FW: [MassLep] AGGRESSIVE MALE NORTHERN CLOUDYWING

Grkovich, Alex agrkovich at tmpeng.com
Tue Jun 26 17:19:53 EDT 2001



> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Grkovich, Alex 
> Sent:	Tuesday, June 26, 2001 5:18 PM
> To:	'MassLep at listbot.com'
> Subject:	FW: [MassLep] AGGRESSIVE MALE NORTHERN CLOUDYWING
> 
> Note spelling and other corrections. Sorry.
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Grkovich, Alex [SMTP:agrkovich at tmpeng.com]
> Sent:	Tuesday, June 26, 2001 5:12 PM
> To:	'MassLep at listbot.com'
> Subject:	[MassLep] AGGRESSIVE MALE NORTHERN CLOUDYWING
> 
> Massachusetts Leps - http://mrines.com/Butterflies/MassLep/
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> 
> I observed, on Saturday 23 June, an instance of extreme and noticeable
> aggression displayed by a male specimen of Northern Cloudywing at the top
> of
> the (abandoned) ski trail at the Boston Hills Ski Area near N. Andover, MA
> off of Rt. 114. The butterfly was perching on the ground and on low leaves
> of nearby poplars, oaks etc. in a clearing along a trail, and then darting
> at high speed at its neighbors, which included a group of several Eastern
> Commas, a Mourning Cloak, etc. I think this is noteworthy because there
> has
> been a tendency recently to regard all such "aggressive acts" as males
> seeking to identify potential mates, and therefore moving rapidly from a
> perch in the direction of the other. From my own observations, I'm sure
> this
> is often or most of the time actually the case, but very clearly, it was
> not
> the case this time. This butterfly, even after repeated darts at the same
> "neighbors", continued to attack them and follow them, displaying almost a
> vicious attitude. 
> 
> I have noticed that Klots remarks about the "pugilistic tendencies of
> males
> of this species" on page 213 of his 1951 Field Guide.
> 
> Red Spotted Purples in this area are partial hybrids with the White
> Admiral,
> displaying a partial white FW band and the bluish iridescent sheen of the
> HW
> converted into distinct  blue  spots, which are the beginning of the
> development of
> the white bands on the HW. On the undersides of thew wings, there is a
> tendency here toward the reddish ground color of the White Admiral.
> 
> The "Common Wood Nymph" season is approaching. I wanted to point out the
> fact that there are three distinct subspecies of this species that occur
> in southern New England: 1. The Blue Eyed Grayling (or Common Wood Nymph),
> which is the most typical form, probably found most anywhere except
> otherwise as described, and which has the typical yellow/orange FW band
> enclosing the two large dark spots; 2. The Maritime Wood Nymph, which is
> found only along the coast (the Type Locality [the locality where the
> taxon
> was named and original described] is on Martha's Vineyard (Matt, you no
> doubt see this one). The ground color is darker, deeper brown than the
> first, with the FW patch being more deeper orange. 3. The Northern Wood
> Nymph, which lacks the light yellow or orange FW band, but the spots are
> present, and is otherwise darker. This is the northernmost form, which I
> associate with the Canadian Zone (mountain areas in s. New England and
> pretty much everywhere in n. New England). The fourth is a very curious
> form
> that I have found in the past (in isolated specimens only) along and near
> the South Shore (for example, at Norfolk) and which looks like the Blue
> Eyed
> Grayling or Maritime WN, but has the LOWER FW dark spot in the light band
> SMALLER and reduced in size in the males. This is important because this
> is
> an important characteristic of the Southern Wood Nymph, which occurs in
> typical form only as far north as Virginia, with a blend zone supposedly
> extending up to the coast to New Jersey.  The occurrence of this would
> indicate that the blend zone with the southernmost form extends further up
> the coast than has commonly been described. I would be interested to hear
> about such specimens. This is, of course, NOT the Southern WN (which is
> usually larger and brighter, and also has the dark spot on the HW very
> large) but still....
> 
> I sent a post yesterday about the "two Little Wood Satyrs". Is anyone
> interested in this? I noticed last evening, while out at 5:30pm in a
> wooded
> field in Melrose, that there were no "Little Wood Satyrs I" (as Glassberg
> refers to them) flying in an area where there have been at least several
> hundred of them during their flight this month (starting about May 26). 
> 
> Alex Grkovich, P.E.
> TMP Consulting Engineers, Inc.
> 52 Temple Place
> Boston, MA 02111
> 617.357.6060 X329
> 617.357.5188 FAX
> agrkovich at tmpeng.com
> 
> 
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