Hesperia ahaton

[bretcal1]

Ron,

A couple of years ago, as part of an ongoing project associated with the 
work of T. W. Harris, I examined his butterfly collection at the MCZ. 
Unfortunately, Harris did not designate any types, and many of his specimens 
identified as such were done so by later workers during the late 1800s-early 
1900s. Harris cataloged his specimens in a written manuscript and did not 
identify them in the collection--if he did, no such identification labels 
have survived the several reorganizations of the collection after it came 
into the possession of the Boston Society of Natural History in 1858 and 
later transfer to Harvard in 1941.

Regarding Hesperia ahaton (Harris, 1862), he recorded that he collected a 
male and female (in copula) at Milton, Massachusetts on Aug. 1, 1833, and 
took another at Blue Hill, Massachusetts, on Aug. 1, 1834.  His specimens 
are numbered according to his catalog; ahaton is no. "380."  There are two 
male specimens extant in the collection that Harris identified as ahaton and 
they are both P. themistocles. I didn't find any females that correspond to 
this taxon.  Harris' OD of ahaton seems to be a very accurate portrayal of 
P. themistocles, right down to the female forewings that include a "tawny 
dash along the front margin of the fore wings."

I hope this is of interest.

John Calhoun

 


 
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