Speyeria egleis ( Behr, 1862 )

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 : 23-24

Speyeria egleis ( Behr, 1862)

( Figure 17 )

Argynnis Egleis Behr, 1862: 174 .

Argynnis montivaga Behr, 1863: 84 .

Argynnis Astarte Edwards, 1864b: 435 .

Argynnis montivaga Behr aberrant mammothi Gunder, 1924: 157.

Argynnis montivaga Behr form boharti Gunder, 1929: 326.

Speyeria egleis (Behr) [ dos Passos and Grey 1945a].

Common names. Egleis fritillary, Great Basin fritillary, mountain rambler, montivaga.

Type deposited. Neotype (female) designated by Emmel et al. (1998a) at National Museum of Natural History ( Figure 17 ).

Type locality. California. Defined by dos Passos and Grey (1947) based on lectotype [= neotype of Emmel et al. (1998b)] as vicinity of Gold Lake, Sierra Country, California. However, Emmel et al. (1998b) have determined the type designated as a lectotype is invalid because it could not have been one of the original syntypes in front of Behr when he described A. egleis . Therefore, the lectotype was redesignated as a neotype for S. egleis . Emmel et al. (1998b) listed the type specimen as being female, which differs from dos Passos and Grey’s purported “male” lectotype. The image included herein is that of a female (see Figure 17 ).

Type label data. “Prob. Type egleis Bdv. ; Egleis Bdv. California; EX MUSAEO Dris. BOISDUVAL; Argynnis Egleis, Bdv. [male-sic] Ex typic. specim.; Oberthur Collection; Barnes Collection”. [No date, sex, or series data was provided with the original description ( McHenry 1964).]

Identification, taxonomy, and variation. There are approximately 13 described subspecies in the egleis complex ( Moeck 1957; Howe 1975; Warren 2005). Adult wingspan is 44-59 mm. The dorsal surface is generally orange to brown with paler postmedian and marginal spots and most individuals have dark scaling on the basal half of the wings. Males bear sex scaling on forewing veins. The ventral hindwing disc is variable depending on subspecies and can be red-brown, brown, tan, or greenish. The postmedian spots are smaller than most Speyeria species and may be silvered or unsilvered. The marginal spots are generally slightly triangular to rounded with brown or greenish caps. The ventral hindwing is yellow and spots are strongly silvered in central Nevada populations but bear a dull greenish tint in parts of Montana and Alberta. Speyeria egleis can resemble S. atlantis , S. coronis , S. zerene , S. callippe , and S. mormonia , depending on geographical location. Larval coloration is variable throughout the range of S. egleis . Speyeria egleis secreta dos Passos and Grey , a less commonly encountered form, very closely resembles members of the hesperis species complex in parts of its range ( Remington 1947, 1948; Eff 1956). Larvae are graybrown or black with a dark strip inside of yellow band located dorsomedially. The top four rows of spines are generally black or yellow; the lower two rows of spines are yellow. Pupae are dark brown with yellowbrown patches, dark wing cases and dark cross stripes on abdomen. Detailed life history notes and descriptions for the egg, larval instars and pupa of S. egleis is provided by Edwards (1879c).

Range. Speyeria egleis occurs throughout the Great Basin, from southeastern British Columbia, western Oregon, Idaho, and western Montana, south to southern California, central Utah, and northwest Colorado. Nominotypical S. egleis is found throughout the Sierra Nevada mountains above 6,000 ft. (Emmel and Emmel 1998a).

Life history. Speyeria egleis forms occur in mixed woodlands, open rocky slopes, meadows and stream banks. They occur at middle to high elevations and are most common in cooler parts of the Great Basin, California Sierra Nevada and Trinity Mountains. Females have been observed ovipositing on pinecones, sticks, and stones in California ( Lembert 1893). Flight period is from early June through early October. Males patrol mostly in shaded forest lanes such as abandoned roads in Colorado, whereas males patrol along hilltops in some California populations ( Scott 1975). Davenport (1998) noted that forest fires and subsequent rains in the Greenhorn Mountains of California have provided suitable habitat that has enabled S. egleis to expand its range southward.

Larval host plants. Viola adunca , V. nuttallii , V. ocellata , V. purpurea , V. purpurea integrifolia , V. purpurea venosa , V. walteri ; Festuca ovina (Gramineae) ; Potentilla (Rosaceae) ( Robinson et al. 2002).

Adult food resources. As with other Speyeria , there are numerous plant species from which S. egleis likely nectar on.

Figures

Figure 16-20. Type images for Speyeria spp.; dorsal, ventral, and label images. 16) Speyeria callippe lectotype, described as Argynnis callippe, male, NMNH. 17) Speyeria egleis neotype, described as Argynnis egleis, female, NMNH. 18) Speyeria adiaste lectotype, described as Argynnis Adiante, female, NMNH. This specimen is not recognized as the name bearing type. 19) Speyeria adiaste lectotype, described as Argynnis Adiaste, male, CMNH. 20) Speyeria atlantis atlantis lectotype, described as Argynnis Atlantis, male, CMNH. Images 16-18 by Robert Robbins; 19-20 by James C. Dunford.