Recently extinct butterflies and moths

[surroundx]

Hi guys,

I am currently compiling a public database (not sure if I'm allowed to post a link?) of all recently (i.e. within the last 100,000 years) extinct species. I'm trying to make all information known about extinct and rediscovered species available free on the internet and accessible by everybody.

I've read some of the threads on here regards Ludlow's Bhutan Glory and have seen that some of the forum members are quite knowledgeable about extinct/rediscovered taxa so I thought that I would post a thread here seeking any kind of help that you guys might be able to render. All help will of course be fully acknowledged on my website.

I currently have 120 species/subspecies of lepidoptera in my database which are possibly extinct (list available on request). And I hardly have any information on any of these species such as hypodigm, species authors, geographical distribution, species bibliographies etc. I'm basically after any and all information on all on these species which I can get hold of no matter how trivial. I do have some information, and have yet to scan the whole internet for info on every species, but that will be very time consuming and take some time.

Feel free to post here or PM me. Or alternatively you can simply email me directly: brndnholmes[at]gmail[dot]com

Regards,

Branden

[ladobe]

An undertaking to say the least with so many known already gone, so many on the verge and many more that are lost every year that have not even been given taxonimic assignment yet.

My last serious field/rearing work with Lepidoptera was all the endemic species found in the Spring Mountains of southern Nevada that are found no where else on earth, and other sensitive species there. These mountians are like an island surrounded by hundreds of miles where sutable habitat does not exist anymore. Believed to be why they have evolved into new sp/ssp. Nine of the 109 species of leps recorded in the Spring Mountains are endemic (and some animals and many plants). Some endemic species there (plant and animal) are presumed extinct now having not been seen for many years. They and others now in a very sensitive state have been in for assignment on the IUCN Red List/ESA for many years. Most local wildlife biologists and lepidopterists' like me belive that all endemic and sensitive sp/spp belong on it with the major habitat loss the last two decades due to drought, wildfires and encroachment. That total inclusion is in progress. I do not know the current status of all in for inclusion, but can add those I do have in my records. Taxonomic names change, so bear with my may not having them all updated on a list I made years ago.

Of highest Lepidopteran concern in this small mountain range are (I removed all site/season data for obvious reason):

Chlosyne acastus robusta (Spring Mountains Acastus Checkerspot)
First proposed for inclusion on 11/21/1991, the last review on 4/13/2011 accepted it for inclusion.

Euphilotes sp. (Bret's Blue)
Spring Mtns phenotype believed in the E. battoides complex.

Euphilotes ancilla purpura (Spring Mountains Dark Blue)

Euphydryas anicia morandi (Morand's Checkerspot)
Has been under constant review for inclusion since 1/89, as of 11/15/1994 accepted for inclusion.

Hemileuca eglanterina - ssp pending (Spring Mountains Elegant Sheepmoth)
Believed extinct. As far as is known, the 3 larva I collected and reared in 1998 where the last seen there. They occurred in huge swarms there as late as in the 80's.

Hesperia colorado mojavensis (Spring Mountains Comma Skipper)

Hesperopsis gracielae (MacNeill Sooty Wing)
Has been under constant review for inclusion since 1/89, as of 11/15/1994 accepted for inclusion.

Icaricia icarioides austinorum ( Spring Mountains Icarioides Blue)
As of 11/15/1994 accepted accepted for inclusion.

Icaricia shasta charlestonensis (Spring Mountains Blue)
As of 11/15/1994 accepted for inclusion, but as of 2005 insighted for a higher level.

Limenitis weidemeyerii nevadae (Nevada Admiral)
Found elsewhere, highly endangered there, and protected in the Spring Mtns by local law. As of 11/15/1994 accepted for inclusion.

Speyeria carolae (Carole's Silverspot)
Has been under constant review for inclusion since 1/89, as of 11/15/1994 accepted for inclusion.


I think all were insighted for a higher level in 2005.

While I do have pictures of all of them, most are under copywrite.

I also have the list of all 64 sp/spp of Lepidoptera that are considered highly sensitive and threatened in Nevada.

As a stricken Parnassian specialist for decades... I assume you already have Parnassius clodius strohbeeni that was formerly found in the Santa Cruz Mountain's of California on your list as extinct.

Hope some of this is new info for you...

Larry

[surroundx]

Hi Larry,

It certainly is. Thank you very much for your time and effort.

Regards,

Branden

[ladobe]

Branden,

Here's a post I made about a month ago. Might be another candidate species for your data base. Unknown if actually extinct, but when you read my post you'll see that it is at least as close as one can get.

Larry

Jun 25, 2012 6:13:00 GMT -8 ladobe said:

IMO, another "Holy Grail", but from the world of Macroheterocera, is the Fabulous Green Sphinx Moth (Tinostoma smaragditis) of Kaua'i, Hawai'i. The first known specimen was collected in about 1896, was named the type specimen by Edward Meyric and published in Faunus Hawaiiensis in 1899. Despite advanced field work by several people over many years only a " few" were seen on the wing. The second one was not collected until 1961 by K.E. Gouveia. Many more tried with no or very limited success and it was eventually thought to be extinct until rediscovered in 1998. Now, 116 years after the first the total collected I think is still only about 12 specimens despite all the organized efforts made to study this species since it was first discovered. I took my turn looking for them in the very late 1980's and through the 1990's, with my first goal to obtain a specimen for the Bishop Museum, and my dream goal to rear them. But with other species under study on all my trips to Hawai'i the trips to Kaua'i had limited time. I was unsuccessful in even seeing one, and the many hours spend hunting for livestock also turned up nothing. So I failed to add anything significant to their data base. With my field days long over now it will remain one of the species on my life list I never found or reared.

[surroundx]

Larry,

I actually had it under "rediscovered". But if there is no known population and at least several surveys conducted by yourself have failed to find it when appropriate methods were used, then I will certainly put it in the extinct species database. The "extinct" part of the database would more correctly be called the "missing" database. As I'm sure you're more than aware it is very difficult to ascertain when a species is truly extinct when there is at least some suitable habitat left. I therefore take the more cautious approach of listing all species which are potentially extinct, as is the case here. It's just that it's easier to refer to the database as a database of extinct species.

By any chance would you be willing to write a small (or large) article detailing your attempts to locate this species? It would be hosted as a pdf file on my website, fully acknowledged as your own work of course!, with a link or two to your website (if you have one), or perhaps your business if you have one, as a show of my gratitude for your time and effort.

Regards,

Branden

[irisscientist]

In light of Larry's recent message Re: Tinostoma smaragditis, I thought you might find this URL interesting. Simply took 10 seconds to find on google scholar!

www.iucnredlist.org/details/21913/0/print

Mark

[surroundx]

Jul 27, 2012 10:50:34 GMT -8 irisscientist said:

In light of Larry's recent message Re: Tinostoma smaragditis, I thought you might find this URL interesting. Simply took 10 seconds to find on google scholar!

www.iucnredlist.org/details/21913/0/print

Mark

That's where I got the fact that it was rediscovered from. I just forgot that the rediscovery date was 1998 though, and so after Larry had searched and failed to find the moth!

[jshuey]

Euphyes bayensis (Hesperiidae) is listed in NatureServe as GH (globally historical - better known as missing in action). It was known from just two coastal spots in Mississippi and Texas, both habitats hit in the same year by hurricanes Rita hit Texas and Katrina literally put the type locality in Mississippi under several feet of ocean.

But it was recently found in Louisiana at a couple of sites as part of an effort by US-Fish and Wildlife Service and their monitoring of potential species for listing as endangered. So all is good...

I described this bug - so I have a vested interest in it.

Shuey

[ladobe]

Mark,
Thank you for the link, adds some credibility to what I stated only from my own records and memory. I did not have that linked.

Brandon,

I wouldn't list it as extinct, and didn't mean to imply that in my first post if taken that way.

No one knows if this species is in fact extinct, what I suggested in my first post. IMO it is apparent it always has been on the threshold of extinction ever since first discovered and assigned, yet somehow did turn up occasionally when seen by locals and when eagerly pursued by luck. As far as I know it's larval food plant(s) are still not confirmed either. Supposedly long ago what was thought to be their livestock on a specific plant(s) has been mentioned, but not proof positive documented as fact that I am aware of. With that information not in hand, most of the attempts to find it, like mine, turned up nothing. With long field experience, especially with Sphingidae and others, I knew what I was doing, the whens and where's with all the known data, the right equipment, and I still turned up nothing on any of my attempts.

Kaua'i has a long recorded history of storm damage and endemic plants being wiped out, so those in question may not have ever made a comeback, or may have never been in large enough numbers due to specific requirements to support a large colony of this species. So some LFP did have to survive at least in small numbers until the last specimens were observed, or longer. The larval plant(s) may now in fact be lost, may not, nobody knows. The fact that they have always been very restricted to small pockets since discovered suggest they are tied to specific plants or environmental conditions though. As Sphingids they are easily capable of straying far and wide. Other unknown factors I've considered... are adults not easily adaptable to changes in resources if favored resources are lost in storms, etc; does this species have endemic predators that seek it out in any of its stages in sufficient numbers to hold the number that survive to adult low; are they highly suseptible to viral/bacterial disease; to sudden changes in environmental conditions?

Naturally all just speculation, a best guess if you will. But the spice of life in scientific field work starts with what is known, what is reasoned out as suspect and all the questions needing answers.

Regardless, it's current status is unknown one way or the other. Placed in "rediscovered" sounds reasonable if you have no "possibly or presumed extinct" list or something similar. Even Parnassius clodius strohbeeni is still listed in most sources as "presumed extinct" despite no specimens having been seen or collected since 1956. Same with "my" Hemileuca eglanterina in the Spring Mountains here. So that suggests the presumed extinct is a correct term other than not knowing if and where the line is drawn between possible and presumed in number of years since last recorded.

All just some of the challenges that kept me constantly active in field work for over 40 years, I simply wanted to know for myself.

Larry

[surroundx]

Jul 28, 2012 13:59:13 GMT -8 jshuey said:

Euphyes bayensis (Hesperiidae) is listed in NatureServe as GH (globally historical - better known as missing in action). It was known from just two coastal spots in Mississippi and Texas, both habitats hit in the same year by hurricanes Rita hit Texas and Katrina literally put the type locality in Mississippi under several feet of ocean.

But it was recently found in Louisiana at a couple of sites as part of an effort by US-Fish and Wildlife Service and their monitoring of potential species for listing as endangered. So all is good...

I described this bug - so I have a vested interest in it.

Shuey

Thankyou very much for those details Shuey. I've acknowledged your help in my database. Could you provide me with any further details about when the last record was before it disappeared from Texas and Mississippi? And when it was relocated in Louisiana? Or any other details at all which may be pertinent?

Regards and Best Wishes,

Branden

[surroundx]

Jul 28, 2012 20:10:23 GMT -8 ladobe said:

Regardless, it's current status is unknown one way or the other Placed in "rediscovered" sounds reasonable if you have no "possibly or presumed extinct" list or something similar. Even Parnassius clodius strohbeeni is still listed in most sources as "presumed extinct" despite no specimens having been seen or collected since 1956. Same with "my" Hemileuca eglanterina in the Spring Mountains here. So that suggests the presumed extinct is a correct term other than not knowing if and where the line is drawn between possible and presumed in number of years since last recorded.

I only have an extinct species database and mirror rediscovered species database. The website is a little constrained, but it's hosted for free so I can't complain at all. But I think the two database for each taxonomic group is sufficient anyway because I've made it aware that each species listed as "extinct" is really only presumed so, or possibly so, because they could still exist unless no suitable habitat remains.

I think I will keep it in the rediscovered database for now. Thanks again for your help Larry

Regards,

Branden

[jshuey]

Jul 28, 2012 20:25:06 GMT -8 surroundx said:

Jul 28, 2012 13:59:13 GMT -8 jshuey said:

Euphyes bayensis (Hesperiidae) is listed in NatureServe as GH (globally historical - better known as missing in action). It was known from just two coastal spots in Mississippi and Texas, both habitats hit in the same year by hurricanes Rita hit Texas and Katrina literally put the type locality in Mississippi under several feet of ocean.

But it was recently found in Louisiana at a couple of sites as part of an effort by US-Fish and Wildlife Service and their monitoring of potential species for listing as endangered. So all is good...

I described this bug - so I have a vested interest in it.

Shuey

Thank you very much for those details Shuey. I've acknowledged your help in my database. Could you provide me with any further details about when the last record was before it disappeared from Texas and Mississippi? And when it was relocated in Louisiana? Or any other details at all which may be pertinent?

Regards and Best Wishes,

Branden

I don't know exactly when it was last collected. I was looking at photos of the bug from Texas on a regular basis before the hurricanes hit in the early 2000's. And I know that there have been several efforts specifically to find bayensis since the storms at the two historical sites - with no success.

As to the Louisiana site - I don't know exactly. I was sent photos to confirm ID, and some shots of the habitat (a series of drainage ditches through pretty flat ground. I'm guessing that it is disturbed coastal plain wetland.

Shuey

[ladobe]

Branden,

It sure would be beneficial to know what species are already listed in your data base. Otherwise it's a shot in the dark to not cover the same ground again, and would be much easier to suggest other species not already listed. I know of many, but can't see taking the time and effort not knowing if you might already have them included.


Also you gave no clue what you consider "recent", where the cut off is. In the larger picture recent could be since they first evolved.

Food for thought.

Larry

[surroundx]

Hi Larry,

Jul 30, 2012 11:57:19 GMT -8 ladobe said:

It sure would be beneficial to know what species are already listed in your data base. Otherwise it's a shot in the dark to not cover the same ground again, and would be much easier to suggest other species not already listed. I know of many, but can't see taking the time and effort not knowing if you might already have them included.

I will post a list of them here later tonight for the benefit of forum members. Perhaps some of them have been rediscovered since I first came across them, and haven't had the time to research any change in status.

Jul 30, 2012 11:57:19 GMT -8 ladobe said:

Also you gave no clue what you consider "recent", where the cut off is. In the larger picture recent could be since they first evolved.

If you read the first sentence of my first post again Larry, you'll find the answer

[surroundx]

Jul 30, 2012 5:13:00 GMT -8 jshuey said:

I don't know exactly when it was last collected. I was looking at photos of the bug from Texas on a regular basis before the hurricanes hit in the early 2000's. And I know that there have been several efforts specifically to find bayensis since the storms at the two historical sites - with no success.

As to the Louisiana site - I don't know exactly. I was sent photos to confirm ID, and some shots of the habitat (a series of drainage ditches through pretty flat ground. I'm guessing that it is disturbed coastal plain wetland.

It was worth a shot. Thanks for the extra info Shuey

Regards,

Branden