A Puma by any other name

[Dr. James Adams]

Mike wrote:

>I'm not sure where I've been, but I'm pretty sure that there is NO 
>situation among
>butterflies that rivals the Puma/Cougar/Panther, Mountain Lion 
>example.  With the
>exception of Painter which is a local modification of Panther, these four 
>names
>are currently used names among mammalogists in various places in North 
>America and
>appear in print.

>Painted Lady and Cosmopolitan represent two names that may come close 
>because, both
>were widely used, and I still refer to it as "Cosmo" in my field notes, 
>but don't
>object to Painted Lady in conversations.

Okay, I would agree that as far as English names go, there probably are not 
many butterflies with four commonly used names in different parts of the 
same country, though I did fail to mention a third name for the Painted 
Lady that I still use occasionally -- Thistle Butterfly.  Four names would 
seem to be exceptional, however.  I would still suggest that for widespread 
species of butterflies (or anything obvious to the layperson) there is 
likely to be more than one common name.

>I have almost never heard anyone refer to the Monarch as a Wanderer, 
>although it is
>a poetic (and inappropriate name, it migrates but doesn't wander any more 
>than a
>lot of species), and I have only rarely seen it in print.  Is it used in 
>any modern
>books?

This is a name I've only seen occasionally, and has been applied mostly not 
in the U.S. (England, Australia [maybe?]).  I don't recall where I've seen 
it most recently.


James K. Adams
Phone: (706)272-4427
FAX:  (706)272-2235
Visit the Georgia Lepidoptera Website:
    www.daltonstate.edu/galeps/
Also check out the Southern Lepidopterists' Society new Website:
    www.southernlepsoc.org/


 
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