Melanic Papilio canadensis

gwang gwang at mb.sympatico.ca
Wed May 16 19:43:54 EDT 2001


Hi y'all,

In The Butterflies of Canada by Layberry et al., it is stated that
"Another distinctive difference is that the Canadian Tiger Swallowtail
does not have the black female form that occurs in glaucus.  Oddly
enough, the only exceptions to this rule are the occasional all-black
females that have appeared in Newfoundland, despite the fact that they
do not appear in New England." (pages 87-88)
Any thoughts on why melanic P. canadensis are restricted to
Newfoundland, and what this might mean with respect to the genetics of
this species?

Peace,
Xi Wang
Winnipeg, MB, Canada

P.S.  V. atalanta, and V. cardui are quite abundant here as well.

 
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