Checkerspot-E. San Diego Co.

Doug Yanega dyanega at pop.ucr.edu
Wed Mar 17 18:29:06 EST 1999


Mark Walker wrote:

>Well, actually the checkerspot is Euphydryas chalcedona ssp. quino or some
>race with distinctive coloration, depending on your viewpoint.  In Emmel and
>Emmel, it is described as the former, aka the Quino Checkerspot.  It has
>more extensive red coloration than does E. c. chalcedona, but not as much as
>other desert forms of this species (nor is it as red as E. editha).  All of
>these checkerspots are stunning, in my opinion.

Wanda was right - the name "Quino" was *mistakenly* applied to E.
chalcedona hennei in the past, but is now applied to a subspecies of editha
which *used* to be called E. e. wrighti. The confusion was because the type
specimen of E. e. quino was destroyed in the San Francisco fire of 1906,
and folks assumed that the name referred to E. c. hennei. The fact that the
old "common" name for E. e. quino, "Wright's Checkerspot" is now applied to
Thessalia leanira wrighti, just adds to the confusion. Further, that E. e.
quino is now on the endangered list and the other two are not just makes
matters an order of magnitude worse, since a small amount of confusion as
to name can now have serious political repercussions.

Peace,


Doug Yanega       Dept. of Entomology           Entomology Research Museum
Univ. of California - Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521
phone: (909) 787-4315
                  http://www.icb.ufmg.br/~dyanega/
  "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
        is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82



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