A review of three species-level taxa of the Anthocharis sara complex (Lepidoptera: Pieridae: Pierinae: Anthocharidini)
Author
Stout, Todd L.
text
Insecta Mundi
2018
2018-03-30
615
1
38
journal article
10.5281/zenodo.3699337
cc297f95-c774-4eb7-9cb2-eedeaa37c7fc
1942-1354
3699337
322DABD4-EDB4-43D1-9140-4238E3C6C22F
Anthocharis julia
.
The species with the most expansive distribution within the sara complex is
A. julia
as it frequents mountain canyons and forested riparian situations from mid-range elevations of the central Sierra
Nevada
(
A. julia stella
) east through the higher elevations of the Great Basin of northern
Nevada
and western
Utah
(
A. julia sulfuris
Pelham, 2008
). Prior to the description of
A. julia sulfuris
, the distribution of
A. julia stella
was expansive from central
California
and western
Nevada
north and east through portions of several states and Canadian provinces discussed below in the current distribution of
A. julia sulfuris
(
Pelham 2008
)
.
Adult phenotypes of Northern
Utah
populations of
A. julia
suggest that
A. julia browningi
Skinner, 1906
, is restricted to the Wasatch and Bear River Range (Cache County) and is surrounded in the state by populations of
A. julia sulfuris
both to the west in isolated, higher elevational forested habitat of the Great Basin as well as to the east of the Wasatch Range in the Uinta Mountains and southeast along portions of the
Colorado
Plateau.
In western
Colorado
,
A. julia prestonorum
Stout, 2012
, flies on the west side of the continental divide and
A. julia julia
flies on the east side of the continental divide (
Fisher 2012
).
Anthocharis julia julia
can also be found to the north in SE
Wyoming
where a void is created in Wyoming’s Red Desert (Warren pers. comm.).
Anthocharis julia sulfuris
is prevalent in northern and western
Wyoming
east to extreme western
South Dakota
extending northwest into
Montana
and western
Alberta
. From western
Wyoming
,
A. julia sulfuris
can also be found west throughout much of
Idaho
into eastern
Oregon
and eastern
Washington
east of the Cascade Range. Populations in
Oregon
and
Washington
, west of the Cascades north through portions of western
British Columbia
pertain to
A. julia flora
Wright, 1892
. The extent of intergradation between
A. julia sulfuris
and
A. julia flora
in the Cascades is unclear (
Hinchliff 1994
,
1996
;
Pyle 2002
) as adult wing, larval, and pupal characters are similar confirming these taxa as conspecific.
In British Columbia, the distribution of
A. julia flora
,
A. julia alaskensis
Gunder, 1932
, and
A. julia sulfuris
, (as
A. sara flora
,
A. sara alaskensis
and
A. stella
, respectively,) is outlined through dot maps (
Guppy and Shepard 2001
). The distribution of
A. julia flora
includes Vancouver Island and southern coastal areas. The distribution of
A. julia alaskensis
also includes coastal areas of Central British Columbia north into extreme southern Yukon and northern portions of the Alaskan panhandle. In British Columbia,
A. julia sulfuris
flies more in the interior of the province southeast to southern Alberta (Bird et. al 1995).
Because of similar phenotypes,
A. julia columbia
Scott and Kondla, 2008
, is treated as a junior synonym to
A. julia sulfuris
based upon priority (
Pelham 2008
). Adult topotypes of
A. julia sulfuris
from Kellogg, Shoshone County,
Idaho
, have been collected and examined (
n
= 23). Kondla provided papered males and one female of
A. julia
from Waneta Dam and Charbonneau Creek,
British Columbia
, 32–36 aerial kilometers south of the
A. julia columbia
type
locality which is located at Brilliant Creek, BC, in the west Kootenay area near Castlegar on the Columbia River. Although these adults are very similar to topotypical
A. julia sulfuris
,
strict topotypes of
A. julia columbia
have not been examined.