Subspecies and protection

[Chris J. Durden]

Jean-Michel,
  Alas no joke. 
  Opinion 282 (ICZN) designated a Neotype for *Papilio plexippus* Linne,
1758, in 1954. This Neotype came from Kendall, New York State - clearly the
migratory monarch. Note that one original specimen of Linne is likely to
have come from the Swedish colony in eastern Pennsylvania, even though the
other specimen came from Canton, China and was renamed *P. genutia* later.

  To quote F. M. Brown (1972, Jamaica and it's Butterflies) -

"Disquieting as it may be, there is a slight possibility that migratory *D.
p. plexippus* is a sibling species of what we now consider the sedentary
subspecies of *D. plexippus*. There are, for example, minor but constant
differences in the male genitalia, and there is the marked difference in
the shape and proportions of the forewing and the shape of the
light-colored subapical spots on that wing."

  Funny no-one has followed this suggestion yet!

Ackery & Vane-Wright (1984, Milkweed Butterflies) can find no autapomorphy
to define *D. plexippus* in relation to the trans-amazonian *D. erippus*.
They do recognize them on the basis of paler forewing hindmargin and
possibly shorter tongue of the latter. They recognize no subspecies.

  You are probably in a better position to characterize the tropical
montane monarchs, at least in Nicaragua. I have easy access to very few
specimens of tropical non-migrant monarchs from Mexico and Costa Rica.
Someone needs to study larvae as well and take samples for DNA comparison.
.........Chris Durden

At 07:19  14/10/00 -0600, you wrote:
>Dear Chris Durden,
>
>That's a bad joke... I have no name for MY monarchs !
>What's the subspecies of Nicaragua ?
>I was thinking it was megalippe...
>If you are shure of that it is new, why don't you descibe it ?
>
>Can you put your distributions on a map. You have 3 ssp. in Mexico.
- - - - -
Yes two overlap seasonally in Tamaulipas. The third seems to be uncommon in
isolated mountain ranges.
- - -(Chris)
>
>Thanks,
>
>Jean-Michel MAES
>MUSEO ENTOMOLOGICO
>AP 527
>LEON
>NICARAGUA
>tel 505-3116586
>jmmaes at ibw.com.ni