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THE GEOGRAPHICAL RACE-CONCEPT IN LEPIDOPTERA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

John S. Garth
John S. Garth
Affiliation:
Lorquin Entomological Society, Los Angeles, Calif.
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Extract

In recent years there has been a growing tendency on the part of several eastern writers to place in synonymy races of our North American butterflies from widely separated localities. The attempt at simplifying our crowded check list is to be commended, but we do not see the advantage gained where such simplification is at the expense of the geographical race-concept.

Type
Articles
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 64 , Issue 10 , October 1932 , pp. 217 - 223
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1932

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References

1 Holland, W. J. 1931. Annals of the Carnegie Museum 2: 256. Argynnis luski B. & Mc. D. is cited as a synonym of irene Bdv. The writer follows Dr. McDunnough in considering it a race of eurynome Edw. (Canadian Entomologist. LXIII, 10: 245).

2 Barnes, W. & Benjamin, F. H. 1926. List of the Diurnal Lepidoptera of Boreal America. Bull. Sou. Calif. Acad. Sci. 25: 3–27. Melitaca cerrita Wright is made synonymous with alma Stkr.

3 Gunder, J. D. 1929. The genus Euphydryas Scud. of boreal America (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae). Pan-Pac. Ent. 6: 1–8.

4 That western collectors are sincere in their efforts to solve this and other distributional problems by obtaining ample topotypical material on which to base decisions, rather than by comparing a single specimen of one with a picture of the other, is amply proven. Mr. F. W. Friday and Lloyd Martin returned, from Gold Lake, Sierra Co., Cal., and Shasta, Siskiyou Co., Cal., respectively, with good catches of Argynnis irene Bdv. Dr. J. A. Comstock and Dean Schlobohm returned from the White Mts.of Ariz. with long series of Argynnis eurynome luski B. & McD. Through their courtesy I have examined over one hundred specimens and find not one in either series which could be confused with any specimen in the other.

5 “Who guarantees that the new examiner of the type is ablerthan the original describer in this respect? I think it often happens that the “reviser” has degraded a number of species into synonyms because he did not see the distinctive marks which the original describer stated, and which are in reality present.” Strand, Embrik 1929. Down with the Type Cult. Psyche 3: 229.

* opis Edw. is a British Columbian subspecies, not Alaskan; see Can. Ent. 1927. Vol. LIX., p. 155. Ed.

6 Barnes and Benjamin list viridicornis as a synonym of irene.

7 Richards does not list a single stray from N. Car. or Tenn. in his Distributional Studies on Southeastern Rhopalccera. Bull. Brooklyn Ent. Soc. XXVI., 5: 234–255.

8 Richards, A. Glen, Jr., 1931. Sub-sub-specific Names in Lepidoptera. Ent. News 8: 213–216.

9 Dr. A. B. Klots believes that “scientific names should notbe applied to any concept lower than subspecies.” On the Naming of Individual Variants in Lepidoptera. Ent. News XLI, 298–302; 324–328.

10 Canadian Ent. LXIII, 10: 245.

11 Bull. Sou. Cal. Acad. Sci. XXX. 2: 46.

12 Klots, A. B. 1930. Diurnal Lepidoptera from Wyoming and Colorado. Bull. Brooklyn Ent. Soc., 3: 147–170.