A Description of a New Subspecies of Lycaena phlaeas (Lycaenidae: Lycaeninae) from Montana, United States, With a Comparative Study of Old and New World Populations

Authors

Steve Kohler, Missoula, Montana, United States

Date of this Version

5-1-2007

Document Type

Article

Citation

Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey (May 1, 2007) 7(1): 1-19

Also available at https://lepsurvey.carolinanature.com/ttr/ttr-7-1.pdf

Comments

Copyright 2007, International Lepidoptera Survey. Open access material

License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-SA-NC 4.0 International)

Abstract

The Palaearctic, Oriental, and Ethiopian Region subspecies of Lycaena phlaeas are briefly discussed. A more detailed account of the North American subspecies is presented, and a new subspecies, L. p. weberi, from the Sweet Grass Hills, Montana is described. The possibility that the eastern United States subspecies hypophlaeas was introduced from the Old World is discussed; however no conclusion can be reached with certainty. The relationship between Old World and New World subspecies of L. phlaeas is discussed. Evidence presented supports the treatment of New World populations as subspecies of L. phlaeas.