Orange Sulphur--variationeme.

[Michael Gochfeld]

2003 is a good year to contemplate the Orange Sulfur----they seem to scarce in most of their usual habitats (i.e. my
yard in central NJ).

Although this species occurs across North America, it is important to recognize just how recent this phenomenon
is----very 20th century.  This species is often superabundant in NJ, particularly in the south where you can scan an
alfalfa field and see over 100 in the air at once.

"Its dramatic status change in New Jersey is apparent by comparing Smith's (1890-1910) statements with Comstock's
(1940) observation that 'in the last fifteen years this species has become almost as numerous as philodice'
    Skinner and Aaron (1889) considered it very rare near Philadelphia. Beutenmuller (1893) knew of only two records
in the New York City area...As alfalfa cultivation became common after 1870, this western species rapidly spread
eastward (Shapiro 1966) until it is now one of the most numerous butterflies in the east. It colonized Maine beginning
in the 1940s (A.E. Brower 1960). "

Smith (1890) called it "occasional"
Smith (1900) called it "scarce" and "very occasional"
Smith (1910) called it "hardly a regular inhabitant of the State"
Comstock (1940) said simply "throughout".

Such a rapid eastward and northward spread over a period of less than a century might account for the lack of
speciation that Ken alludes to.

Michael Gochfeld


 
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