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The Status of Silvery Blue Subspecies (Glaucopsyche Lygdamus Lygdamus and G

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The Status of Silvery Blue Subspecies (Glaucopsyche Lygdamus Lygdamus and G Journal of the Lepidopterists' SOciety 45(4), 1991, 272-290 THE STATUS OF SILVERY BLUE SUBSPECIES (GLAUCOPSYCHE LYGDAMUS LYGDAMUS AND G. L. COUPERI: LYCAENIDAE) IN NEW YORK ROBERT DIRIG Bailey Hortorium Herbarium, 462 Mann Library, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 AND JOHN F. CRYAN New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 1 Hunterspoint Plaza, 47-40 Twenty-first Street, Long Island City, New York 11101 ABSTRACT. Two subspecies of the Silvery Blue (Glaucopsyche lygdamus, Lycaeni­ dae) are recorded from New York. The nominate subspecies was reported from central New York through 1969, but has not been seen from 1970-1991. Adults flew in May, and larvae fed on native Wood Vetch (Vicia caroliniana, Fabaceae) on steep, naturally unstable, southwest-facing shale banks. Glaucopsyche lygdamus couperi is reported for the first time from northern New York (and Vermont), where its larvae feed on planted or naturalized Tufted Vetch (Vicia cracca), and adults fly in June on weedy road banks. This butterfly is spreading south using vetch-lined highway corridors. The two entities exhibit marked ecological and phenotypic contrasts in New York. Additional key words: Fabaceae, Vicia cracca, Vicia caroliniana, range expansion, rare species. The Silvery Blue, Glaucopsyche Iygdamus (Doubleday) (Lycaeni­ dae), has been considered rare and local in New York, where the nominate subspecies reaches its northern limit (Klots 1951, Shapiro 1974, Opler & Krizek 1984). Literature references and specimens are scanty, and almost nothing has been published about its natural history in New York. Scudder (1889) said that ssp. Iygdamus was "known from the upper waters of the Susquehanna [River]," but gave no details. Forbes (1928,1960) reported the "type race" from Ithaca, Tompkins County, and Binghamton, Broome County, suggesting in 1928 that it was "prob­ ably a leguminous feeder," and in the later paper listing Lathyrus sp. and Vicia caroliniana Walt. (Fabaceae) as larval foodplants without specifically referring to New York populations. Shapiro (1974) discussed the nominate subspecies, stating that its food plants were "unreported in New York," and noting that "its reputed hosts, Lathyrus and Vicia, are widespread" in the state. Shapiro (Ioc. cit.) also suggested that G. I. couperi Grote, although "unrecorded for New York ... , probably occurs in the northernmost counties, since it is common in nearby Quebec." In 1977 we began to search for ssp.lygdamus at former and potential localities in the Finger Lakes region of central New York. Correspon­ dence and conversations with the late Laurence R. Rupert (see bio- VOLUME 45, NUMBER 4 273 graphical notes in Dirig & Cryan 1986), who discovered the population at Horseheads, and with John C. Franclemont, who observed the but­ terfly at Ithaca in the 1930's, elicited unpublished life history infor­ mation and detailed habitat notes for the typical subspecies. In 1984 we discovered C. l. couperi in northern New York, where it appears to be moving south along vetch-lined highway corridors in much the same way that the Inornate Ringlet (Coenonympha inornata W . H. Edwards, Satyridae) has since the early 1970's (Shapiro 1974, Dirig 1977, authors' unpubl. data 1973-present). This paper presents historical information on the nominate subspecies in central New York and ob­ servations of the recently discovered C. l. couperi population in the northern part of the state. Forbes (1960) used the vernacular names "Southern Silvery Blue" (SSB) for the nominate (Appalachian, eastern United States) subspecies of Claucopsyche lygdamus, and "Northern Silvery Blue" (NSB) for subspecies couperi (which occurs in Canada and along the United States border in the northeastern part of North America) (Fig. 1). We retain these common names throughout this paper, abbreviated as shown. In older literature, the SSB was known as subspecies nittanyensis F. Cher­ mock. Miller and Brown (1981) and Hodges et al. (1983) regarded nittanyensis as a synonym of the nominate subspecies. New York specimens of these two butterflies are quite distinct (Fig. 2). SSB's are significantly smaller (see Discussion). Dorsal wing surfaces of SSB males are paler silvery blue than those of the NSB. SSB females have much narrower dark wing borders dorsally than NSB's, and the forewing apices are more rounded in SSB's. The ventral wing surfaces are browner and have larger black spots with relatively very narrow white rims in the SSB, in contrast to a greyer ventral ground color with coarser scaling basally and much smaller dark spots with wider white margins in the NSB (Fig. 2). Klots (1951) made similar observations regarding these two entities. The SSB is rare and local, perhaps now extirpated, in New York, whereas the NSB is common and becoming widespread. Lepidoptera names follow Ferris (1989); plant nomenclature follows Mitchell (1986). THE SOUTHERN SILVERY BLUE IN CENTRAL NEW YORK Historical Distribution Table 1 presents available New York records of the SSB. The butterfly was univoltine with a May-early June flight season. Few New York specimens exist, most from the Horseheads locality. The butterfly has been reported from five contiguous counties (Fig. 3). 274 JOURNAL OF THE LEPIDOPTERISTS' SOCIETY L· "'~'. ~", . FIG. 1. The Silvery Blue Butterfly (Glaucopsyche lygdamus) in eastern North Amer­ ica. Grey shaded area (top) is the range of ssp. couperi shown by Scudder (1889). Large black circles and the solid black area in southern Ontario are the known distribution of ssp. couperi through 1991, based on literature, specimens, and correspondence. Smaller black circles in Michigan and Ohio are records of unknown subspecies, after Opler (1983) VOLUME 45, NUMBER 4 275 FIG. 2. New York specimens of Glaucopsyche lygdamus. LEFT: ssp. couperi from Ogdensburg, 4 June 1984 (Dirig collection). RIGHT: the nominate subspecies from Horse­ heads collected by L. R. Rupert, female on 19 May 1947 (CUIC), male on 2 May 1949 (Dirig collection). Females at top, males at bottom, venters of same specimens, scale numbers in centimeters. (Photos by Kent Loeffler.) Habitat Since the SSE is restricted to a specific natural situation in New York, we present descriptions of two known habitats below. Laurence R. Rupert described the Horseheads locality of this rare butterfly thus (letter, 19 February 1977): "[T]he spot . .. is very small . The butterflies were quite common along a stretch of the roadway that was very rocky and quite barren. It was steep, with no trees of any size, and few bushes. There was a rangy species of Vicia growing there ... [with] pale lavender [flowers]." Following specific directions Rupert supplied elsewhere in this letter, we visited the site during the SSE flight season on 6 May 1977; and revisited it with Rupert on 7 August 1977. f- and David C. Iftner and John V. Calhoun's unpublished Ohio distribution map. Black squares are localities of the typical subspecies, after Opler (1983) and Iftner and Calhoun's Ohio map. Open square (arrow) at Point Pelee, Ontario, is a record of the typical subspecies, interpreted as an immigrant by Wormington (1983). Largest black circle and square labelled "TL" are type localities of ssp. couperi on Anticosti Island and nominate lygdamus in Georgia. Smallest dots are records of Vicia caroliniana based on ca. 1275 specimens from 21 herbaria. 276 JOURNAL OF THE LEPIDOPTERISTS' SOCIETY TABLE 1. Records of the Southern Silvery Blue [Glaucopsyche Iygdamus Iygdamus (Doubleday)] in central New York, at the northern limit of its range. CUIC = Cornell University Insect Collection, AMNH = American Museum of Natural History, USNM = United States National Museum, Smithsonian Institution. Specimens marked with an asterisk (*) show apparent introgression with G. I. couperi Grote. Broome County, Town of Binghamton Binghamton, May, before 1926 (Forbes 1928). Binghamton, Asylum Hill, June, A. B. Klots, 2 males, AMNH. Chemung County, Town of Horseheads Horseheads, 12 May 1947, 3 males, CUIC, USNM; 19 May 1947, 2 males, 2 females, CUIC; 4 May 1948, 2 males, CUIC; 2 May 1949, 6 males, 1 female, USNM, authors' collections; all collected by L. R. Rupert. Elmira, 14 June 1907, E. I. Huntington, female and male, AMNH. Cortland County, Town of Harford Beam Road Barrens, 14 May 1968, A. M. Shapiro, female, CUIC*. Tioga County Unspecified locality, between 1840 and 1982 (Opler 1983). Tompkins County Town of Caroline, Besemer, 16 May 1969, A. M. Shapiro, 2 males, CUIC*. Town of Ithaca, Ithaca, 17 May 1914, J. R. Eyer, female, CUIC (Forbes 1928). Town of Ithaca, Sixmile Creek, 1930's, J. G. Franclemont. "Ithaca, McLean Bog" (which is 27 km northeast of the city), 4 May 1937, E. J. Gerberg, female, AMNH. Unspecified "New York," M. Rothke, male, AMNH. The Horseheads population was found on the east (southwest-facing) bank of a dirt road east of State Rt. 17 and south of Latta Brook Rd. The road spiralled up a wooded hill of 50° slope from its base at elevation 275 m to 380 m at the site. A steeper 70° slope continued on the east side of the road to the summit at 460 m. The soil consisted largely of 4- to 5-cm-Iong, angular grey shale fragments which were naturally unstable on such a declivity. (Walking off the road in the area caused the stony flakes to slide dangerously at each step.) Latta Brook flows into Newton Creek around the base of the hill, within the upper Sus­ quehanna River tributary system. FLORA: In bloom on 6 May 1977 were Anemonella thalictroides (L.) Spach. and Thalictrum dioicum L. (Ranunculaceae); Polygala paucifolia Willd. (Polygalaceae); Ar­ abis Iyrata L. (Brassicaceae); Phlox subulata L. (Polemoniaceae); Antennaria plantagini­ folia (L.) Richards (Asteraceae); and Vicia caroliniana. Some of these may have served as nectar sources for SSB's in the past, and V. caroliniana was the presumed larval foodplant. On 7 August 1977, additional plants were noted. Trees included Acer rubrum L. (Aceraceae); Quercus velutina Lam. (Fagaceae); Carya glabra (Mill.) Sweet (Juglanda­ ceae); and Prunus serotina Ehrh.
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