Red Spotted

[Anthony Zemba]

The list of host plants for Red spotted purple is long.  Cech and Tudor (2005) write the following: "Highly variable. For both races, wild cherry (Prunus serotina), aspens, poplars and cottonwoods (Populus), birches (Betula), willows (Salix), Hawthorn (Crataegus), serviceberry (Amelanchier), basswood (Tilia), deerberry (Vaccinium stamineum), etc."   Given the authors approach to devote one page of the book per species, the host plant treatment may have been edited. It would be interesting to see what makes up the "etc.".  Opler (1992) includes Black Oak. Seeing as though the list of host plants is so variable and the fact that Pyrus, after all, is in the Family Rosaceae (along with cherry, hawthorn and serviceberry if I'm not mistaken), the eggs laid on pear is not too surprising, but I'd be interested to hear an update none the less.  

-anthony

(citations available upon request)

Anthony J. Zemba
Senior Environmental Scientist/Ecologist
Planning and Environmental Compliance
Maguire Group Inc.
One Court Street
New Britain, CT 06051
p: (860) 224-9141 ext. 236
f: (860) 224-9147
Azemba at MaguireGroup.com 


>>> <RChyinski at aol.com> 8/13/2007 8:34 AM >>>
Observed a Red Spotted Purple ovipositing on a Pear tree yesterday.   It is 
the first time I have seen Pear used as a host plant and I don't think  that 
Pear (Pyrus) is chemically similar to Cherry (Prunus) which is the most  used 
host plant. At this point I have left the leaf/egg on the tree protected by  
nylon mesh and will see if a caterpillar does hatch and survives.
 
Rich Chyinski



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