Reversal of fortunes

Tue Jul 11 15:06:55 EDT 2006

Lepsters,

John brings up a good point and I concur on all counts regarding Vanessa
and related nymphalids (e.g., Nymphalis and some Polygonia), but I also
want to share an interesting example of a lep whose numbers appear to
have crashed. Below is text for the Cotton Leafworm (Alabama argillacea)
(or Cotton Moth) from a noctuid caterpillar guide that is in draft.

"In Latin America the insect is considered the most important defoliator
of cotton. At one time the caterpillar was regarded to be a major pest
in the USA. Holland (1903) writes of the immense swarms that used to
reach Pittsburgh in the fall. Forbes, (1954) account is equally telling,
"Moth basically tropical, but breeding each summer in the cotton belt
and often flying north in millions in October; also a very active
migrant in the tropics, where large populations may appear at a place
and shortly move on again."  Forbes account suggests that it was a
frequent (and abundant) migrant to Ithaca, New York.  Like the passenger
pigeon, this once abundant animal, has had a dramatic reversal in
fortune. Dale F. Schweitzer's last records for the Northeast are from
the 1960s.  Johnson (1995) states that it has not been collected in the
USA since 1982, apparently due to elimination of cotton growing in
former source regions of northern Mexico. The adults of the Cotton Moth
feed on fruits such as peaches and grapes (Covell 2005)...

PS I would be interested in hearing from anyone that is seeing this moth
and/or who can supply images of its caterpillars.

  _____  

From: owner-leps-l at lists.yale.edu [mailto:owner-leps-l at lists.yale.edu]
On Behalf Of John Acorn
Sent: Tuesday, July 11, 2006 11:31 AM
To: LEPS-L at lists.yale.edu
Subject: Re: Impressive 4th of July counts of "Endangered" migrant
monarchs.

Lepsters, 

For those who might not realize this, it is worth mentioning that
Vanessa butterflies (the ladies, and the red admirable) are well known
for their dramatic population fluctuations, and their occasional
migratory outpourings to the north.  Last year, the painted lady was in
one of its big years, something that happens about every ten years or
so.  So what we are seeing now are not "population levels" analogous to
those of birds or mammals-- what we are seeing are normal fluctuations
in species that can be super common one year and absent the next, or
vice versa.  Pardon me for stating the obvious, but some folks might
think that the low levels of Vanessa are cause for alarm.

John Acorn
Edmonton

On Jul 11, 2006, at 8:55 AM, chris kline wrote:

	On our butterfly walks here at the Arboretum this year, we saw
two Painted Ladies on April 1 and those are the only Vanessa's we've
seen this year, so far.

	chris
	Superior, AZ

	"Grkovich, Alex" <agrkovich at tmpeng.com> wrote:

		Roger,

		I would agree that it has been a poor year for Vanessas;
but I just saw a Red Admiral and an American Painted Lady at Sunday at
Bristol, Rhode Island; and I saw numerous Painted Ladies both in western
Arizona in February and in Greece last month...

		Alex 

  _____  

		From: owner-leps-l at lists.yale.edu on behalf of Roger
Kuhlman
		Sent: Mon 7/10/2006 8:26 PM
		To: LEPS-L at lists.yale.edu
		Subject: RE: Impressive 4th of July counts of
"Endangered" migrant monarchs.

		While Monarchs have been doing pretty well in southeast
Michigan this
		season, all three Vanessa species have been extremely
scarce. In fact no one
		who reports sightings for the Greater Washtenaw County
Butterfly Survey has
		spotted a Painted Lady yet this year. Definitely it is
the worst year for
		Vanessas in the survey's 12 year history.

		Roger Kuhlman

		>Every time that I have gone out this season (since
mid-June anyway), I
		>have encountered Monarchs and have seen several mating
exercises. I have
		>also seen them in our backyard, feeding on the
milkweeds there...
		>
		>Alex
		>
		>-----Original Message-----
		>From: owner-leps-l at lists.yale.edu
[mailto:owner-leps-l at lists.yale.edu]
		>On Behalf Of Paul Cherubini
		>Sent: Monday, July 10, 2006 12:42 PM
		>To: Leps-L
		>Subject: Impressive 4th of July counts of "Endangered"
migrant monarchs.
		>
		>During the past week on the dplex-l there have been
multiple posts about
		>record or near record 4th of July counts of monarchs
from southern
		>Ontario, plus favorable reports from neighboring
Canadian provinces and
		>the upper Midwest USA:
		>
		>Here's an example from Algonquin Provincial Park which
is a huge
		>wilderness park in the northern section of southern
		>Ontario:
		>
		>1995 - 8
		>1996 - 5
		>1997 - 156 (our previous high)
		>1998 - 1
		>1999 - 66
		>2000 - 42
		>2001 - 142
		>2002 - 11
		>2003 - 52
		>2004 - count cancelled due to weather
		>2005 - 25
		>2006 - 189
		>
		>Paul Cherubini
		>El Dorado, Calif.
		>
		>
		>
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	If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything
done.
	Chris Kline
	Senior Instructional Specialist
	Boyce Thompson Arboretum
	37615 U.S. Highway 60
	Superior, Arizona 85273
	(520) 689-2723

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