Subject: Re: Monarchs in Ecuador

From: "Paul W. Runquist" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 23 Jun 1996 22:32:13 -0700

>[email-masked] (Pierre A Plauzoles) wrote:
>
>>Hmmmm.  Interesting.  I didn't know they even migrated past Guatemala,
>>let alone all the way down to Ecuador and the Galapagos.
>
>I am interested, also, to see that the monarch reaches Guatamala.  I
>suspect that other species of monarchs may be involved, but not
>plexippus there.  Further South, in the humid tropics of Nova
>Teutonia, Santa Catarina, and nearby areas,  species of monarchs occur
>which at first glance resemble plexippus.  Possible one of these in
>its Northward distribution may be involved.  Fritz Plauman used to
>collect these other monarch species in Nova Teutonia.  Was the
>Guatamalan speciman preserved?  If not too worn it might be possible
>to identify it.  I think there are good characters in the genitalia
>upon dissection.
>
>                                                        Walter Krivda,
>                                                        The Pas, MB,
>                                                         R9A-1K8,
>                                                         CANADA.
>
>

        Although only a few were seen, I have seen plexippus in the
Galapagos Islands in December 1994.  No voucher specimens were taken
(Galapagos National Park), but it was undeniably plexippus, and photographs
were taken as verification by two lepidopterists.  Refer to "Galapagos: A
Natural History" by Michael H. Jackson for further info.

Erik Runquist
[email-masked]
Paul W. Runquist
Monarch Magic
[email-masked]

---

From: "Charles V. Covell Jr." <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 24 Jun 1996 16:15:06 EDT

Dept. of Biology, Univ. of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292
PHONE: (502) 852-6771

My meaning was mistaken by some when I mentioned migration down to
Ecuador!  I was, of course, referring to endemic D. plexippus there
and also in Galapagos, where I saw only one this year.

Charles V. Covell Jr.   [email-masked]
Dept. of Biology, University of Louisville
Louisville, KY 40292-0001   PHONE: (502) 852-6771 (office)
(502) 852-0725 (FAX); (502) 456-6122 (home).  "So many bugs..."