http://10.70.15.71/taxonomy/term/65/0 en http://10.70.15.71/butterfly/Nathalis/iole <p>This common <a class="glossary-term" href="/glossary/3#term169"><acronym title="The primary unit of classification below genus under the Linnaean system. For our purposes, groups of interbreeding or potentially interbreeding populations of individuals that share an evolutionary history and ancestry. However, there is significant debate on what exactly constitutes a species and many definitions and concepts have been proposed. The most common of these is the biological species concept, which requires that sets of populations must be able to successfully and regularly interbreed and produce viable, fertile offspring.">species</acronym></a> of the Southwest deserts and Mexico strays irregularly northward, occasionally in numbers (as in 1992), but is not known to breed here. It has been recorded near sea level (Sacramento Valley and Bay Area) and in the mountains (even on Castle Peak!). It is a very peculiar species--there is only one other species in the genus and it is from the Andes, and our species occurs disjunctly in the <a class="glossary-term" href="/glossary/3#term85"><acronym title="Habitats at very high elevations, usually rocky and characterized by a lack of trees and a short growing season. On this transect, the tops of Castle Peak and Basin Peak are classified as alpine.">alpine</acronym></a> zone of the isolated Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in northeastern Colombia, South America. In North America, cold-season broods may be very dark on the <a class="glossary-term" href="/glossary/3#term126"><acronym title="The rear pair of wings on an insect. The hindwings primarily are used for stability and increased surface area in flight. When butterflies land with their wings closed (and most do), the ventral hindwings is the primary wing surface observed. Some species have complex color patterns and designs on this wing surface, including eyespots and tails that may draw the attention of predators away from more “critical” areas of the body like the head and forewings. These patterns also can serve as important means of species recognition in courtship (demonstrably so in the Lycaeides blues). In others, like Ceryconis wood nymphs, ventral hindwings are cryptic and serve as camouflage.">hindwing</acronym></a> beneath. The host plants are various <a class="glossary-term" href="/glossary/3#term122"><acronym title="The nested rank between family and species in the Linnaean system.">genera</acronym></a> of <i>Asteraceae</i>, at least most of which contain photosensitizing chemical compounds. It can be reared on common Marigold (<i>Tagetes</i>). Adults fly low, near the ground, and visit small flowers with short <a class="glossary-term" href="/glossary/3#term93"><acronym title="The collective term for all the petals of a flower. Petals may fuse together in some plants to form a corolla-tube.">corolla</acronym></a>-tubes.</p> Nathalis Sun, 28 May 2006 18:08:28 +0000 admin 102 at http://10.70.15.71