Pterourus appalachiensis (Papilionidae: Papilioninae), a New Swallowtail Butterfly from the Appalachian Region of the United States

Authors

Harry Pavulaan, International Lepidoptera SurveyFollow
David M. Wright, Lansdale, Pennsylvania, United States

Date of this Version

6-15-2002

Document Type

Article

Citation

Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey (June 15, 2002) 3(7): 1-20

Also available at https://lepsurvey.carolinanature.com/ttr/ttr-3-7.pdf

Comments

Copyright 2002, International Lepidoptera Survey. Open access material

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

Abstract

A new univoltine species of Tiger Swallowtail, Pterourus appalachiensis, is described from the southern Appalachian Mountain region of the eastern United States. This distinct swallowtail has remained unrecognized by lepidopterists since the description of its sympatric congener Pterourus glaucus (Linnaeus) in 1758. Historical accounts of Tiger Swallowtails from this region pertain specifically to glaucus and cannot be attributed to this new species. Morphology, voltinism, phenology, distribution, and behavioral traits indicate species level status of appalachiensis. Although appalachiensis shares several phenotypic characters with the recently elevated species canadensis (Rothschild & Jordan), preliminary mitochondrial DNA analysis indicates that appalachiensis is more closely related to glaucus. Additional work is needed to identify the natural hosts and evolutionary origins of this species.