Proceedings of the United States National Museum
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PROCEEDINGS OF THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM issued |i^lVA.O!li hy the SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM Vol. 98 Washington: 1948 No. 3227 THE BUTTERFLIES OF THE ADMIRALTY ISLANDS By Warren Herbert Wagner, Jr., and David F. Grether At the suggestion and with the encouragement of Austin H. Clark, of the United States National Museum, we made a joint collection of about 200 butterflies while we were in the Admiralty Islands, the species represented including a number of new records for the group. The collection was made while we were flying with the Naval Air Transport Service during lay-overs at Momote Airstrip on Los Negros Island late in 1944 and in 1945; on Manus in May, November, and December 1945 ; and on Lou Island in the middle of November 1945. There are no published records of any species from either Los Negros or Lou Islands, or from the interior of Manus. The Admiralty Islands are located west of New Ireland and north- west of New Britain in the Bismarck Archipelago at approximately latitude 2° S. and longitude 147° to 148° E. There are numerous small islands in the group clustering closely about the main island of Manus, which is 55 miles long by 16 wide and lies east and west. The highest altitude on Manus is 2,359 feet. All the islands are heavily forested except where they have been burned over or cleared by man for coconut groves and villages. Los Negros is a small coral island just to the east of Manus from which it is separated by a narrow channel. Until about three decades ago the natives of the Admiralty Islands were so hostile to strangers that few collections had been made there. The Challenger expedition obtained a few specimens of a single species 1<)3 790074—48 1 — 164 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL AIUSEUM vol.98 in 1875, and Captain Webster secured a few more in 1897. Captain Webster was not able to land on the main island and collected only for two days on the small island of St. Gabriel or Paak when he was obliged to flee in his small schooner. W. Niepelt received representa- tives of nine species from the Admiralties about 1913. The only large and representative collection from this region was that made by A. S. Meek on Manus in November and December 1913. This collection was sent to the Tring Museum. From the Webster and Meek collections Lord Rothschild recorded a total of 53 species. Of these, 20 were not found by us, but this deficiency is amply compensated in our series by 16 species not previously known from the islands. There are now known from this region 69 species. Butterflies do not seem to be common in the Admiralties. Here we found them much less conspicuous than in Guadalcanal, Biak, Samar, or Guam. This is probably due to the occurrence of most of them in the forest and second-growth woods. In open fields there are so few species that are common that it seems worth while to list them Precis vellida MsmarMana^ Danaus plexippus (introduced from North America) , Ziziila gaika^ Zizera labradus, Catachryso'ps ciiejus, Nacaduba ancyra^ Catopsilia crocale^ Baoris mathias^ B. laraca^ B. bevani, Ocybadistes mamas, and Cephrenes tnoseleyi moseleyi. ISIany of the forest species are conspicuous enough but fly so high in the trees or fly so swiftly that they are nearly unobtainable. One of these, Papilio codrus auratus, was so active and high-flying that we were unable to capture one, although we chased an individual for a half mile in a jeep along a road hoping that it might come within reach. Other species have a secretive flight in the forest undergrowth and are not noticed unless sought for. We M-ere told by others who had caught brightly colored but high-fljdng forest species like Papilio priamus admiralitatis and P. ulysses gahrielis that early morning was the best time to collect them. The following species are represented in the collections from the Admiralties by single specimens: Atella alcippe denosa, Syntarucus manusi, Nacaduba berenice, N. hernius, and Bindahara phocides. The fact that we obtained 16 species that Rothschild's collectors did not find, and that they secured 20 that we did not get, suggests that there is still much to be learned about the species of butterflies of this group of islands and their occurrence. Butterflies here are ap- parently quite peculiar, as a survey of endemism will show. As far as we can determine, 8 species and 22 subspecies are known only from the Admiralties—these taken together giving a total of 44 percent endemism. The figure is probably too high, but it is indicative of the BUTTERFLIES OF ADMIRALTY ISLANDS—WAGNER AND GRETHER 165 unusually interesting butterfly fauna of the Admiralties, and should encourage further study. An interesting feature of the butterflies of these islands is that a number of the local subspecies show a tendency toward darkness in the restriction of light markings, the enlargement of dark markings, and the deepening of the gTOund color. This is illustrated by Papilio ulysses gahrielis^ Mycalesis perseus suhpersa, Euploea calUthoe ad- miraUa, HypoUinnas pithoeca gretherl^ Yoma algina maimsi, and other dark subspecies found elsewhere, such as Taenaris phorcas uranus and Melanitis leda dom'mans. Fewer of the local subspecies are characterized by an increase in light markings, as for instance Parthenos sylvia adiniralia and Thysonotis dispar latifascia. From our experience we are led to believe that habits are often as characteristic of butterflies as their color pattern and morphology; so we have included in the following list brief statements on the oc- currence and behavior of those species known to us in the field. Without the assistance of Austin H. Clark this collection could not have been made or these notes prepared. We thank him for his many instructive letters to us while we were in the field and for the super- vision later of our studies in Washington We also acknov/ledge our indebtedness to the various Naval authorities wdio permitted us to make collections and to enter jungle areas for the purpose of scientific study. We wash to thank Ernest L. Eell for his kindness in identi- fying for us our specimens of Baoris laraca and B. hevani. Brigadier William H. Evans was so very good as to identify for us the specimens of Cephrenes moseleyi 7iioseleyi and C. m. shortlandica^ and N. D. Riley, keeper of entomology, British Museum (Natural History), most cour- teously sent us a list of the localities from which G. m. moseleyi is represented in the collections under his care. All our specimens are now in the United States National Museum except for some duplicates that we presented to the South Australian Museum at Adelaide, South Australia, and a few others that we gave to the Bernice P. Bishop Museum in Honolulu. There are in the National Museum nine specimens, representing as many species, which were collected at Lorengau, Manus, By Emil Bogen in 1944 and 1945. For the sake of completeness we have in- cluded these records with ours. — 166 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. »8 ANNOTATED LIST OF SPECIES Family NYMPHALIDAE Subfamily Satyrinae MELANITIS LEDA (Linnaeus) Papilio leda Linnaeus, Systema naturae, eti. 10, vol 1, p. 474, No. 102, 1758 (Asia). Melanitis leda dominans Fruhstorfek, Entomol. Zeitschr., Stuttgart, vol. 22, p. 87, lUOS (Bismarck Archipelago). Rothschild, Nov. Zool., vol. 22, No. 2, p. 200, June 1915 (Manus). Record.—One male of the form dominans^ falls of the Lorengau River, Manus, November 9, 1945. Notes.—Emil Bogen captured a large female at Lorengau on De- cember 1, 1944, which is pale in color and approaches the form salomonis, through the spots on the underside of the hind wings are not so large. Lord Rothschild recorded six specimens of the form dominans from Manus. The National Museum contains tw^o specimens of dominans from Lunga, Guadalcanal, collected by James Paul Burke, who also took the form salomonis at the same locality. We have seen the form dominans on Los Negros and also on Lou. In the Admiralty Islands it is frequent in open bamboo thickets and also in second growth areas in wooded stream valleys. During the day it is always to be found in shady places. It flies rapidly through the underbrush close to the ground, but the flight is usually for only a short distance—5 to 10 yards. It is wary and hard to approach, and we found it quite difficult to capture. MYCALESIS PERSEUS SUBPERSA Rothschild Plate 11, Figures 7, 8 Mycalesis suipersa Rothschild, Nov. Zool., vol. 22, No. 2, p. 200, Juue 1915 (Manus). Records.—Five males, Los Negros, March 31, November 27, 1945; eastern tip of Manus, May 11, 1945. Three females, Los Negros, March 19, 20, 1945; eastern tip of Manus, May 11, 1945. Notes.—This form, described by Lord Rothschild as a species, is only a local variant of the widely distributed M. ferseus. It is another example of the prevailing tendency toward dark coloration in the butterflies of the Admiralty Islands. The white line on the under- surface of the forewings in this subspecies becomes very obscure in some individuals. BUTTERFLIES OF ADMIRALTY ISLANDS—WAGNER AND GRETHER 167 In grassy fields and on the brushy edges of woods this butterfly is common to abundant. In a weedy coconut grove just east of Lorengau, Manus, it is exceedingly numerous. It flies low with a jerky flight for short distances among the grasses. Subfamily Morphinae TAENARIS PIIORCAS URANUS Staudinger Tenaris ana^hleps uranus Staudinger, Exot.