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Factors Affecting Abundance of Adult Karner Blues (\u3ci\u3eLycaeides Melissa Samuelis\u3c/i\u3e) (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) in Wisconsin Surveys 1987-95

Abstract

At 141 pine-oak barrens in central and northwestern Wisconsin, 3,702 Karner blues (Lycaeides melissa samuelis Nabokov) were found in 81.1 hr of transect surveys during spring and 6,094 individuals in 116.6 hr during sum­mer. Adults offive other closely related lycaenids occurred with Karner blues. The percentage of Karner blue males (of sexed individuals) correlated nega- tively with advancing date within brood, exceeded 50% on peak date within brood, but showed wide variability on a given date. Karner blues occasionally occurred up to 800 m from the nearest larval host, or in tiny, isolated host stands. However, all individuals were within 3-5 km of other larger Karner blue populations. Karner blue abundance significantly increased with decreasing latitude, increasing temperature, nearness to midpoint within brood, decreasing site canopy, increasing larval host abundance, and in summer compared to spring. Long-term monitoring sites showed dramatic but relatively similar fluctuations among broods (median of 2.8-fold change among ten brood pairs) that apparently varied by individual brood rather than season or year. Extensive dense host patches and dense Karner blues were in sites rep- resenting a diversity of management histories

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