Reversal of fortunes

[Mike Quinn]

David, The cotton moth ain't quite analogous to the Passenger Pigeon
as the pigeon ain't *never* coming back... Also, it strikes me as
rather unwise strategy to fly *north* by the millions in *October*.
Perhaps its local demise was in part due to this trait... Mike Quinn,
Austin, TX

On 7/11/06, Wagner, David <david.wagner at uconn.edu> wrote:
>
> 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)...
>

 
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