The Arthur J. Yates collection of Michigan Lepidoptera, recently donated to Michigan State University (see Fischer, 1967), contained a striking melanic male cabbage butterfly [Pieris rapae (Linnaeus)] (Figs. 1, 2) now incorporated into the MSU series. Yates collected the specimen on 29 May 1934 in Roseville, Macomb County, near the western shore of Lake St. Clair in southeastern Michigan. An examination of the androconia and genitalia, using the characters described by Chang (1963), assured proper identification of the specimen. Although we have found no record of a similar rapae taken in North America, there are some named European forms of various species of Pieris that resemble our specimen

Donahue, Julian P

Nielsen, M. C

English

Valparaiso University

The Great Lakes Entomologist Volume 1 Number 4 -- April 1967 Number 4 -- April 1967 Article 1 April 1967 A Melanic Pieris Rapae from Michigan (Lepidoptera: Pierdae) Julian P. Donahue Michigan State University M. C. Nielsen Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle  Part of the Entomology Commons Recommended Citation Donahue, Julian P. and Nielsen, M. C. 1967. "A Melanic Pieris Rapae from Michigan (Lepidoptera: Pierdae)," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 1 (4) Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol1/iss4/1 This Peer-Review Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Biology at ValpoScholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Great Lakes Entomologist by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at scholar@valpo.edu. 1967 THE MICHIGAN ENTOMOLOGIST 111 A MELANIC PIERIS RAPAE FROM MICHIGAN (LEPIDOPTERA: PIERIDAE) Ju l ian  P. Donahue and M. C. Nielsen D e p a r t m e n t  of Entomology,  Michigan State  Universi ty  E a s t  Lans ing ,  Michigan 48823 and 3415 O v e r l e a  D r i v e ,  Lans ing ,  Michigan 48917 The A r t h u r  J. Yates  col lect ion of Michigan Lepidopte ra ,  recen t ly  donated to Michigan State  Universi ty  ( s e e  F i s c h e r ,  1967),  contained a  s t r i k i n g  melan ic  m a l e  cabbage bu t te r f ly  [Pieris rapae ( ~ i n n a e u s ) ]  (F igs .  1 ,  2) now incorpora ted  into the  MSU s e r i e s .  Yates  co l lec ted  the  s p e c i m e n  on 29 May 1934  i n  Rosevi l le ,  Macomb County, n e a r  the  w e s t e r n  s h o r e  of L a k e  St. C l a i r  i n  s o u t h e a s t e r n  Michigan. An e x a m i -  nation of the androconia  and gen i ta l i a ,  using the c h a r a c t e r s  d e s c r i b e d  by Chang (1963), a s s u r e d  p r o p e r  ident i f icat ion of the spec imen.  Although we have found no r e c o r d  of a  s i m i l a r  rapae taken i n  North A m e r i c a ,  t h e r e  a r e  s o m e  n a m e d  European  f o r m s  of var ious  s p e c i e s  of Pier is  tha t  r e s e m b l e  our  spec imen.  DESCRIPTION Genera l ly ,  the  uppers ide  of the  s p e c i m e n  is uniformly smoky gray-  b rown,  while m o s t  of the ve ins  and m a r g i n a l  f r i n g e s  a r e  yel lowish-gray.  The  unders ide  is l igh te r  than the  u p p e r s i d e ,  with the apex of the  forewing and the o u t e r  th i rd  of both wings washed with yellow. Two s p o t s  a r e  located on the unders ide  of the forewing,  a s  in  typical  s p e c i m e n s .  - - - -- . . . The detai led descr ip t ion  below inc ludes  s o m e  c h a r a c t e r s  vis ible  only under  magnification. UPPERSIDE (Fig.  l ) ,  including b a s a l  two-thirds  of the ve ins ,  uni- f o r m l y  and en t i re ly  smoky gray-brown except  f o r  the  yel lowish-gray marg ina l  f r i n g e  on both wings. Dis ta l  th i rd  of a l l  veins  yel lowish-gray,  e x c e p t  a t  apex of the fo rewing ,  w h e r e  the ve ins  abrupt ly become con-  c o l o r o u s  with the ground co lor .  T h i s  apical  darken ing  is the only suggest ion of the b lack  apex of typical  spec imens .  Uni form,  diffuse,  o b s c u r e  speck l ing  on both wings. FOREWING UNDERSIDE (F ig .  2) l igh te r  than uppers ide .  Apex d i s -  t inct ly  washed with yellow. Two faint  d a r k  s p o t s  p a r a l l e l  to  o u t e r  m a r g i n ,  n e a r  the d i s c a l  c e l l ,  in  Median 3 and Cubitus  2 c e l l s ,  a s  i n  typical  s p e c i m e n s ;  a n t e r i o r  spo t  l a r g e r  and m o r e  conspicuous.  Broadly  p a l e  yel lowish-gray f r o m  the  s p o t s  to  the  o u t e r  marg in .  C o s t a  n a r -  rowly pale .  HINDWING UNDERSIDE (Fig.  2) i s  b road ly  smoky gray-brown basa l ly  (concolorous with the uppers ide) ,  th i s  d a r k  a r e a  diffusing into 1Donahue and Nielsen: A Melanic Pieris Rapae from Michigan (Lepidoptera: Pierdae)Published by ValpoScholar, 1967112 THE MICHIGAN ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 1, No. 4 a b r o a d ,  dull yel lowish a r e a  tha t  ex tends  to the  o u t e r  m a r g i n  f r o m  the end of the  d i s c a l  c e l l  and f r o m  a p o i n t  about midway on the  anal  marg in .  C o s t a  b r igh t  yel low f r o m  a point above the end of the  p r e c o s t a l  vein to a point about two-thirds the length of t h e  subcos ta l  vein (bes t  s e e n  under  magnification). igu an i r e s  1 and 2 .  D o r s a l  and v e n t r a l  v iews ,  respec t ive1  c Pieyis yapae. Photos  by Jul ian P. Donahue. y ,  of t h e  2The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 1, No. 4 [1967], Art. 1https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol1/iss4/11967 THE MICHIGAN ENTOMOLOGIST 113 ANTENNAE d o r s a l l y  d a r k  brown,  tipped with yellow; ven t ra l ly  g r a y ,  annulated with brown. P A L P I  with mixed brown and b lack ish  ha i r l ike  s c a l e s .  EYE d a r k  brown,  mott led with black.  (Eye c o l o r  possibly inf luenced by non-genetic f a c t o r s ,  i.e., changes  o c c u r r i n g  s i n c e  the  death of the spec imen. )  H a i r s  on d o r s a l  and a n t e r i o r  p e r i p h e r y  black;  h a i r s  on v e n t r a l  p e r i p h e r y  concolorous  with the palpi.  PROBOSCIS basa l ly  yel low, becoming black dis tal ly .  THORAX above b lack ,  with d a r k  brown h a i r l i k e  s c a l e s ;  ven t ra l ly  g r a y - s c a l e d ,  c lothed with d e n s e  l ight  brown s c a l e s .  LEG (only one r e m a i n s  on the spec imen)  t an ,  becoming  yellow on the t a r s u s .  Two yel lowish tibia1 s p u r s ,  e a c h  with a  s h a r p  black tip. ABDOMEN above d a r k  brown,  becoming b lack ish  a n t e r i o r l y ,  with a p p r e s s e d  d a r k  brown h a i r l i k e  s c a l e s ;  ven t ra l ly  heavi ly clothed with g ray-brown s c a l e s  on f i r s t  few s e g m e n t s ,  th i s  sca l ing  becoming m o r e  g r a y  pos te r io r ly .  V e s t i t u r e  on m a r g i n  of valvae dull yellow. The  s c a l e s  on the wings of the melan ic  s p e c i m e n  d i f fe r  f r o m  those  of typical  s p e c i m e n s  in  tha t  the  s c a l e s  a r e  re la t ive ly  n a r r o w  with a  g r e a t  v a r i e t y  of lobes  and tee th  on the d i s t a l  e n d ,  while s o m e  a r e  a l m o s t  e n t i r e .  The  s c a l e s  a r e  a r r a n g e d  in i r r e g u l a r  r o w s  and have up turned  l a t e r a l  edges .  In c o n t r a s t ,  s c a l e s  of n o r m a l  s p e c i m e n s  a r e  b r o a d e r  and m o r e  un i form,  usual ly have two to four  t ee th ,  and a r e  a r r a n g e d  i n  m o r e  r e g u l a r  rows .  DISCUSSION An a m a z i n g  v a r i e t y  of " forms"  and "aber ra t ions"  have been de-  s c r i b e d  in the  genus  Pievis, espec ia l ly  in the  P a l e a r c t i c  Region. Lempke  (1934), f o r  e x a m p l e ,  d i s c u s s e d  no l e s s  than 68 named r a c e s ,  f o r m s ,  a b e r r a t i o n s ,  and genera t ions  of Pievis vapae alone. Although o u r  s e a r c h  in the European  l i t e r a t u r e  h a s  not  been  exhaust ive,  s e v e r a l  descr ip t ions  and i l lus t ra t ions  f r o m  this  chaot ic  col lect ion of n a m e s  have been found which b e a r  a  s t r o n g  r e s e m b l a n c e  to the  Michigan spec imen.  One of the f i r s t  of t h e s e  d a r k  f o r m s  to b e  d e s c r i b e d  was  P. bvassicae f o r m  "obscurata"  0berth;r (1896), based  on a  f e m a l e  f r o m  P a r i s .  The  s p e c i m e n  was d e s c r i b e d  a s  being d a r k  g r a y  on both the upper -  and u n d e r s i d e s ,  excep t  tha t  the c o s t a  of e a c h  le f t  wing i s  m o r e  broad ly  whitened on the unders ide  than on the  uppers ide .  Gi l lmer  (1905) d e s c r i b e d  and i l lus t ra ted  P. napi a b e r r a t i o n  "fumi- gata ,"  a l so  based  on a  female .  The  following descr ip t ion ,  which indi-  c a t e s  a  s t r i k i n g  s i m i l a r i t y  between G i l l m e r ' s  s p e c i m e n  and o u r s ,  h a s  been  t r a n s l a t e d  f r o m  the G e r m a n :  "Pievis napi Linn. 9 (fig. 4). A beautiful evenly co lored  smoky g r a y  s p e c i e s ,  f o r m e d  both above and below in the  s a m e  m a n n e r .  The f r i n g e s  and the  a n t e r i o r  m a r g i n  of the fo rewings  (espec ia l ly  v i s ib le  beneath)  a p p e a r  faint ly  pale  yel low, the  ve ins  on the under  s ide  a l so  have th i s  pale  yellow c o l o r  on the i r  o u t e r  half,  while the  b a s a l  half is b lack ;  the veins on the upper  s ide  a r e  en t i re ly  black = a b e r r a t i o n  fumigata Gillmer."  3Donahue and Nielsen: A Melanic Pieris Rapae from Michigan (Lepidoptera: Pierdae)Published by ValpoScholar, 1967114 THE MICHIGAN ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 1, No. 4 In 1908 Ver i ty  (1905-1911, p. 150) d e s c r i b e d  and f igured  (pl. xxxi i ,  fig. 50) a b e r r a t i o n  "nigrans,"  ass ign ing  i t  to P. napi, but  Lempke  and 0 b e r t h b  (Lempke ,  1934) w e r e  convinced tha t  the  s p e c i m e n  was a f o r m  of P. YUpUe. The following or ig ina l  descr ip t ion  of "nigrans" Ver i ty  is t r a n s l a t e d  f r o m  the F r e n c h :  "I p ropose  th i s  name f o r  a melanot ic  f o r m  r e p r e s e n t e d  i n  the  ~ b e r t h i i r  col lect ion by a d , of the s u m m e r  genera t ion ,  co l lec ted  i n  S i l e s i a ,  whose wings a r e  both above and below a un i form g r a y ,  making the  d a r k  p a t t e r n  on the uppers ide  and the  ve ins  on the  unders ide  s c a r c e l y  visible." F u r t h e r  on i n  the  t ex t ,  in a supplement ,  Ver i ty  (1905-1911, p. 332) s t a t e d  that  h i s  "nigrans" w a s  p e r h a p s  ident ical  to  G i l l m e r ' s  "fumi- gata." Bollow (1932) apparen t ly  a g r e e d ,  f o r  h e  made  "nigrans" Ver i ty  a synonym of "fumigata" G i l l m e r .  But ,  s i n c e  Lempke  (1934) ass igned  "nigrans" to P. vapae, the quest ion remain ing  is :  should the supposedly synonymous "fumigata" a l s o  be  placed in P. vapae? Only a de ta i led  examinat ion of the s p e c i m e n  in quest ion c a n  solve the puzzle .  Lempke  (1934) a l so  mentioned a m a l e  s p e c i m e n  co l lec ted  a t  Naarden ,  Nether lands ,  which h e  ass igned  to "nigrans" Veri ty .  S tauder  (1913) d e s c r i b e d  and f igured  (pl. 1 ,  fig. 13) a melan ic  f e m a l e  Pievis YUpae, ca l l ing  i t  a b e r r a t i o n  "brunneoflavida." The following or ig ina l  descr ip t ion  i s  t r a n s l a t e d  f r o m  the  German:  "The upper -  and u n d e r s i d e s  a r e  not the su l fur  yellow o r  c a n a r y  c o l o r  of flavescens ~ z b e r ,  but  the c o l o r  of b r igh t  c o p p e r ,  which g ives  the  i n s e c t  a v e r y  r e m a r k a b l e  appearance .  "Likewise the h e a d ,  t h o r a x ,  and the  body,  a s  well a s  the antennae,  a r e  copper  co lored ;  the ap ica l  m a r k  i s  g r e a t l y  reduced  a s  in  leucoteva o r  metva, vague and in te rmingled  with brown.  "S imi la r ly  the median  a r e a  of the unders ide  of the  forewing is f i l led with brownish-yellow. "The  brown of the  uppers ide  c l o s e l y  approaches  that  of an a b e r r a n t  d d e s c r i b e d  and f igured  by Wagner(Jahvesbevicht des Wienev Ent. Vev., Volume XIV, 1903,  p. 43-44, pl. I ) ,  and is s i m i l a r  to the c o l o r  of the  ve ins  on the unders ide  of the hindwing." S tauder ' s  s p e c i m e n ,  i l l u s t r a t e d  by  a photograph of the  u p p e r s i d e ,  d i f f e r s  cons iderab ly  f r o m  the  Michigan s p e c i m e n  i n  that  the black apex is c l e a r l y  and s h a r p l y  de l imi ted  f r o m  the  background c o l o r ,  a s  a r e  two spo ts  on the forewing and one spo t  on the apex of the  hindwing. F ina l ly ,  we d r a w  at tent ion to a melan ic  f e m a l e  a b e r r a t i o n  of the  African Pievis thysa, or ig ina l ly  d e s c r i b e d  a s  s u b s p e c i e s  Yimala of P. lavima by  Suffer t  (1904). P e r h a p s  b e c a u s e  of the e x t r e m e  r a r i t y  of melan ic  s p e c i m e n s ,  nothing is known about the c a u s e  of m e l a n i s m  i n  Pievis. Two poss ib i l i t i es  ex i s t :  s o m e  envi ronmenta l  f a c t o r  m a y  have  a g r o s s  effect  on one of the e a r l y  s t a g e s  of the i n s e c t ,  o r  the m e l a n i s m  is the e x p r e s s i o n  of a r a r e  genotype. D r .  H.B.D. Kett lewell  of the  Gene t ics  L a b o r a t o r y ,  De- p a r t m e n t  of Zoology, Univers i ty  Museum,  Oxford,  who h a s  undertaken dis t inguished r e s e a r c h  on i n d u s t r i a l  m e l a n i s m  i n  the  Lepidopte ra ,  h a s  4The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 1, No. 4 [1967], Art. 1https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol1/iss4/11967 THE MICHIGAN ENTOMOLOGIST 115 examined  photographs of the Michigan s p e c i m e n  and offered t h e s e  c o m m e n t s  on i t  (persona l  communica t ion ,  28 Nov. 1963): "In the  f i r s t  p lace  i t  c a n  b e  definitely s ta ted  tha t  the  melan ic  f o r m  of th i s  bu t te r f ly  i s  in no way connected with n o r m a l  Indus t r ia l  Melan ism.  I t  i s  a l m o s t  ce r ta in ly  inher i t ed  a s  a  r a r e  r e c e s s i v e  and not a s  a  domi-  nant  a s  i s  the c a s e  with n e a r l y  a l l  indus t r ia l  melan ic  s p e c i e s .  The  advantages c o n f e r r e d  by b l a c k n e s s  on a  moth which spends  i t s  day  a t  r e s t  and mot ion less  a r e  qui te  d i f fe ren t  f r o m  those  of a  but terf ly  flying in the  sunl ight .  I  would think tha t  th i s  b lack  vapae i s  a t  a  cons iderab le  disadvantage physiological ly,  and i t  i s  difficult to s e e  what v i sua l  advantage i t  would a c q u i r e  f r o m  b lackness .  I  think m o s t  of u s  a r e  a g r e e d  that  the c o l o u r  'white'  i s  a  warning co lour  sugges t ing  d i s t a s t e -  fu lness .  B y  th i s  m e a n s  the white bu t te r f l i es  a r e  l a r g e l y  f r e e d  f r o m  a t tacks  by b i r d  p r e d a t o r s .  T h i s  but terf ly  of y o u r s ,  t h e r e f o r e ,  h a s  given up s u c h  a n  advantage (if t h e r e  i s  one). I t  would have been  m o s t  in te r -  e s t i n g  to  have b r e d  f r o m  th i s  i n s e c t ,  and to have a s c e r t a i n e d  the t r u e  s t a t e  of i t s  genetics." We a r e  no t ,  of c o u r s e ,  naming  th i s  s p e c i m e n ,  s i n c e  " forms"  and "aber ra t ions"  have no taxonimic validity. T h e r e  i s  a l ready  a  s u r f e i t  of s u c h  n a m e s  to c l u t t e r  the l i t e r a t u r e ,  and the only value of these  n a m e s  i s  to  a s s i s t  i n  locat ing d e s c r i p t i o n s  of par t i cu la r ly  in te res t ing  f o r m s .  Although we found no r e f e r e n c e s  to  s i m i l a r  f o r m s  having been  col-  l ec ted  in  North A m e r i c a ,  t h e r e  i s  s t i l l  a  chance  tha t  o t h e r  s p e c i m e n s  have  not been  r e p o r t e d .  We would apprec ia te  l ea rn ing  of any o t h e r  c a p t u r e s  of melan ic  Pievis. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We wish to thank D r .  Roland L. F i s c h e r ,  C u r a t o r  of the  Entomology Museum,  Michigan State  Univers i ty ,  where  the  melan ic  s p e c i m e n  i s  depos i ted ,  f o r  h i s  a s s i s t a n c e  in  the  study of th i s  i n s e c t  and f o r  h i s  t r a n s l a t i o n s  of G e r m a n  descr ip t ions .  Our  thanks a l s o  to John H .  Newman,  who provided us  with additional background in format ion ,  and to D r .  H.B.D. Kett lewell  f o r  h i s  in te res t ing  observa t ions  on the melan ic  spec imen.  LITERATURE CITED Bollow, C h r .  1932. P i e r i d a e ,  pp. 93-125, IN S e i t z ,  A., Macro lep idopte ra  of the World,  Vol. I ,  supplement .  The  P a l e a r c t i c  But te r f l i es .  16 ~ 0 1 .  pis. S tu t tgar t .  Chang ,  Vincent C.S. 1963. Quanti ta t ive ana lys i s  of c e r t a i n  wing and geni tal ia  c h a r a c t e r s  of Pievis in  w e s t e r n  North A m e r i c a .  J. Res .  Lepid.  2: 97-125, 15 f igs .  F i s c h e r ,  Roland L .  1967. A r t h u r  J. Yates  (1882-1961) and h i s  col lect ion of Lepidopte ra .  Mich. Entomol.  1:131-132. G i l l m e r ,  M. 1905. Aber ra t ionen  a u s  d e r  s a m m l u n g  d e s  h e r r n  Rich.  Dierof f ,  Zw6ten a.d. e l s t e r .  Entomol.  Z. 19(28): 157-158, 10 pls .  5Donahue and Nielsen: A Melanic Pieris Rapae from Michigan (Lepidoptera: Pierdae)Published by ValpoScholar, 1967116 THE MICHIGAN ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 1, No. 4 Lempke,  B.J. 1934. Pieris rapae L. e t  s e s  fo rmes .  Lambil l ionea 34: 78-91, 127-145. ~ b e r t h i i r ,  Char les .  1896. Etudes dYEntomologie,  p a r t  20:De l a  variat ion chez  l e s  le/pidopt\eres. 24 plates.  Rennes. S tauder ,  H. 1913. Weitere bei trgge zur  kenntnis d e r  makrolepidopteren- fauna d e r  adr ia t i schen  kastengebiete. Boll. Soc. Adriat.  Sci. Nat. 27(1): 105-166, 3 pls .  Suffert ,  E. 1904. Neue afr ikanische tagfal ter  aus  demkb'n. 2001. museum,  Be r l i n ,  und meiner  sammlung.  I r i s  17: 12-107, 3 pls .  Veri ty,  Roger.  1905-1911. Rhopalocera Pa learc t ica .  2 maps ,  14  half- tone pls . ,  31 black-and-white pls. (photos), 41 col. pls .  F lorence ,  Italy. FORTHCOMING PUBLIC ATIONS One of the r a r e r  nineteenth-century entomological publications i s  the f i r s t  volume (1840-42) of The Entomologist. This key journal, founded by Edward Newman and s t i l l  'going strong'  today, i s  of cou r se  found in mos t  l a r g e r  l i b r a r i e s ,  but Vol. 1 i s  usually missing.  The re  was a long hiatus before the publication of Vol. 2 in 1864-65; a f te r  that  da te  the journal appeared  regular ly ,  but Vol. 1 was a l ready  r a r e  enough in 1865 to e l ic i t  Newman's comment  that whoever needed i t  mus t  "wait in vain; i t  r e p o s e s  in peace on the she lves  of the Br i t i sh  Museum, the Universi-  t i e s ,  and the learned  soc i e t i e s ,  but  ha s  long s ince  d isappeared  f rom the bookse l le r ' s  counter." L ib ra r i ans  need no longer "wait in vain" to complete the i r  s e r i e s ,  and co l lec tors  who could never  hope to own the original  can have a sub- s t i tute.  A r ep r in t  i s  scheduled fo r  publication la te  in March by Wm. Dawson & Sons, Ltd. and E. W. C la s sey ,  Ltd. The p r i ce  will bef9.5.0.  s te r l ing  (U.S. $25.90). Also of i n t e r e s t  to Amer ican  entomologists  i s  the announcement that E.  W. C la s sey  Ltd. will continue to r ep r in t  The Genitalia of the B ~ i t i s h  Lepidoptera by F .  N. P i e r c e ,  J. W. Metcalfe and B. P. Bei rne .  The work i s  fundamental to genital ic  s tudy,  and t r e a t s  numerous  gene ra  that  have North American spec ies .  The volumes fo r  the Tor t r ic idae  and the female  Noctuidae have a l ready  appeared;  those for  the male  Noctuidae, the Geometr idae ,  the Rhopalocera and l a r g e r  moths a r e  scheduled for  1967 at  p r i ce s  ranging f r o m  E3.10.0 to €6.0.0. s te r l ing  p e r  volume. 6The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 1, No. 4 [1967], Art. 1https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol1/iss4/1

A Melanic Pieris Rapae from Michigan (Lepidoptera: Pierdae)

https://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1042&amp;context=tgle

A Melanic Pieris Rapae from Michigan (Lepidoptera: Pierdae)

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