Range - Re: Red Admirals on track

[Chris J. Durden]

Old records (including many from the 19th century) indicate that *Vanessa 
atalanta rubria* has occurred all over the US. In some areas it may be a 
periodic colonist that may not be found every year. It looks consistently 
different from European *V. a. atalanta* except for a few individuals I 
have seen from western North Carolina.
    In the southern portion of its range larvae obviously feed on something 
other than *Urtica* nettles. This needs work.
    I have seen adults and larvae (on nettles) in the Hudsonian Zone of 
Ontario and Quebec and I have seen winter adults in tropical evergreen 
forest at El Salto Falls in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. I have seen mass 
northward flights across the Lake of Two Mountains (Ottawa River mouth) in 
Quebec in May. I have seen winter abundance in central and south Texas 
where it can be scarce or absent in summer. I have seen larval populations 
(on nettle) decimated by polyhedrosis virus in southern Montana and central 
Ontario.
..............Chris Durden

At 10:05 PM 5/16/2001 -0700, you wrote:
>Is it possible that at the point in time when they said "Shipping Red
>Admirals, is particularly inappropriate because they are not naturally
>found over much of the United States" that the red admiral was not
>naturally found over much of the united states?  If this statement is
>many years old (and is being used by NABA now because it supports their
>cause) and made before the widespread shipping of red admirals started
>being common (is this true?), it would have the 'appearance' of being a
>scientifically inaccurate statement if it now occur over much of the
>united states because of the extensive (?) shipping that may have taken
>place after they made their statement.
>
>I don't know much about this subject, i.e., the red admiral, its
>importance to human social life, its distribution, and the NABA
>article.  Am I misinterpreting these statements and going off in the
>wrong direction?  This is just a thought I have.
>
>Stan



 
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