Butterfly identification help - seen today in Suffield

[Grkovich, Alex]

Not exactly, John (as you no doubt know). It is in fact a Hybrid Purple (or Hybrid Admiral), a "cross" between the southern Red Spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis astyannax) and the northern White Admiral (or Banded Purple, L. arthemis arthemis)...This one is either form albofasciata or proserpina (not sure which one, but I think it may be proserpina), and it appears to have been caught on this flower by a crab spider (although the spider cvannot be seen in the photo)...
 
For those that don't know, the Red Spotted Purple and White Admirals are considered to be two subspecies of the same species, and hybrids such as these occur in a wide belt from (at least) southern Connecticut to as far north as along the Kancamagus Highway in northern New Hampshire (a few have been found even in southern Quebec)...In this specimen, one can see the typical coloration (more or less) of the Red Spotted Purple, with traces of the white bands of the Banded Purple...
 
Watch for "Red Spotted Purples" with the submarginal band on the dorsal HW solid blue (rather than green or greenish blue), in squarish blocks and without iridescence (which is characteristic of the Red Spotted Purple), and rather strongly coppery colored below...These, even though there is no real trace of white banding (except along the FW leading edge) are also in fact Hybrids, and are not "pure" Red Spotted Purples; this phenotype (common in CT, Rhode Island and eastern Massachusetts) represents the "first stage" of the integrade from Red Spotted Purple to White Admiral, along the southern edge of the hybrid zone between the two subspecies...
 
Alex

________________________________

From: owner-ctleps-l at lists.yale.edu on behalf of JH
Sent: Thu 8/21/2008 8:34 PM
To: FredNowak at comcast.net; CTLEPS-L at lists.yale.edu
Subject: Re: Butterfly identification help - seen today in Suffield


It's a Red-spotted Purple. 
 
John
 
 
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	----- Original Message ----- 
	From: Fred Nowak <mailto:FredNowak at comcast.net>  
	To: CTLEPS-L at lists.yale.edu 
	Sent: Thursday, August 21, 2008 7:48 PM
	Subject: Butterfly identification help - seen today in Suffield

	I have a birding friend that I have been encouraging to become a butterflyer. Today he took the photo in the attachment at his home in Suffield and he wants to know what it is. I have four butterfly books but they do not have a compelling answer. Would someone please identify this butterfly?
	
	Fred Nowak
	East Hartford
	
	
	
	

	
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