Mark Walker, Mississippi, taxonomy

[Ron Gatrelle]

Hi Mark & family
    (Yes, you can pick your friends but you are stuck with your family -
the butterfly family.)   This post is both personal and public.

    So let's get to some gooood stuff.  I have three species to address as
encountered by Mark in Mississippi: Pterourus troilus, Neonympha helicta
and Asterocampa celtis.

    Mark, do you have anything in the TTR series before this year's Volume
3? (I know you are subscribed for 2001.)  The relevant papers are: celtis
is in TTR 1:5,      helicta in TTR 1:8,      troilus in TTR 2:4.   There is
also a follow-up on celtis in the TILS News 2:2.

    There are photos of the holotypes or neotypes of these on the TILS web
site http://tils-ttr.org - except for celtis and clyton.  (Why we have not
put the neotypes of clyton and celtis up is beyond me.)  The 2:2 important
news article can be found in its entirety the web site under NEWS. Now
let's get specific.

    Celtis. When I read that you found so many celtis I was drooling. One
of the taxonomic loose ends is the taxon celtis alicia. I have examined
several of this from the Louisiana delta area - typical alicia. This is a
valid subspecies and evolutionally important taxon as it is a link to the
western subspecies as evidenced by its strong tendency to have two or one
and a half eye spots on the postmedian area of the upper forewings (a
feature nominate celtis never has). This is a very old taxon. I would have
loved to have been with you that day as I would have spent all my time
examining every celtis I saw to check its taxonomic implications. Having
such a large sample to study in such a strategic area is very important. If
anyone reading lives near the Delta National Forest area (from there south
and southwest), or will be visiting there, please contact me and we will go
to work as the range and relationship of alicia to those populations around
it.
  The type locality of celtis is Burke Co. Ga. A problem here is that I
have found typical specimens of the Florida  "reinthali" at the type locali
ty. This is addressed in TILS News 2:2.  Dr. Reinthal determined that the
Florida entity was a full species (back then the name alicia was
traditionally applied to the Florida entity).  Friedlander later correctly
determined that the name alicia did not belong to the Florida populations
and he gave these the name reinthali. However, he incorrectly or at least
very prematurely, removed the Florida entity - now reinthali - from species
status to subspecies of celtis. He also quite incorrectly dropped alicia
out of being a valid subspecies.
    There are significant morphological larval and adult difference between
celtis and reinthali. There are no intermediate specimens (blend zone)
between these two and I have found typical reinthali amid the swarms of
celtis in Burke County Georgia. All this is why I (and everyone else
should) follow Dr. Reinthal's original taxonomic assessment and recognize
the _species_ Asterocampa reinthali.
    By the way, my paper in TTR 1:5 was reviewed by Dr. Friedlander
himself. I quoted him a length in my paper. If you (the public) have not
read my paper and his comments in it - well, you be greatly enlightened by
what he said about the uncertainty (and undescribed taxa) of Asterocampa
taxonomy.

    Neonympha helicta (common name - Helicta Satyr). This is the taxon in
upland Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina,
Virginia? and New Jersey. Neonympha areolata is unusual or absent from
those areas. N. areolata is a species of the Gulf and Atlantic coastal
plain and peninsular Florida. Helicta and areolata are allopatric in Aiken
Co., SC and apparently sympatric in some Mississippi areas. The taxon in
New Jersey is Neonympha helicta septentrionalis (Northern Helicta is its
common name). Septentrionalis differs from helicta helicta only in
averaging darker in its ground color. Helicta is larger than areolata -
male helicta are the size of female areolata or larger. There is a disjunct
subspecies of helicta in the Miami Florida area - N. helicta dadeensis.
This subspecies is rarer than Papilio. a. ponceanus but is being ignored by
the powers that be - don't be surprised if it is not extinct soon.
    Since my research is not broadly known, one can consult Scott for an
interesting little comment of his on how that mitchelli, areolata and
"septentrionalis" are sympatric in NC and his mention of the
"septentrionalis" population south of Miami.

    Troilus. The type locality of troilus is Charleston County, South
Carolina (where I live). The type locality of ilioneus is Burke County,
Georgia. These are the exact same butterfly as can be seen by the photos of
their neotypes at
 http://tils-ttr.org . There are three basic male forms of nominate
troilus - these are figured in my TTR 2:4 paper. Ilioneus is the "normal"
morph of nominate troilus. I named the population is extreme southwest and
south Florida Pterourus troilus fakahatcheensis in TTR 2:4. The taxonomic
information in Tyler et al on southern troilus is examined in my paper and
demonstrated to be in gross error. Nominate troilus extends well into
peninsular Florida. Yes. Yes to what?  There is a definite possibility that
the troilus in most of North America is an undescribed subspecies. Typical
"true" troilus - as evidenced by the prominent ilioneus morph - is a
southern taxon. There are also some distinct differences on the hindwing
underside of troilus and "northern" troilus. There is however such a broad
blend zone I saw no point in giving the Midwestern, Canadian, northeastern
critter a name. It might well deserve one though as across the far south
and far north they are easily recognizable - even in the females due to the
ventral spot differences.
    The name taxana is strictly a form name restricted to a gray ilioneus
form troilus - type locality Texas.
    My favorite troilus males are the uncommon grass green spotted ones.
Ron


 
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