Terminology help

[Alan Wormington]

Everyone,

Here at Point Pelee National Park, Ontario, a long time ago I spent a
tremendous amount of time in determining the status of butterfly species
here, and how to describe them.

After considerable deliberations, I came up with the following categories
which I have not altered at all over the decades:

PERMANENT RESIDENT:
A species that overwinters and viable long-term populations are present. 
(Example:  LIttle Wood-Satyr.)

TEMPORARY RESIDENT:
A species that overwinters but, for unknown reasons, long-term
populations do not exist; they may be present for one or several years,
but then disappear.  (Examples:   Harvester, Gray Comma.)

FORMER RESIDENT (EXTIRPATED):
A species that was formerly a resident, but is no longer present (applies
to sedentary species that are not likely to recolonize).  (Example:  
Silvery Checkerspot.)

IMMIGRANT:
A species that is not capable of overwintering, its presence is the
result of arrival from outside the area.  (Examples:  many.)

SEASONAL COLONIST:
After immigration into an area, if immigrants reproduce they are
classified as seasonal colonists; the following winter, however, kills
off any breeding population that has developed.  (Examples:  Fiery
Skipper, Marine Blue, Question Mark, Monarch, etc.) 

For some species, more that one label can be applied if needed.  For
example, Common Painted-Lady (Vanessa cardui) would be "Immigrant and
Seasonal Colonist" which is highly accurate.  As for abundance, numbers
of this species at Point Pelee are highly variable from year to year so I
therefore use "Rare to Common Immigrant and Seasonal Colonist" to
describe its status.

The beauty of this system is that it could be applied to any location in
North America, and this would include Donald's barrier island.  And could
be used for any insect group, not just butterflies and / or moths.

Alan Wormington
Leamington, Ontario

****************************************

On Fri, 24 Aug 2007 07:55:19 -0400 "Stillwaugh, Donald M"
<dstillwa at co.pinellas.fl.us> writes:
> Good Morning,
> 
> In need of some help with terminology.  We are QAQCing our species 
> lists
> for various sites including a barrier island.  I want to make the
> distinction between those lepidoptera species which are reproducing 
> on
> the island and those that stray over (much the same way birders
> distinguish those species which are nesting on site as a subset of 
> the
> total species observed list).  My question is, do I use "breeding on
> site"?  "reproducing on site" just sounds bad to me....is there a 
> better
> term out there?   Maybe "residents" ?
> 
> Thanks in advance for any input,
> 
> Don 
> 
> Don Stillwaugh, M.S.
> Senior Environmental Specialist 
> Pinellas County Department of Environmental Management
> Environmental Lands Division
> 3620 Fletch Haven Drive
> Tarpon Springs, FL 34688
> 727-453-6932 (office)
> 727-453-6902 (facsimile)
> www.pinellascounty.org/environment
> 
> All mail sent to and from Pinellas County Government is subject to 
> the
> Public Records Law of Florida
>  
> 
> 
>  
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> 

"The Early Worm Gets The Bird!"
              --- Alan Wormington


 
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