Southern Hairstreak

[Alan Wormington]

As a resident of Ontario -- the type locality of "Northern" Hairstreak --
I don't mind the name Southern Hairstreak.  Although the type was
collected in Ontario, there has not been another record in the province
until we found one at Point Pelee in 1999 -- 131 years later!.  However,
we always thought that Northern Hairstreak seemed like an odd name  for a
species that certainly is not northern.  When one tries to assess whether
a species is "northern" or "southern" you should look at the entire
continent of North America, not just the United States which is so
typical of Americans (sorry).  I think "Southern Hairstreak" is a good
name for the species as a whole.

Alan Wormington
Leamington, Ontario

New Web Page (incomplete, but I'm working on it):  www.Point-Pelee.com

* end *

On Sat, 4 Nov 2000 07:57:55 -0400 Michael Gochfeld
<gochfeld at EOHSI.RUTGERS.EDU> writes:
> I didn't get a chance to respond to Ann(e) Kilmer's elegant 
> exposition 
> on common names.  Joanna Burger (wife) and I dealt with this in our 
> BUTTERFLIES OF NEW JERSEY BOOK, by separating "systematics", 
> "taxonomy", 
> "classification" and "nomenclature" as slightly overlapping but 
> different endeavors.  
> 
> The notion that any rule of priority applies to common (or English 
> or 
> colloquial or vernacular) names is simply wrong (as Anne 
> emphasized). It 
> has never had any basis. We may choose to use that as a basis for 
> coming 
> to agreement on a common name (not everyone agrees that we need a 
> single 
> authoritative list of common names, but then again we certainly 
> don't 
> have it for scientific names since they are changed with every 
> taxonomic 
> "whim"). 
> 
> I think that the NABA checklist exemplified that error in using the 
> name 
> "Southern Hairstreak" for the lumped Satyrium [Fixsenia] favonius. 
> The 
> subspecies S. ontario or Northern Hairstreak and S. favonius or 
> Southern 
> Hairstreak.  Because favonius had technical priority, its common 
> name 
> was likewise assigned to the species.  This was simply an error, 
> resulting in confusion. Indeed, as hairstreaks go the species is not 
> 
> particularly southern or northern in its distribution.  When two 
> species 
> are lumped, it is reasonable to seek a more general name to describe 
> the 
> species as a whole (particularly in this case when neither common 
> name 
> was really good to begin with). 
> 
> On the other hand when NABA lumped the Olive and Juniper 
> Hairstreaks, 
> the scientific name of the former and common name of the latter were 
> 
> applied. 
> 
> M. Gochfeld
> 
>  
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