American painted lady Vanessa virginiensis (Drury) (Lep.: Nymphalidae) on La Gomera, Canary Islands

1 Pages·2000·0.42 MB·English

by  D Hall

210 ENTOMOLOGIST'SRECORD,VOL. 112 25.ix.2000
American Painted Lady Vanessa virginiensis (Drury) (Lep.: Nymphalidae) on
LaGomera, CanaryIslands
We visited the Canary Island ofLa Gomera from 19 to 26 October 1999 mainly to
look forHypolimnasmisippus L. Unhappily we saw no sign ofthatbutterfly, butwe
did see sixteen other species. Most interestingly, on 20 October when visiting the
town of Hermigua, we found larvae of Vanessa virginiensis. They were in nests
woven in the leaves and flower heads of Jersey Cudweed Gnaphalium luteoalbum
which wasgrowingongravelly,cultivatedgroundinthemiddleofthetown.
We found the cudweed growing in a few otherplaces, nearEl Cedro, Valle Gran
Rey andin San Sebastian, butfoundnomorelarvae.
HoweverthisrecordfromHermiguadoesconfirmthatV. virginiensisisstillresident
onGomera,fromwhereitdoesnotseemtohavebeenrecordedformanyyears.
Theotherspecies seenwere:
PierisrapaeL.-widelydistributedatlowtomediumaltitude.
PontiadaplidiceL.-seenatlowandhighaltitudes.LarvaeseenonHirschfeldiaincana.
Catopsiliaflorella Fab. - at low levels around Cassia didymobotrya planted in gardens. Ova,
larvae and imagos present; larvae parasitisedby aTachinid fly whose white ova andpoints
of larval entry were clearly visible. One parasitised larva produced a perfect butterfly,
anotherproducedtwotachinidflypupae.
ColiascroceusGeoffroy.OnlyonespecimenseeninmunicipalgardensatSanSebastian.
GonepteryxeversiRehnelt.-commoninthelaurisilvaabove600m,mainlyonthenorthslopes
ofGarajonay.
LycaenaphlaeasL.-onlyafewseenatElCedro(900m)andTemocoda(1200m).
LampidesboeticusL.-flyingaroundTrifoliumsp.inthehotelgardenatSantiago.
CyclyriuswebbianusBrulle-atbothmediumandhighaltitudesfeeding on Viciabitumastica.
The possibility ofthis species being used as a larva foodplant, when theirmore usual ones
eg.Adenocarpussp.arenotinflower,couldbeinvestigated.
Zizeria knysna Trimen. - Seen at low levels in the hotel garden at Santiago and near the
harbour and in gardens at San Sebastian. Observed ovipositing on Amaranthus sp. at the
lattersite.AlsoseenatElCedro(900m).
DanausplexippusL. -afew adults seen in the municipal gardenat San Sebastian; no sign of
ovaorlarvaeonthevine-likeAsclepiadaceaespeciesgrowingthere.
VanessaatalantaL.-afewseeninthelaurisilva.
VanessaindicavulcaniaGodart.-seeninthelaurisilvaovipositingonUrticamorifoliaPoir.
VanessacarduiL.-notcommon,seenoccasionallyatalllevels.
VanessavirginiensisDrury-seeabove.
Pseudotergumia wyssii gomera Higgins. - one very worn female at Pastrana (100m) near
Targa.
ParargexiphioidesStand.-observedatPastranaandinthelaurisilvanearTemocoda(1200m)
andRoquedelDiablo(800m).
-D. Hall, 5 CurboroughRoad, Lichfield, StaffordshireWS13 7NGand
P.J.C.Russell,Oakmeadow,WessexAvenue,EastWittering,WestSussexPO208NP.