Meek's Lost Fergusson Island Jezebel butterfly.
May 30, 2016 9:45:38 GMT
mygos, Adam Cotton, and 3 more like this
Post by nomad on May 30, 2016 9:45:38 GMT
Part One. Introduction: The Lost Lepidoptera.
There are a number of species and subspecies of butterflies and moths that have not been seen for many years. They may be lost to us because no one has been to search for them, or people have searched but have been unable to find them again and there are those that have certainly vanished for good. I believe the criteria for extinction is at least fifty years, as one member mentioned on the forum. Some are definitely extinct because of the total destruction of their biotope. Two examples are the British nominate Large Copper, Lycaena dispar dispar and the American Xerces Blue, Glaucopsyche xerces.
Hope lingers on for species such as Papilio lampsacus but it is fading fast. Papilio lampsacus was last seen flying uphill at speed by the late Jan Pasternak at Gunung Salak in Java during 1994. In spite of many people's hopes, the large and beautiful day-flying moth Urania sloanus has been declared officially extinct in Jamaica.
On Biak there were two localized lowland Pieridine species, Delias maudei and Delias bosnikiana that have not been seen since the 1990s, although there are commercial collectors operating on that Island.
Then there are the different species and subspecies of butterflies or moths that have not been found since the type series was collected. Perhaps the most famous and discussed is Colias ponteni. 11 specimens of Colias ponteni were taken but all attempts to find it again has failed. That Colias species is quite possibly extinct. Other Lepidoptera have not been collected again because even today their localities are considered too remote, dangerous or difficult to reach.
A number of the Lepidoptera captured by the English professional collector Albert Stewart Meek, have not been encountered since their discovery in the late 19th or early 20th century. This is almost certainly due to the fact that their localities are considered too difficult to reach because of their inaccessibility.
Albert Stewart Meek spent four months at one location on the remote Fergusson Island and caught two type male specimens of Delias caliban. A hundred and twenty-two years later, in spite of Delias butterflies being a very popular group, they remain the only known examples from that Island. One collecting expedition reached the Fergusson mountains where Meek made his captures but no further specimens of this species were obtained. Time is running out for the fauna and flora of Fergusson Island because widespread logging is rampant on that Island and today it is making inroads into the mountains. This is the story of one of Meek's lost Jezebel butterflies.
The following article will be accompanied by a number of Chris Davenport's high quality photograph plates and he has kindly given permission for their use here.
Please feel free to add any comments and opinions at any stage.
Next. Meek's Lost Fergusson Island Jezebel butterfly.
There are a number of species and subspecies of butterflies and moths that have not been seen for many years. They may be lost to us because no one has been to search for them, or people have searched but have been unable to find them again and there are those that have certainly vanished for good. I believe the criteria for extinction is at least fifty years, as one member mentioned on the forum. Some are definitely extinct because of the total destruction of their biotope. Two examples are the British nominate Large Copper, Lycaena dispar dispar and the American Xerces Blue, Glaucopsyche xerces.
Hope lingers on for species such as Papilio lampsacus but it is fading fast. Papilio lampsacus was last seen flying uphill at speed by the late Jan Pasternak at Gunung Salak in Java during 1994. In spite of many people's hopes, the large and beautiful day-flying moth Urania sloanus has been declared officially extinct in Jamaica.
On Biak there were two localized lowland Pieridine species, Delias maudei and Delias bosnikiana that have not been seen since the 1990s, although there are commercial collectors operating on that Island.
Then there are the different species and subspecies of butterflies or moths that have not been found since the type series was collected. Perhaps the most famous and discussed is Colias ponteni. 11 specimens of Colias ponteni were taken but all attempts to find it again has failed. That Colias species is quite possibly extinct. Other Lepidoptera have not been collected again because even today their localities are considered too remote, dangerous or difficult to reach.
A number of the Lepidoptera captured by the English professional collector Albert Stewart Meek, have not been encountered since their discovery in the late 19th or early 20th century. This is almost certainly due to the fact that their localities are considered too difficult to reach because of their inaccessibility.
Albert Stewart Meek spent four months at one location on the remote Fergusson Island and caught two type male specimens of Delias caliban. A hundred and twenty-two years later, in spite of Delias butterflies being a very popular group, they remain the only known examples from that Island. One collecting expedition reached the Fergusson mountains where Meek made his captures but no further specimens of this species were obtained. Time is running out for the fauna and flora of Fergusson Island because widespread logging is rampant on that Island and today it is making inroads into the mountains. This is the story of one of Meek's lost Jezebel butterflies.
The following article will be accompanied by a number of Chris Davenport's high quality photograph plates and he has kindly given permission for their use here.
Please feel free to add any comments and opinions at any stage.
Next. Meek's Lost Fergusson Island Jezebel butterfly.
