Phyciodes batesii

Michael Gochfeld gochfeld at eohsi.rutgers.edu
Wed Jul 12 18:22:51 EDT 2000


At Chris' suggestion, here is our understanding of the status of Tawny Crescent
in NJ.  It is my understanding that the last New York colony (near Syracuse),
disappeared about a decade ago, despite intense surveillance.   The only
documented host in this area is the Wavy-leafed Aster (Aster undulatus)

Ironically, for a species whose existence in NJ is marginal, the type locality
was designated as Gloucester, NJ by Klot, although  Scott redesignated the
locality as Winchester, VA.  Shapiro listed records from several counties
(Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Mercer), the implication being that he
collected the species there in the early 1960's.  At the time we wrote our book
we could determine that in the east the species survived:

"only in eastern Ontario and Quebec and in the Great Smokies of North Carolina'
otherwise, it no longer occurs between New York and Georgia. Scott (1994)
attributes this loss largely to fire suppression and reforestation, which
eliminated the open habitat the species requires. Overcollecting may have
contributed to the disappearance of the highly publicized, last remaimning New
York Colony (Scott 1994)"

It apparently persisted near Philadelphia into the early 1980s and in central
New York to about 1990.  In 1987 Shuey reported that it had disappeared from
Ohio.

Reporting on work by Oliver: "Male Tawny Crescents confined with female Pearl
Crescents did not mate with them, but hybridization studies using forced
matings with Pearl Crescents produce hybrids with developmental and growth
abnormalitiesand with reduced survival."

This, of course, is not the only species to disappear from a large part of its
northeastern range. Regal Fritillary comes to mind.

M. Gochfeld

"Chris J. Durden" wrote:

> At 08:04  12/07/00 -0400, you wrote:
> >I imagine that a lot of people would like to know about Phyciodes batesii
> >from the "east". New York  and other populations have dwindled and
> >disappeared for reasons that are obscure.
> >
> >So good luck.  It's nice to have an evolutionary mosaic that reminds us of
> >the fragility of the species concept ( or perhaps of our methods).
> >
> >M. Gochfeld
>  >
>
> Can you summarize the present and historic status of *Phyciodes batesii* in
> New Jersey and adjacent areas for the rest of us. Has the southern
> periphery of the range declined due to warming?
>   45 years ago this species was locally common at a number of sites in the
> Ottawa Valley. I raised it several times on fleabane. Where I have seen it
> in Montana and Colorado it has been restricted to subalpine habitats around
> treeline.
> ..........Chris Durden


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