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A REVISION of SPEYERIA NOKOMIS (NYMPHALIDAE)L

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A REVISION of SPEYERIA NOKOMIS (NYMPHALIDAE)L 44 JOURNAL OF THE LEPIDOPTERISTS' SOCIETY 1969. A revised synonymic list of the Nearctic Melitaeinae with taxonomic notes (Nymphalidae). J. Lepid. Soc. 23: 115-125. 1970. A revised synonymic catalog with taxonomic notes on some Nearctic Lycaenidae. J. Lepid. Soc. 24: 26-38. McALPINE, W. S., 1939. A new Metal Mark (Calephelis) from Texas. Bull. Brook­ lyn Ent. Soc. 34: 75-80. McDuNNOUGII, J. 1938. Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Canada and the United States of America, Part 1, Macrolepidoptera. Mem. So. Calif. Acad. Sci. 1 (1). 1939. Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Canada and the United States of America, Part 2, Microlepidoptera. Mem. So. Calif. Acad. Sci. 2 (1). A REVISION OF SPEYERIA NOKOMIS (NYMPHALIDAE)l CLIFFORD D. FERRIS University of vVyoming, Laramie, Wyoming MIKE FISHER 1200 Summit Road, Ponderosa Hills, Parker, Colorado It is proposed that Speyeria nokomis nitocris (Edwards) be elevated from the synonymy as placed by dos Passos (1964), to subspeeifie rank for the reasons which are delineated in the paragraphs below. In an earlier work (dos Passos and Grey 1947), Speyeria nokomis nitocris was treated as a valid subspecific taxon, but later (1964), dos Pass os treated this taxon as synonymous with S. nokomis nokomis (Ed­ wards). For the past several years, we have made a study of this insect in Colorado (M. F.) and in Arizona and New Mexico (C. D. F.). The Colorado insect, S. nokomis nokomis is quite distinct in habitat and fascia from the Arizona-New Mexico insect, S. nokomis nitocris. Speyeria nokomis nokomis (Edwards) Original Description: "Descriptions of certain species of diurnal Lepidoptera found within the limits of the United States and British America." No.3. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 14: 221 (1863). Figured by Edwards, B. N. A. pI. Argynnis 4 (1868). Type Locality: This was fixed by dos Passos and Grey (1947) as Mount Sneffels, Ouray Co., Colorado. This location has been questioned by Brown (1957h, p. 335) and does not appear consistent with presently known habitats for n. nokomis. The neotype male (AMNH) hears the label "Oslar Sneffels Mts Ouray Co Col Aug 9000 Ft.," "A. nokomis." and "Ex Coli. Wm. C. Wood Ace. 36915." Discussion: In the plate which accompanies this paper, three sub­ specics of Speyeria nokomis are figured. Dorsally the males are similar 1 Published with the approval of the Director, vVyoming Agricultural Experiment Station, as Journal Paper No. 434. VOLU ME 25, NUMBER 1 45 but distinct differences are evident on the ventral surfaces. In S. n. no­ komis, the discal area of the hind wing is a pale cinnamon brown. The silver spots are large, brilliant, and moderately edged with black. The species as a whole is strongly dimorphic (excepting n. wenona ) and the females dorsally tend almost to black basally. In n. nokomis, dorsally the females show a blue-green overscaling in the dark areas with a light buff submarginal band. On the primary, the band shows a yellow-orange flush; on the secondary the flush is bluish. Ventrally, the females are similar to the males as far as the primaries are concerned, except that the colors are more intense and the ground color is a darker red. On the secondary, the submarginal band is a light buff and the ground color of the dis cal area is buff overscaled with a greenish-black dusting. Fe­ males from the Paradox Valley colony in Colorado tend to b e more blue dorsally than specimens from other localities. This insect is currently known from several locations in Colorado, from Uintah Co. in eastern Utah, and in a blend with n. apacheana from more westerly areas of Utah. The Colorado locations are Una weep Canyon, Mesa Co., 6000' and Paradox Valley, Montrose Co., 5200'. The Colorado habitats are nearly neutral seep areas where there is a constant flow of water and are surrounded by willow thickets. The violets which serve as the larval foodplant grow in the understOlY of the seeps and are found only sparsely in the thickets. The surrounding region. except in the vi­ cinity of other seeps and washes is relatively arid. The sites of both colo­ nies arc unusual with respect to their geology. The usual rock formation in this portion of Colorado is Mancos shale. The Unaweep Canyon seep emerges along a spring line in granite and flows over what appears to b e stream alluvium. The canyon is unusual in that it is mainly composed of granite. The Paradox Valley colony is in a blowsand area. The Uintah Co., Utah area is a rather unrewarding looking meadow, but with thc necessary prerequisites of willow, violets, and a constant flow of water. The presence of willow is probably only incidental to the presence of nokomis. Both willows and violets are frequently found ill the same loca­ tion in arid regions. There is one additional recent record of S. nokomis from Colorado. This is a worn female taken by Scott Ellis at Rogers Mesa Delta Co., 5850', 26 August 1958. The source of this specimen has not yet been determined, although it perhaps came from an undiscovered Colorado colony. Dos Passos and Grey (1947) fixed the type locality for S. nokomis no- 7(Om-is as Mount Sneffels, Ouray Co., Colorado. We feel that we must take exception to this fixation for several reasons. Collecting in recent 46 JOURNAL OF THE LEPIDOPTElUSTS' SOCIETY years in this area (Brown, in litt.) has failed to turn up this butterfly. The ecology of the fixed type locality is not consistent with currently known collection areas. Furthermore the neotype does not fit the original description (Brown, 1965). There is also a disparity in dates. Dos Passos (1964) indicates an 1862 ("1861-3") date for the Edwards publication of the description of n. nokomis. If this is the correct date, it would not seem possible for the specimens to have come from Ouray Co., as the first whites to enter this area came in 1871. Oslar is known to have been quite inaccurate in his data. As Brown has mentioned (1965), the Ma­ comb Expedition entered the area west of Paradox Valley in 1859 (Ma­ comb and Ncwberry 1876). It is possible that the material ascribed to Edwards 1862 was actually collected on this expedition. Brown placed the probable type locality for S. nokomis nokomis (Edwards) (and not for the neotype S. nokomis nokomis dos Passos and Grey) as Ojo Verde, San Juan Co., Utah. The location Oio Verde is mcntioned in the Ma- 80mb/Newberry report. The topographical coordinates are given in the report as lat. 38° 14' 50" and long. 109° 26' 40". Present United States Coast and Geodetic Survey maps do not show Oio Verde, but the co­ ordinates would indicate it to be in the vicinity of Hatch Wash. In Au­ gust, 1969, the scnior author attempted to locate this site. He was un­ successful as that portion of Utah is now posted as an impact area for tcst missiles launched from Green lEver, Utah. The warning notices and travel directions were sufficiently ambiguous that he did not wish to risk entry into the area. The comments in the Macomb/Newberry report would appear to in­ dicate a possible habitat for n. nokomis. Macomb and his associates camped at Oio Verde in mid-August and would thus have been there at the correct time of the year for the insect's flight. Of the area, the fol­ lowing comments are made: "The Oio Verde is a copious spring in a canon cut out of the red sandstone, ten miles west of La Teneja. The surrounding country is very sterile, sparsely set with sage bushes and small cedars, but about the spring the bottom of the canon is covered with the greenest and most luxuriant grass." It would appear then that the type locality for S. nokomis nokomis (Edwards) is most probably somewhere in eastern Utah, and not in Ouray Co., Colorado, although L. P. Grey now favors the Rio Hondo area in Lincoln Co., New Mexico. There also exists a record of a single male and two females of S. n. nokomis taken September 15, 1877 by Lt. C. A. H. McCauley at the cross­ ing of the Lower Rio Florida, La Plata, Co., Colorado 6500-7000' some VOLUME 25, NUMBEH 1 47 twenty miles east of Durango. These specimens arc now part of the Strecker Collection at the Chicago Natural History Museum. The male was apparently misidentified at one point in time and appears to be S. cybele carpenteri (Edwards) (see Brown 1957a). It was originally re­ corded in the McCauley report (1879) as Argynnis cyhele. The female records werc checked by L. P. Grey and one is figured in the report (Plate I). The flight span of S. n. nokomis is generally during the first three weeks in August, although it has been taken from mid-July (Una weep Canyon) into September. Speyeria nokomis nitocris (Edwards) Original Description: "Description of ncw species of diurnal Lepidoptera found in North Amcrica." Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc. 5: 15-16 (1874). Figurcd by Edwards, B. N. A. 3: [91-92], Argynnis I; Holland, B. B., p. 85, pI. 13. (type). Type Locality: White Mountains, Arizona. Based upon the discussion in Brown ( 19(5), and the study hy the senior author of the distribution of nokomis in Arizona, the type locality is probably east of Ft. Apache, along the East Fork of the \Vhite River, Apache Co., Arizona. The lectotype (designated by do'S Passos and Grey 1947) (CM) bears the label "Nitocris d W. Mtns. Ariz. type" and is the specimen figured by Holland.
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