Oregon Silver-spot

[Kenelm Philip]

	The older name 'Silverspot' for the genus _Speyeria_ was used in
Howe's 'The Butterflies of North America', 1975--but only under the genus
itself, as an alternative for 'Greater Fritillary'.

	As for where the 'common' name 'Oregon Silverspot' comes from,
you can't blame Opler--he's merely quoting from the CITES list. Miller's
'The Common Names of North American Butterflies' lists 'Oregon Silverspot'
but gives no source. That name does not appear in the NABA 'Checklist and
English Names of North American Butterflies (1995), or in the 'Audubon
Society Field Guide to North American Butterflies', so one can't blame
either of those organizations for this. Even Holland calls the taxon the
'Hippolyta Fritillary'. The name is not used in Dornfeld's 'The Butterflies
of Oregon', or in Scott, Tilden & Smith, etc. I wonder where the CITES
people got it from--perhaps from one of the regional books on Pacific
Northwest butterflies (which I do not have here)?

							Ken Philip
fnkwp at uaf.edu

P.S. I agree with Mr. Chehey that scientific names are useful... :-)