Speyeria (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) Conservation

Abstract

Speyeria (Nymphalidae) are a conspicuous component of the North American butterfly fauna. There are approximately 16 species and >100 associated subspecies (or geographical variants). Speyeria are univoltine, occupy a wide range of habitats, overwinter as first instar larvae, and feed only on native violets. Speyeria species have become a model group for studies of evolution, speciation, and conservation. Several species and subspecies are threatened or endangered. The reasons for this vary with the taxa involved, but always involve the degradation or loss of quality habitat for larvae and adults. The impacts of climate change must be considered among the causes for habitat degradation and in the establishment of conservation measures. In addition to increasing the available habitat, conservation efforts should consider maintaining habitat in a seral “disturbed” successional stage that selectively favors the growth of violets and preferred adult nectar sources. A major future challenge will be determining the most effective allocation of conservation resources to those species and subspecies that have the greatest potential to respond favorably to these efforts.

Single nucleotide polymorphism‐based species phylogeny of greater fritillary butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Speyeria) demonstrates widespread mitonuclear discordance

“…It has therefore historically been difficult to delimit species of Speyeria and to characterize their phylogenetic relationships, leading to a comment that 'the literature is replete with erroneous determinations and many more are of doubtful validity' (dos Passos & Grey, 1947). Today, despite the integration of DNA sequence data, species relationships of Speyeria remain largely unresolved (Dunford, 2007;McHugh et al, 2013;de Moya et al, 2017), yet a stable phylogeny would support growing conservation concern for several species (Hammond, 1995;Breed et al, 2012;McHugh et al, 2013;Wells & Tonkin, 2014;Sims, 2017;Hill et al, 2018).…”

Phylogenomic Analyses Clarify True Species within the Butterfly Genus Speyeria despite Evidence of a Recent Adaptive Radiation

“…Consistent with their rapid radiation, many taxa within the genus are interfertile and make viable hybrids in lab crosses, and examples of natural hybrids have been reported [29]. Speyeria are also of conservation concern, with many species in decline due to habitat loss and degradation from human activity [30,31]. In fact, several groups are federally listed endangered species such as Speyeria callippe callippe , S. zerene behrensii , and S. zerene myrtleae [32], while others are threatened, such as S. idalia , and S. diana [31], or imperiled such as S. adiaste [33,34].…”

Geomorphic Morphometric Differences between Populations ofSpeyeria diana(Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)

“…Speyeria diana is a large, sexually dimorphic member of this genus found in areas of the southeastern United States. This species is threatened by a number of factors across its range, such as habitat loss and fragmentation (Hammond & McCorkle 1983), pesticide use (Peacock et al 1998), fire suppression (Rudolph et al 2006), and climate change (Wells & Tonkyn 2014), and is therefore of conservation interest (Sims 2017). Speyeria diana has disappeared entirely from the Atlantic coastal plain, where it was first described by Cramer & Stoll (1777), and from interior lowland sites, including Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois.…”