Phyciodes batesii

[Chris J. Durden]

At 06:22  12/07/00 -0400, you wrote:
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>"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.
>
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>
>M. Gochfeld
>
>"Chris J. Durden" wrote:
>
>>   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

The Ottawa Valley colonies were/(are?) in woodland glades, specifically
associated with the herbaceous edges of large outcrops of sandstone or
dolomite, and also near outwash sand barrens with pine, aspen and small
white spruce. Perhaps the primeval habitat was limited to outcrop-edge
openings in the forest in the glaciated north and on the Blue Ridge.
Perhaps the colonies between these areas were an artifact of land clearing
by pioneers and were not really natural or part of the "fundament" in the
sense of Kroeber. If something like this were the case one might expect
some genetic differentiation in the primeval refugia and some confusion and
introgression in secondary colonies in artificial anthropogenic habitat. Of
course fire may have played an important role but fire suppression is
centuries old in the Northeastern States. Recent change roadside
maintenance practices along paved vs. unpaved roads, and use of weedkiller
rather than manual labor may also have been important in suppression of
this species in roadside habitat.
..........Chris Durden 
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