The Butterflies of Iowa

Introduction to the Species Accounts

Introduction to the Species Accounts n all, 131 butterfly species have been reported from Iowa. It is likely that 13 of these were errors due to misidentification or mislabeling of specimens. These dubious species (and their reasons for exclusion) are enumerated at the end of the species accounts . The remaining 118 have been documented in Iowa from at least one verifiable specimen. Of these, 6 stray only occasionally into the state from other regions and may not be observed every season. The Dakota Skipper has not been sighted since 1992 and is believed to have been extirpated, while the Cabbage White and the European Skipper represent our only introduced species. The following accounts include all verified species, grouped by taxonomic family. Once you identify a specimen by photograph, you can determine its taxonomic associations and its family. We provide an introduction for each family, giving its characteristics and information about the number of species in Iowa and their habitats. For each species, we include the common name, scientific name, Opler and Warren (2003) number, status, adult flight times and number of broods per season, distinguishing features, distribution and habitat, and natural history information such as behavior and food preferences. Most common names are from Glassberg (1999). Scientific names are organized and therefore numbered based on the phylogenetic arrangement of Opler and Warren (2003). The Opler and Warren number indicates the sequential position of each butterfly in the classification list of the 780 butterflies in North America north of Mexico. The status information for each butterfly includes comments on its commonness or rareness, whether it is a year-round resident of Iowa, and whether it breeds in the state. We attempted to survey all the literature for published accounts on Iowa butterflies. In many cases we were not able to locate the specimens on which the published records were based and hence had to rely on the presumed accuracy of the determinations. In most cases, this method is reliable because of the commonness of the species or the usage of the name; presumed errors in distributional accounts are clearly indicated in appropriate places in the text. We have also relied heavily on our own fieldwork and on that of colleagues and collaborators over the last five decades. The flight time of the adults is determined by date records obtained from all specI 40 | t h e b u t t e r f l i e s o f i o wa imens observed or recorded in the literature. Refer to the introduction to the range maps and flight diagrams for more information about how to use and interpret these records. To help you understand the section on distinguishing features, we have included diagrams (see figs. 1–4) that provide the terminology for general butterfly anatomy, wing regions, wing areas, and wing veins. The distribution and habitat section refers to the species range maps (combined with the flight diagrams, for easier comparison of data). This section also includes information about the habitat and geographical preferences of each species. Note that the section on the natural history of each species is not intended to include all the information available about its life history and host-plant preferences. As indicated earlier, you should use this book along with more comprehensive texts. For most plant names, we have relied upon Eilers and Roosa (1994) and Swink and Wilhelm (1994). Because our knowledge of these species is far from complete, each account ends with some of the most important unanswered questions. It is our hope that the readers of this book will help answer these questions (and ask new ones), thereby advancing the understanding of these fascinating animals. hind wing fore wing antenna compound eye labial palp proboscis reduced fore leg abdomen hind leg thorax tarsus midleg discalarea inner margin apex tornus discal area i n n e r m a r g i n te r m i n a l a r e a tornus costal margin s u b t e r m i n a l a r e a apical area costal margin basal area o u t e r m a r g i n b a s a l area figure 1. Butterfly anatomy. figure 2. Butterfly wing regions. b a s a l po s t b a s a l s u b m e d i a n m e d i a...