Listedspecies

Well, it's December and I had been neglect in taking care of correspondence during September, October, and November.
Sometimes in life other matters besides leps interferes with keeping up with those responsibilities.

I have caught up and hope to continue to keep up. Please keep the reports coming as well as up coming activities' notices.

Here a request for assistance:
Respected sir,
I am working as Assistant Entomologist in the Department of Horticulture, Punjb Agricultural University,
Ludhiana, Punjab State, India.

I am enclosing 1 picture of a moth (of hairy caterpillar) collected from Mango orchard.

Please send me its scientific name please.

Your help will be properly acknowledged.

Sandeep Singh

Assistant Entomologist

[Note from OAP: Pease email responses to
Sandeep Singh sandeep_pau.1974@yahoo.com
with a copy to lepalert@comcast.net

moth (of hairy caterpillar) collected from Mango orchard,
Punjb Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab State, India.

Report from Harry D. King, 15 October 2008,

This is a Tiger Swallowtail taken in Michigan at Dansville State game Area July 23, 2005.
The Blue areas of the Hind-wings are replaced by Silvery-Gray.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus glaucus) aberrant
Dansville State game Area July 23, 2005
photograph by Harry D. King copyright © 2008

Kyle E. Johnson replied to Bob, et al, on 13 October 2008:

I accessed the bog on the SE side, near the road but a little bit to the W where a small lobe of upland mixed
conifer/hardwood forest borders the bog. Based on vegetation cover it shouldn't be too hard to use the same
way in the spring. I can give more guidance then if needed.

Thanks for the bit on Master's correspondence with Mo. I was not aware of this. Otherwise the location
could have fit, as Master's location descriptions were quite sloppy (in fact, in one article Masters reports
collecting E. discoidalis 2 miles N of Rhinelander (WI) but in another article states that it was 5 miles N of Rhinelander!)

On another note of possible interest, the 2006 E. discoidalis/B. frigga site at Cyr Swamp (West Water Track)
should represent a new soil type for at least E. discoidalis in Michigan. I recall you saying a while back that
this was greenwood peat, but perhaps you were thinking of another area? (see database GPS points for
guidance if needed) If the soil maps state greenwood or dawson peat they must be in error...the area
simply cannot be by definition of the soil type. I'd guess riffle peat based on vegetation & comparison to
MN peatlands.

Beautiful night for moths last night...stayed at 70F for a while, dipping down to 60F by 5am. Not bad for mid October!
Not sure if you had the same.

Hope all is well in the "land of the trolls".

Robert D. Kriegel aka "Boloria Bob" replies on 13 October 2008 to Kyle,
el al, about the John Master's Baraga Erebia discoidalis original Michigan site:

Hi Kyle,

Where exactly did you access Clear Creek Bog from? Harry King and I were
there once in the spring during the appropriate flight time. We tried to
access the bog from the SE corner along the road. At that time at least,
it was far too wet to enter the bog from there. From your pics it looks
like an excellent bog though. So we definitely need to get back there.

Unfortunately, this is most definitely NOT the place where Masters
discovered E. discoidalis in Michigan. First, it is almost 5 mi from the
highway to the bog and Baraga itself is another 1 to 1.5 mi north of the
turnoff. But you are getting close. In addition to the published locality
there is correspondence from Masters describing the specific locality in
greater detail. I believe this is in a letter to Mo Nielsen. It has been
over a decade since I saw the correspondence but my memory is as follows.

The location is on Baraga Plains road, 0.4 mi past the Baraga State Park
sign. This places it in the vicinity of what is now the Baraga
municipality water treatment plant. That facility did not exist when
Masters found the butterfly.

[Note from OAP:: I have been to this site with Bob and Polygonia satyrus was vouchered by use
of a fermenting fruit bait trap. We also visited other sites nearby. Mo and I visited this and nearby sites
on another occasion. This area is excellent for all the habitat features that are present.]

However, this is the edge of a large, diverse wetland that covers the entire southern end of the bay.
So even if the specific locality has been altered the species should still exist elsewhere
in the wetland.

http://terraserver-usa.com/image.aspx?T=1&S=11&Z=16&X=962&Y=12946&W=1&qs=%7cbaraga%7cmi%7c

In the aerial photo above, notice the sewage treatment ponds in the NW
corner, the railroad tracks running north to southwest, and the trail that
connects the road to the railroad tracks. The railroad that runs through
the wetland can be accessed by that trail. The trail tends to be very
muddy in the spring because it is a snowmobile trail. There is a
snowmobile bridge over the creek so you can get all the way to the tracks
if you can navigate your way through the mud.

This area is loaded with Polygonia. I have taken every species except
gracilis here. Right on the main road, south side, at the edge of the
meadow with the treatment ponds is a small willow tree that ozes nice
quantities of salicyclic acid. I have taken as many as a dozen polygonia
on this tree alone. Bait traps hung in the woods can also be
productive. I have visited this location more than half a dozen times at
the right time of the year but no luck on discoidalis, or any of the other
bog species so far. But I certainly encourage others to look there as it
is a neat area.

Harry D. King replies on 12 October 2008 to Kyle, et al, about the John Master's
Baraga Erebia discoidalis original Michigan site:

Kyle

When do we get started?

Harry

Report from Kyle E. Johnson, 12 October 2008,

Some of you may have pondered where exactly did John Masters get the first Michigan Erebia discoidalis.

The published locality is 3 miles SW of Baraga, but many of Masters' records are not very precise. The suspects can be quickly narrowed down, however. There are not a lot of acid peatlands in the area around Baraga, and only two stand out as being large....Gristmill Creek Bog (visited by Bob & others) and a large bog along Clear Creek Road. Furthermore Masters' collecting sites in WI and MN all share a common theme...all are easily viewed & accessed from roads. Gristmill Creek Bog is not so apparent from the road, leaving us with the Clear Creek Road Bog.

Clear Creek Road Bog, SW of Baraga, Baraga County, MI, 5 October 2008.
photograph by Kyle E. Johnson copyright © 2008

On October 6th I was on my way to visit Les & the gang in Eagle River (MI), and took a moment to investigate the "Clear Creek Road Bog" despite the gloomy skies and light drizzle. It was well worth it. The site is absolutely beautiful, OBVIOUS from the road, and very easy to access. As an added bonus the leatherleaf tortricid Acleris oxycoccana was flying everywhere. After little time I had found a nice "poor fen" microhabitat boasting a nice population of Carex chordorrhiza, the/a very, very likely host plant of Erebia discoidalis (see second pic w/ backpack).

The site definitely looks right for this one. [As an added note: a few areas (see 3rd pic) of acid bog microhabitat have well developed Sphagnum magellanicum/fuscum hummocks which have some potential for a smallish B. freija population. B. frigga is a possibility along the poor fen margins, but in my brief tour could not find Salix pedicellaris (but a large area remains to be searched)]

Clear Creek Road Bog, SW of Baraga, Baraga County, MI, 5 October 2008.
photograph by Kyle E. Johnson copyright © 2008

A large acid peatland fitting the described location, with the right habitat, and obvious from the road...my money's on this one. McNielsen's bet anyone?!

Report from Kyle E. Johnson, 12 October 2008,

What wud cha do in da U.P. at dis time a yer?

Go chump in da lake a corse! And look fur da larvae of dos aquatic pyraloid mots. But I cud not find a damn one...water wus a tad nippy! I tink I needed a bit more samplin time, dontcha tink so?

[pictures taken by Les Ferge & Terri Balogh at Eagle River, MI (Keweenaw Co.) on October 9, 2008]

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