Speyeria hesperis electa ( Edwards, 1878 )

Dunford, James C., 2009, Taxonomic overview of the greater fritillary genus Speyeria Scudder and the atlantis - hesperis species complexes, with species accounts, type images, and relevant literature (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), Insecta Mundi 2009 (90), pp. 1-74 : 40-41

Speyeria hesperis electa ( Edwards, 1878)

( Figure 41-42 )

Argynnis Electa Edwards, 1878: 143 .

Argynnis Cornelia Edwards, 1892: 106 (synonymized by dos Passos and Grey 1947). Speyeria atlantis electa (Edwards) [ dos Passos and Grey 1947].

Argynnis nikias Ehrmann, 1917: 55 ( Figure 42 ).

Speyeria atlantis nikias (Ehrmann) [ dos Passos and Grey 1947] (synonymized by Scott et al. 1998). Speyeria hesperis electa (Edwards) [ Scott et al. 1998].

Common names. Electa fritillary, electa silverspot, cinnamon silverspot.

Type deposited. Lectotype (male) designated by dos Passos and Grey (1947) at Carnegie Museum of Natural History ( Figure 41 ).

Type locality. Colorado. Defined by dos Passos and Grey (1947) as Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Brown (1965) considered this locality untenable, and corrected it to Turkey Creek Junction, Jefferson County, Colorado. Subsequently defined as “Twin Lakes, Lake County” Colorado by Scott et al. 1998 (also see Scott 2008a: 22).

Type label data. “type electa [male] Colo. Mead ’71; Argynnis cornelia [male] Fide W. J. Holland; Collection W. H. Edwards; lectotype Argynnis electa [male] W. H. Edwards designated by dos Passos and Grey 1947 ”.

Identification, taxonomy, and variation. This subspecies has been recognized as a distinct species by some authors ( Howe 1975; Bird et al. 1995) and is difficult to distinguish from nominate (eastern) S. atlantis except by locality labels. It may be that ‘ electa ’ is a valid species and represents the silver-spotted western ‘species’ in the atlantis complex (Cliff Ferris, pers. comm.). Additional taxonomic studies, those including molecular analyses, need to be conducted to address this situation. Adult wingspan ranges from 55-60 mm. Maeki and Remington (1960) dissected the testes of individuals taken from Colorado to find n = 29 chromosomes and illustrated the relative sizes of each.

Range. Throughout the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and in the Laramie Range of southern Wyoming.

Life history. Adults of S. h. electa are on the wing as early as May in Alberta ( Bird et al. 1995) and fly well into September. Emmel (1964) noted that adults prefer open, dry meadow areas near Florissant, Colorado.

Figures

Figure 41-45. Type images for Speyeria spp.; dorsal, ventral, and label images. 41) Speyeria hesperis electa lectotype, described as Argynnis Electa, male, CMNH. 42) Speyeria hesperis nikias lectotype, described as Argynnis nikias, male, CMNH. Now synonymized under Speyeria hesperis electa (Scott et al. 1998). 43) Speyeria hesperis schellbachi holotype, described as Speyeria atlantis schellbachi, male, LACM. 44) Speyeria hesperis nausicaa lectotype, described as Argynnis Nausicaa, male, CMNH. 45) Speyeria hesperis dorothea holotype, described as Speyeria atlantis dorothea, male, AMNH. Images 41-42 and 44-45 by James C. Dunford; 43 by Weiping Xie.