmwinters.
Ifthere is a moral to be learned from this tale, itis that one can never saywith confi-
dence that one knows everything about the distribution ofbutterflies in an area. Many
species may expand their ranges when conditions are favorable only to have the ranges
contract subsequently. Itwillbeintriguingto seewhetherthepopulations notedherecan
persistafteracoolerwinterwith several frosts. There are manyexamples intheliterature
oftransientpopulations ofanimals from manyparts oftheworld. Armadillos and oppos-
sumsarewell-knownexamplesofsuchpriordispersalsin NorthAmerica, andwehaveob-
Volume 51, Number 2 187
served expansions and contractions of butterflies such as Calpodes ethlius (Stoll) and
Siproetastelenesbiplagiata (Fruhstorfer) in Central Florida. Because oflarval hostplant
relations, we also must remember that larvae might inadvertantly be transported with
nurseryplants from different areas within the state. However, the lycaenid records listed
herewere madelongafterthe activegrowthperiodwhenexoticplantswouldnormallybe
broughtinto Central Floridaforsaleinlocalnurseries.
We considervoucher specimens to be an absolute necessityin faunal surveystudies in
ordertoadequatelydeterminethetaxarepresentedinanarea.VouchersofM. azia andE.
angelia discussedherehavebeendepositedinthecollections oftheAllyn Museum ofEn-
tomology, Florida Museum ofNatural History.
Literature Cited
ANDERSON, R. A. 1974. Three newUnited States records (Lycaenidae and Nymphalidae)
andotherunusual captures from thelowerFlorida Keys. Lepid. Soc. 28:354-358.
J.
BAGGETT, H. D. 1989. CurrentZone Reports. So. Lepid. News 11(4):44.
. 1993. CurrentZone Reports. So. Lepid. News 15(2):21.
HOWE,W. H. (ed.) 1958. What's inyourbackyard? Lepid. News 12:130.
KIMBALL, C. P. 1965. The LepidopteraofFlorida. Anannotatedchecklist. StateofFlorida
Dept. Agric, Gainesville, Florida. 353pp.
Smith, D. S., L. D. Miller &J. Y. Miller. 1994. The Butterflies oftheWest Indies and
South Florida. Oxford Univ. Press. 264pp.
Lee D. Miller, Jacqueline Y. Miller,Allyn MuseumofEntomology ofthe Florida
Museum ofNatural History, 3621 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota, Florida 34234, USA, AND
RICHARDA. Anderson, 836Amelia CourtNE, St. Petersburg, Florida33702, USA
Receivedforpublication 1 May 1994; revisedandaccepted25August1996.
JournaloftheLepidopterists'Society
51(2), 1997, 187-190
REPRODUCTIVE ADAPTATIONS OFTHE TASAR SILKMOTH,ANTHERAEA
MYLITTA (SATURNIIDAE), TO EMERGENCE SEASON
Additional keywords: ovary, coupling, fecundity, hatching, diapause.
Most insects survive periods ofenvironmental stress by entering a state ofdiapause.
The Indian tropicaltasarsilkworm,Antheraea mylitta Drury, completes twotothree gen-
erations in ayear (Sinha & Chaudhuri 1992), and in bi/trivoltine broods undergoes pupal
diapause for aperiod ofabout sixto seven months to overcome unfavorable environmen-
tal conditions (Dash & Nayak 1988, Kapila et al. 1991, Sinha & Chaudhuri 1992). Pupal
diapauseinthis species normallyterminatesattheendofMayandeclosionbeginsinJune
with the advent of rain (Sinha & Chaudhuri 1992). This is known as optimal seasonal
emergence. However, in the diapausingbrood aportion ofthe pupae hatch 1-2 months
early, emergingin apresumablyunfavorableclimatebefore the rainyseason (Kapilaetal.
1991). The physiological/hormonalbasis ofthis erratic eclosion remains unclear, although
endocrine regulation of pupal diapause in other insects has been well documented
(Browning 1981, Denlinger 1985). Daily patterns ofinsect behavior (e.g., locomotion,
feeding, emergence, mating, oviposition, and hatching) are governed by daily cycles of
temperature, humidity, and light intensityaswell as byphysiological events (Beck 1983,
Ratte 1985, Ashby& Singh 1990). We reporthereon ovarymorphologyand reproductive
behaviorof"seasonally" and"unseasonally" emergedtasarsilkmoths.
One thousanddiapausingA. mylitta pupae ofeach sexwere observedas theyemerged
