Pieris characters

Kondla, Norbert FOR:EX Norbert.Kondla at gems3.gov.bc.ca
Fri Sep 7 13:54:51 EDT 2001


The most distinctive visual differences that I have noted so far are on the
ventral hindwing. Definition: veins are the structures in the wings; vein
borders are the dark scaling beside the veins. In oleracea I see very narrow
and sharply defined brown vein borders that do not differ much in width from
the basal to the distal part of the wing. I also see that the location of
the actual veins within the dark scaling is frequently visible as a pale
line. In angelika I see wider but still sharply defined blackish brown vein
borders that narrow dramatically toward the distal part of the wing. I also
see that the actual vein location is normally obscured by the dark scaling
and not visible. In marginalis I see grayish/greenish vein borders that are
wide but diffuse rather than sharply defined. I see that the actual vein
location is visible and not obscured by dark scaling. There are of course
other visible characters that eventually need to be committed to words. I
think there are some wing shape differences but need to look at this more
closely before venturing further down that path. Regrettably none of what I
said above will help with the summer broods of oleracea and marginalis with
their white (or yellow in flava forms) ventral hindwings and no vein
borders. We will have to resort to other identification characters once we
figure out what they are. People living in the Colorado/New Mexico area
should be actively looking for and documenting some evidence that Pieris
mogollon does or does not blend into Pieris marginalis. There is no evidence
at the moment that I am aware of. It was pointed out in the literature 40
years ago that there is a structural difference in the androconial scales of
mogollon vs napi so it would certainly be interesting for someone to compare
the androconial scales of mogollon and the neighboring 'marginalis'
populations.  Maybe these two even fly sympatrically somewhere.
Unfortunately we have a history of people seeing such phenomena and
dismissing them as blend zones without really researching the question.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Norbert Kondla  P.Biol., RPBio.
Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management
845 Columbia Avenue, Castlegar, British Columbia V1N 1H3
Phone 250-365-8610
Mailto:Norbert.Kondla at gems3.gov.bc.ca       
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca


 
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