Zerynthia rumina f. honnoratii

[radusho]

two very nice female examples of very rare and most likely extinct Zerynthia rumina f. honnoratii from S. France.

[rumina]

Please post a photo showing the original data labels for both specimens .Thanks. Rumina.

[Adam Cotton]

I think it is not right to class an aberrant form as 'extinct'. The population(s) that these specimens came from are still there, and aberrations like these could recur in future.

Adam.

[radusho]

Label of the second female, first female has only "France" on label, both 100+ years old (second one available for exchange/sale)

I know that listing form as extinct is problematic and probably incorrect. I think (could be wrong) that a certain genetic mutation can disappear - if dominant, expecially if all specimens of such form are selectively caught

[Adam Cotton]

May 27, 2024 16:51:19 GMT radusho said:

I know that listing form as extinct is problematic and probably incorrect. I think (could be wrong) that a certain genetic mutation can disappear - if dominant, expecially if all specimens of such form are selectively caught

Indeed, but mutations can recur in future. It would also be possible for the gene to survive, particularly if not expressed in the male sex, unless people collected all specimens in the whole population. Unfortunately such an event is more likely in butterflies of temperate habitats compared to tropical ones.

Adam.

[rumina]

Is there a date on the labels to confirm that these specimens are over a hundred years old? Knowing the date of capture may give an opportunity to research how many of these specimens were recorded from that period.

[radusho]

There is visible "03" on the label, which indicates year of collecting. Second female has no year, however as both come from the same old collection with old pins it is certainly collected around the same date

[borearctia]

On the subject of "f. honnoratii" (there are obviously different spellings) there was already an interesting thread in insectnet some time ago:

archive.insectnet.com/thread/336/zerynthia-rumina-medesicaste-honnora

[Adam Cotton]

Boisduval (1832) named it honnoratii in p. 18 of the text but honoratii was used in the legend for plate 3, figs 3-5. A single -i ending is an incorrect subsequent spelling.

Adam.