_Boloria_ (s.l.) chariclea_

Kondla, Norbert FOR:EX Norbert.Kondla at gems3.gov.bc.ca
Mon Apr 10 10:55:15 EDT 2000


Thanks for sharing this Ken.  Some years ago I accepted the notion of one
species in NA as a result of assuming that two people who are knowledgeable
about Boloria were likely to have the "right" interpretation, especially if
they agree.  Since then I have concluded that the one species notion on this
continent is not acceptable and is patently contradicted by what is seen in
the real world.  Similarly the lumping of Boloria astarte and Boloria
distincta is not supported by any evidence; so even in the supposedly well
known genus Boloria in NA we have things that have differing interpretations
-- and I will not even get into the status of Boloria tarquinius (assumed to
be a subspecies of freija in some literature). 

-----Original Message-----
From: Kenelm Philip [mailto:fnkwp at aurora.alaska.edu]
Sent: Friday, April 07, 2000 11:06 PM
To: leps-l at lists.yale.edu
Subject: _Boloria_ (s.l.) chariclea_



	Norbert Kondla asked about _B. chariclea_'s status as a single
species (along with what had been called _B. titania_) in North America.
I have nothing to say on the question as to whether Palaearctic _titania_
is or is not conspecific with Nearctic '_titania_'; but I have a few 
comments on whether North American '_chariclea_' is conspecific with
North American '_titania_'. I might add that Shepard, Pike, et al have
heard these comments, do not dispute the facts, but say this has nothing
to do with their arguments or conclusions.

	In Interior Alaska, and also in at least part of Southcentral
Alaska, we find a _Boloria_ with the facies of _chariclea_, which does
the following:

1) it flies in late summer in high-elevation tundra

2) it flie in mid-summer in low-elevation tundra, just above treeline.

3) it flies in early summer (but later than _B. freija_) in bogs in the
	taiga.

	Although _B. chariclea_ flies every year in late summer in the
tundra on the North Slope, in the Brooks Range, and on the Seward
Peninsula--all the above populations tend to fly in odd-numbered years.
In the Fairbanks area, all the specimens I have seen from taiga bogs have
been captured in odd-numbered years with the exception of one colony
on the Steese Highway, as have most of those from low or high tundra,
(although there are some exceptions).

	A _Boloria_ with the facies of what has been called 'titania' flies
in the same taiga bogs in late summer, every year.

	I find it difficult to regard 'titania' and 'chariclea' in Interior
Alaska as conspecific, with their ability to fly in the _same_ habitat
at markedly different times, with the every-year versus the odd-year
flights, and with '_titania_' limited to taiga bogs while '_chariclea_'
flies from arctic tundra through alpine tundra to taiga bogs. Shepard and
Pike find this behavior perfectly consistent with these insects being
conspecific--but I find that difficult to accept.

							Ken Philip
fnkwp at uaf.edu


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