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Post by exoticimports on Aug 19, 2020 6:57:58 GMT -8
As a youth studying butterflies in the 1970s and 1980s one of the great highlights was, of course, the Tiger Swallowtail Papilio glaucus...well, that's what it was according to the Golden Nature Guide. These Tigers were found May and June in Monroe County, often feeding on Lilac (May) and Rhodedendron (June). Sadly, by July there were none to be found, the season was over. I'd also regularly observe them in neighboring Wayne and Ontario counties. Fast forward 40 years. The intervening decades found me busy with work and family, focused far more on entomological studies in Asia/ Pacific. The fabulous Tiger Swallowtail I often observed flashing through the back yard or across a road, but I didn't capture or photograph one for many years. Then, perhaps a decade or so ago, I began observing Tigers in July...then August! I certainly wondered why the Tigers' flight period was extended; perhaps due to the general warmer weather? Perhaps not coincidentally, Papilio cresphontes began appearing in the region. Perhaps also not coincidentally, deer ticks and Lyme Disease, completely absent from the Finger Lakes region in the 1980s had exploded into an epidemic, to date with 80,000 NY residents victims of the debilitating disease; thus I declined to conduct any field work in the area. But in 2020, being both unemployed and with COVID limiting kids' activities, I found time to return to the field, primarily in Ontario County. And with that, I added specimens and photos to my records. Specifically for the Tiger Swallowtail, that included records from June through late August, 2020. One thing I did note, the Tigers in June were found on Lilac; however in the recent years I'd not observed a single Tiger on Rhodedendron. In the field I found adult Tigers nectaring on clover, Aster, and particularly Thistle. Finally, armed with more records, I examined my specimens. As I knew, I did have both glaucus (Linneaus, 1958) and canadensis (Rothschild & Jordan, 1906). But a more thorough examination revealed ALL canadensis were from May and June, while ALL glaucus were from July and August! Thus, my old observation on the extended flight period was wrong- it was not an extended flight period, but TWO flight periods for two visually similar species. Furthermore, my records from the 1980s were ALL canadensis. Presumably then, glaucus has expanded it's range into the northern Finger Lakes over the past decade or so. Needing more data, I turned to butterfliesandmoths.org. Sadly, there is but two records of glaucus from Ontario county, and one canadensis in Ontario county; for Monroe county glaucus has four records, the oldest being 2012; canadensis has zero records. Clearly, the low quantity of local records is due not to the presence of Tigers, but recorders. But I do note the first record of glaucus being 2012...which lines up with my personal records and observations. So overall, it appears that TODAY both glaucus and canadensis occur in New York's Finger Lakes region. However, glaucus appears to be a newly experienced species, at least in the northern counties. Hope this is of interest to you all. Chuck
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Post by Paul K on Aug 19, 2020 8:05:52 GMT -8
Your notes are very interesting. I never actually study these two species but according to some publication in Southern Ontario P.glaucus supposedly has two broods, first in May and June and second in late July and August. P.canadensis flight time is in May and June.
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Post by wollastoni on Aug 19, 2020 8:11:11 GMT -8
Very interesting, thank you !
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Post by exoticimports on Aug 19, 2020 10:09:40 GMT -8
Your notes are very interesting. I never actually study these two species but according to some publication in Southern Ontario P.glaucus supposedly has two broods, first in May and June and second in late July and August. P.canadensis flight time is in May and June. This is interesting as it is in conflict with my observations and records, and we are not far apart. That said, Buffalo an hour west had long reported the rare cresphontes, whereas zero in hour area. “Southern Ontario” is a big place with many micro climates, as is NY. Toronto gets colder than hell, with no real snow; Buffalo is warmer with huge snowfall; Rochester is as warm as Buffalo, with half the snow; Watertown is as cold as Toronto but with buffalos snow; Kingston is similar to Toronto, maybe a bit warmer. Who knows what climate variations can cause differing fauna and habits?
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Post by Paul K on Aug 19, 2020 11:03:52 GMT -8
P.glaucus does not occur in Kingston, 300 km west is common. I collected one specimen north of Wasaga beach on Georgian Bay. More study is needed but I’m not really interested as all Papilionidae are protected in Ontario although some like P.glaucus or polyxenes are common as P.rapae
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Post by exoticimports on Aug 19, 2020 12:29:20 GMT -8
P.glaucus does not occur in Kingston, 300 km west is common. I collected one specimen north of Wasaga beach on Georgian Bay. More study is needed but I’m not really interested as all Papilionidae are protected in Ontario although some like P.glaucus or polyxenes are common as P.rapae And I suspect nobody within the government is studying the tiger group, so sadly I suppose NOBODY is studying it. Too bad, as it would be interesting to know the ranges and if they are changing. Are cherry trees protected from developers? Larvae? Or are they only prohibited from a tiny group of citizen scientists?
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Post by exoticimports on Aug 27, 2020 3:42:35 GMT -8
Some more notes on Upstate NY Tiger swallowtails: As I'd mentioned, Papilio canadensis occurs earlier in the year, with adults nectaring at Lilac. Wild rose (white flowers) are common through June and early July, though clearly aren't the preferred nectar source. I also observed them mud puddling along the Canandaigua Lake shoreline; when disturbed by children they would return to the same spot again and again. Papilio polyxenes is found from June through August, though notably in 2020 in fewer numbers; I also noted that, oddly, they infrequently alighted to feed. In late July the adult lep population changes almost completely. This "Round 2" of late summer leps includes Papilio glaucus, papilio cresphontes, speyeria cybele, Liminitis arthemis and archippus, and of course the ubiquitous danaus plexippus. Now, some notes on late summer nectaring sources: Throughout July fields of mixed Queen Anne's Lace and clover are abundant. In years past fields like this would be filled with Papilio polyxenes; however, as previously noted, polyxenes this year acted more like a woodland species- staying out of the fields except near tree lines. Papilio glaucus and cresphontes do visit to feed on the clover, however only drop out of the trees briefly and feed within 30m of the tree line (danaus plexippus however can be found throughout the field.) In late July and August, Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium fistulosum) matures and is abundant. When researching more on this plant, I found this shocking image: It's shocking to me because I cannot recall a single observation of ANY papilio on Joe Pye Weed! Only the occasional Liminitis archippus. In fact, looking for leps on JPW is a waste of time. By observation count, the most popular nectaring source for papilio is thistle. In late August, one field (below) loaded with Milkweed and thistle was abundant with Papilio glaucus, Speyeria cybele, D plexippus, and E clarus (among others).
Click on following images for larger version
The thistle by about 20 August was already going to seed, and a week later was 99% past flowering. Days later it was mowed. An odd find was many Papilio glaucus in a field of yellow Cup-Plant (Silphium perfoliatum) a member of the Aster family, and purportedly endangered in New York. Note the proximity to the forest. From the point the photo was taken there is another, larger field of these plants 100m further from the forest- that field is rarely visited by P glaucus, presumably because of the distance from the forest. Photos can be deceiving, and in this case it is certainly true, because the flowering plants reach over 3m tall! I tried to approach the field from the forest side to photograph glaucus, but it's impossible- the plants towered over me and I couldn't see where the butterflies were! It took many tries to capture this image: As of this writing (27Aug2020) Papilio cresphontes has not been observed for more than a week; Papilio glaucus are looking rather weathered. In the past I've observed both species into the second week of September which ends abruptly the second weekend annually when a cold front moves in like clockwork. However, a cold front and storm system is moving through the area now, so I suspect that the flight period for both species (as well as polyxenes and troilus) are effectively over.
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Post by exoticimports on Aug 27, 2020 4:24:33 GMT -8
Addendum: The 1970s were a heyday of Lepidoptera study in Upstate NY. One of these was Robert J. Iveson of Brockport, head of procurement at Ward's Natural Sciences. Bob's collection of almost 14,000 specimens was donated to SUNY Brockport. While Bob was primarily a student of micros, his collection includes one drawer of Tiger Swallowtails, as shown below:
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Post by exoticimports on Aug 27, 2020 4:37:26 GMT -8
P.glaucus does not occur in Kingston, 300 km west is common. I collected one specimen north of Wasaga beach on Georgian Bay. More study is needed but I’m not really interested as all Papilionidae are protected in Ontario although some like P.glaucus or polyxenes are common as P.rapae BOMONA records for Ontario, Canada show the first reported Papilio glaucus to be 2006, with the next being 2011, of 78 records. Of course, this probably reflects more on the data accumulation and availability of BOMONA than anything else. www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Papilio-glaucus?region=45292&sort_by=field_recorddate_value&sort_order=ASCFor Papilio canadensis, BOMONA reports 50 records for Ontario, Canada. The first three are dated 2005, 2009, and 2012, after which records become more abundant. Certainly canadensis occurred throughout Ontario prior to 2005 (and 2012) so the records do not represent the population. www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Papilio-canadensis?region=45292&sort_by=field_recorddate_value&sort_order=ASCNotably though, observing the BOMONA maps for both species, it's clear that records of Papilio glaucus tend toward the western (Toronto) area.
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Post by Paul K on Aug 27, 2020 5:10:37 GMT -8
I have specimens of P.glaucus from 2001 and 2002. I had a permit to collect one specimen a year that time thru TEA. Clearly the records are missing in BOMONA data. Don’t forget they are protected here and all records are mostly sightings which in my opinion in case of P.glaucus and canadanesis are more or less worth nothing.
I suspect that in very southern part of Ontario near Lake Erie P.glaucus and troilus have been for hundreds if not thousands of years.
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Post by exoticimports on Aug 27, 2020 5:31:51 GMT -8
I have specimens of P.glaucus from 2001 and 2002. I had a permit to collect one specimen a year that time thru TEA. Clearly the records are missing in BOMONA data. Don’t forget they are protected here and all records are mostly sightings which in my opinion in case of P.glaucus and canadanesis are more or less worth nothing. I suspect that in very southern part of Ontario near Lake Erie P.glaucus and troilus have been for hundreds if not thousands of years. Good to know. There is definitely a "cline" in the region, with Toronto and Buffalo on one side, and Finger Lakes / Kingston on the other. Papilio glaucus and cresphontes have already been noted as being (until the last decade or so) restricted to the west. Liminitis arthemis (Red Spot Purple) is generally restricted to the west (I have NEVER seen one in Finger Lakes region) replaced by arthemis arthemis (Banded Purple) in the east. Note that BOMONA records on the above do not reflect my observation, but records are slim. Battus philenor also, though recently reported in Monroe and Onondaga Counties. I have NEVER seen one in Finger Lakes. Chuck
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Post by Paul K on Aug 27, 2020 19:42:54 GMT -8
P.glaucus and cresphontes will continue to extend their northern boundaries as the food plant is available. P.troilus and B.philenor are restricted to the south and won’t move northward until their food plants establish new areas of grow and that will take much longer.
L.artemis astyanax mimics B.philenor. We don’t have philenor anywhere near Toronto but west of Toronto only L.a.astynax is present. Few years ago I collected L.a.arthemis just 10km north of Toronto. I don’t see them anymore there.
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Post by exoticimports on Aug 28, 2020 3:27:53 GMT -8
P.troilus and B.philenor are restricted to the south and won’t move northward until their food plants establish new areas of grow and that will take much longer. Interesting once I studied this! Papilio troilus is, and has been throughout my lifetime, fairly common in Finger Lakes/ south of Lake Ontario. Despite Butterfliesandmoths.org claiming (probably repeating) a number of larval food plants, I find that the foodplant is Sassafras albidum. On Sassafras Canadian govt (https://www.ontario.ca/page/sassafras) reports: " Sassafras is a rare tree in Ontario, occurring in scattered pockets in southwestern Ontario and only as far north as Toronto. It often forms colonies where it exists." Amazing that such a common plant has barely breached the physical Great Lakes barrier!
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Post by exoticimports on Aug 28, 2020 4:00:35 GMT -8
I suspect that in very southern part of Ontario near Lake Erie P.glaucus and troilus have been for hundreds if not thousands of years. We can start 15,000 years ago with the end of the last ice age; prior to that clearly nothing existed in the Great Lakes area, as it was, they say, a sheet of ice. Presumably then, an ancestral Tiger Swallowtail (glaucus or not) slowly moved north. Until recently, glaucus occurred only sporadically and/or locally around Lake Ontario. However, clearly, canadensis is abundant. Did canadensis spring from glaucus? Or is my presumption wrong, that both species were pushed south for thousands of years and then spring back? Many studies I've read that discuss the history of species (e.g., Hemileuca maia, Ornithoptera victoriae) put the age of separation between 35,000 and 100,000 years ago. Yet when we look at species that chased the receding ice it's clear many species must have split not very long ago at all. ETA: In fact, I found this article (which may have been updated/ replaced by newer data) www.researchgate.net/publication/316654617_Papilio_canadensis_and_P_glaucus_Papilionidae_are_distinct_species/link/59230befa6fdcc4443f77979/downloadIt reads: "mimetic (black or dark brown) females occur as a polymorphism only in glaucus; canadensis females are always yellow. The expression of this polymorphism in P. glaucus is determined by genes on both the X and Y chromosome (Hagen & Scriber 1989). The phenotypic polymorphism in P. glaucus results from a genetic polymorphism at the Y -linked locus (Clarke & Sheppard 1962). Thus, in P. glaucus, yellow females produce yellow daughters and black females produce black daughters. (Both produce yellow sons, since males do not carry the Y chromosome.) However, an X-linked gene is also required for expression of the mimetic form (Hagen & Scriber 1989). A female who inherits the Y -linked allele for black color from her mother but also inherits the X-linked "suppressor" allele from her father will be yellow. The X-linked suppressor allele appears to have no effect on the yellow phenotype of males or of females that inherit the Y -linked yellow allele. " My question then is why (genetically) there are zero dark female glaucus in the Finger Lakes. Perhaps not ironically, the article also mentions, as have we other species: "The range limits of a variety of animal taxa coincide with this ecotone (Remington 1968, Scriber & Hainze 1987). Among the best-known examples from Lepidoptera are subspecies of the admiral butterfly, Limenitis arthemis arthemis Drury and L. a. astyanax Fabricius (Nym-phalidae) (Platt & Brower 1968, Waldbauer et al. 1988). We strongly suspect that similar patterns of geographic differentiation occur fre-quently among eastern North American Lepidoptera." OK, so looks like my queries are only 30 years late.
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Post by nomihoudai on Aug 28, 2020 4:42:07 GMT -8
I suspect that in very southern part of Ontario near Lake Erie P.glaucus and troilus have been for hundreds if not thousands of years. However, clearly, canadensis is abundant. Did canadensis spring from glaucus? Or is my presumption wrong, that both species were pushed south for thousands of years and then spring back? I am not an expert in these 2 species. The most likely scenario is that the precessor of both was pushed South from the ice sheets. The Rocky Mountains separated them into 2 populations. One of them formed P. glaucus and the other P. canadensis. Of course there is even more species in the mix when going that far South. Similar things are suspected in Europe with Pararge aegeria which has a white ssp. aegeria, and an orangish ssp. tircis. Nowadays, tircis inhabits the Southern regions. A separation in 2 basins during the ice age made a separation possible.
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