Ferretting out Feniseca
John Mathew
jmathew at mcz.harvard.edu
Fri Jul 17 22:46:47 EDT 1998
Dear fellow lepidopterists,
In this year of unusual El Nino weather, we have started work on Feniseca
tarquinius, the "Harvester," an equally enigmatic and fascinating
butterfly. The Harvester is interesting to us on account of its
carnivorous larval stage and complex life history, which involves aphids
and several species of attendant ants. By sampling many different
populations throughout the range of the species, we hope to collect
enough data to conduct a population genetic survey. The project will
answer questions about how closely related individuals are within and
among populations, and how much gene flow exists among them. We also
hope to collect detailed information on the distribution and density of
Feniseca throughout its range. Like other highly specialized species of
Lycaenidae, we believe that Feniseca is particularly susceptible to the
effects of habitat destruction. This study will establish a baseline for
future work on population dynamics that will provide insight into the
biology of the species and garner vital information for conservation
purposes.
As you may know, the Harvester and its prey can be quite elusive. They
are distributed throughout the eastern United States, but are present
only in patches and often at very low densities. We are writing to you in
order to enlist your support and expert knowledge in our quest for these
scattered populations. If you do possess any information as to where
Feniseca has been collected in the recent past and/or know anyone who
might, we would be most grateful if you could take some time to respond
with the relevant information and additionally afford to us a contact
telephone number so as to enable us to contact you in the future.
You can also reach us by telephone at (617)495-4012 (John or Mike) or
(617)495-2576 (Naomi), fax at (617)495-5667, or at any of the given e-mail
addresses appearing at the end of this posting. If you do know of sites and
would like to become directly involved in this project by collecting adults
and/or larvae for us, we would be happy to send you a collection kit and
instructions. We plan to begin active collecting of the Harvester as soon as
possible.
As is the case with all sleuthing, even a fragment of information or a
promising lead could become vital to our search. Thank you in advance for
any assistance you might be able to contribute to this effort.
Sincerely yours,
John Mathew
Graduate Student, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA
jmathew at mcz.harvard.edu
Mike Canfield
Biology Teacher, Friends Central School, Philadelphia, PA
mcanfield at oeb.harvard.edu
Naomi Pierce
Professor, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
npierce at oeb.harvard.edu
More information about the Leps-l
mailing list