out of sight, out of mind - out.

[Ron Gatrelle]

The southeastern US was one of the first areas of North America settled by
Europeans. The first "capitol" of Spanish Florida was near what is now
Beaufort, SC. In the 1600's settlements were founded on the SC coast. Thus,
it is that many of the butterflies and moths that were first described from
North America were based on specimens collected in the area where I now
live. Linnaeus, Fabricius, Hubner, Boisduval, Le Conte and others described
species from this area. For the vast majority of these no original
specimens remain.

Since those colonial days, few Lepidopterists have lived, collected and
_studied_ the butterflies of the South Carolina and Georgia coasts. In fact
since John Abbot (1800)only myself (Dominick worked mostly on moths and one
or two others just collected.) When Harris' Butterflies of Georgia came out
in 1972 there were no coastal record for Mitoura grynea (Olive
Hairstreak/Juniper Hairstreak). This is especially odd since Mitoura grynea
smilacis was described from the GA coast. Even today I only know of three
individuals, other than I, who have ever collected this. It has been
virtually ignored in the popular literature except for an occasional
reference to it as only a "form" - which is totally incorrect as it was
described (in length) as a full species.

The USGS site lists Mitoura grynea sweadneri as a T2 "threatened" species.
Compared to smilacis, sweadneri is common. Smilacis exists only along the
immediate coasts of GA and SC from about Brunswick north where its host
Juniperus siliciola is found in tidal marshes, islands and parts of the
Maritime mainland.  My paper just published on the eastern Mitoura is the
only research to deal with this taxon since its original description in
1833. The neotype male and a female will eventually be posted on the TILS
web site. Sweadneri is the third rarest eastern Mitoura behind smilacis (2)
and the southern subspecies of hesseli (1) described in my paper. Mitoura
hesseli angulata is known from only one colony in SC, one is GA and two (or
three) in Fla.

Chlosyne ismeria ismeira is one of the rarest resident butterflies in the
US. (Its subspecies C. ismeria nycteis is one of the most common.) Ismeria
is known from only three specimens from GA a few from Florida and a
handfull of others from the Gulf Coast. There are other taxa I could
mention. The point is that the southeasten coastal area of SC and GA is
unique and rich in endemic butterflies. But because no one has lived,
collected and studied the butterflies of this area in the last 200 years,
it is silent in the literature. The loosers in all this are the taxa which
are fast becoming victims of the massive modern development (mostly for the
rich) of the coastal islands. The Carolina Parrot will not be the last
taxon to become extinct in this area due to human explotation.

In the last few years I have been doing my best to publish scientific
information on the butterflies and skippers of this unique area. With the
dumbed down climate of today relative to subspecies, where they are
virtually ignored in the eastern US, I feel it is not much use.  I have
little hope for A. midea midea, M. grynea smilacis, B. isophthalma
insularus and H. attalus nigrescens. At least Poanes aaroni bordeloni is
getting some recognition in Texas.

Ron Gatrelle



 
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