next message in archive
no next message in thread
previous message in archive
previous message in thread
Index of Subjects
style="font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; --Apple-Mail-44--451353750 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed Hi Eleanor, It's the Mourning Cloak. The allusion (in the colouration of the butterfly's wings) is to the dark mantle worn when in mourning (no connection there to the early portion of the day). In Great Britain the butterfly is known as the Camberwell Beauty. Camberwell (now a district in south London) was once a small village famed for its "wells" (hence the name) and (as I understand) the type specimen of Nymphalis antiopa was collected there on Coldharbour Lane in 1748. Hence the beautiful butterfly took on the town's name, a point of pride to this day in the district of Camberwell. The Latin name, Nymphalis antiopa (described by Linnaeus in 1758), is in honour of Antiope, the daughter of Nycteus (or Asopus, the river god, depending on who's authority on relies) who was raped by Zeus and fled in shame to Sicyon where she married the king, Epopeus. Nycteus killed himself in despair but before dying charged is brother Lycus to avenge his honour. Lycus seized Sicyon, put Epopeus to death (for some reason), and brought Antiope back to Eleuthere where she gave birth to twins, Amphion and Zethus (Antiope is sometimes mistakenly referred to as the wife of Lycus, who actually would have been her uncle). Astute entomological and etymological readers my recognize in this account the names, Nycetus, for whom the delightful beetle genus Nycteus (Latreille, 1829) (in the family Eucinetidae, the so-called "plate-thigh beetles") is named (five species in North America), one of which N. punctulatus (LeConte) which is found in (amongst other places), Nova Scotia. Another prominent name is Amphion, for whom the sphinx moth genus Amphion (Hunbner, 1819), with the single species Amphion floridensis (Clark) [formerly called Amphion nessus (Cramer)], the so-called Nessus Sphinx, a beautiful, although seldom seen species in Nova Scotia. Zethus, in turn is commemorated in the genus Zethus (Fabricius, 1804) in the subfamily Eumeninae (the potter and mason wasps), with six species in North America. I'm not sure offhand, if this genus is represented in Nova Scotia's fauna. What's in a name? A very great deal it would appear ... Cheers! Chris On 14-Sep-06, at 10:36 AM, Eleanor Lindsay wrote: > One final butterfly question: > Which is correct: mourning or morning? > Eleanor > > Christopher Majka wrote: >> Hi Jean & Eleanor, >> >> Jean Timpa wrote: >>> >>> As the day begins to cool off again, it will find another >>> protected place, perhaps even the same one, and go back to >>> dormancy until real spring comes. They must have a marvelous anti >>> freeze system. >> >> They do indeed. During winter diapause (i.e. hibernation), >> butterflies (in fact all hibernating insects) do a number of things: >> >> 1) The blood thickens as a result of the secretion of significant >> quantities of glycerol, and since the blood circulates freely in >> the body cavity of an insect (i.e. there are no blood vessels) >> this results in all the body tissues being bathed with an "anti- >> freeze" (in some insects sorbitol or an alcohol is secreted rather >> than glycerol); >> >> 2) The water content in the body decreases (dropping, for >> instance, from 80% in Limenitis species to 55%); >> >> 3) What free water remains is converted to a colloidal (gelatin- >> like) form. >> >> All these changes ensure that the butterflies can survive the >> winter without freezing damage to their tissues. How some insects >> can quickly "defrost" during mild conditions in the winter and >> then rapidly re-enter diapause mode when it gets cold seems >> extraordinary to me. >> >> Cheers, >> >> Chris >> >> _._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._ >> ._._. >> Christopher Majka - Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History >> 1747 Summer Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 3A6 >> (902) 424-6435 Email <c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca> >> _._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._ >> ._._. >> _._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._. _. Christopher Majka - Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History 1747 Summer Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 3A6 (902) 424-6435 Email <c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca> _._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._. _. --Apple-Mail-44--451353750 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 <HTML><BODY style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; = -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; ">Hi Eleanor,<DIV><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>It's the Mourning Cloak. = The allusion (in the colouration of the butterfly's wings) is to the = dark mantle worn when in mourning (no connection there to the early = portion of the day).=A0In Great Britain the butterfly is known as the = Camberwell Beauty.</DIV><DIV><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><SPAN = class=3D"Apple-style-span">Camberwell (now a=A0district in south London) = was once a small village famed for its "wells" (hence the name) and (as = I understand) the type specimen of <I>Nymphalis antiopa</I> was = collected there on Coldharbour Lane in 1748. Hence the beautiful = butterfly took on the town's name, a point of pride to this day in the = district of Camberwell.</SPAN></DIV><DIV><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><SPAN = class=3D"Apple-style-span">The Latin name, <I>Nymphalis antiopa</I> = (described by Linnaeus in 1758), is in honour of <I>Antiope</I>, the = daughter of <I>Nycteus</I> (or=A0<I>Asopus</I>, the river god,=A0depending= on who's authority on relies) who was raped by <I>Zeus</I> and fled in = shame to Sicyon where she married the king, <I>Epopeus</I>. = <I>Nycteus</I> killed himself in despair but before dying charged is = brother <I>Lycus</I> to avenge his honour. <I>Lycus</I> seized Sicyon, = put <I>Epopeus</I> to death=A0(for some reason),=A0and=A0brought = <I>Antiope</I> back to Eleuthere where she gave birth to twins, = <I>Amphion</I> and <I>Zethus</I> (<I>Antiope</I> is sometimes mistakenly = referred to as the wife of <I>Lycus</I>, who actually would have been = her uncle).</SPAN></DIV><DIV><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><SPAN = class=3D"Apple-style-span">Astute entomological and etymological readers = my recognize in this account the names, <I>Nycetus</I>, for whom the = delightful beetle genus<I>=A0Nycteus <SPAN class=3D"Apple-style-span" = style=3D"font-style: normal;">(Latreille, 1829)=A0</SPAN><SPAN = class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"font-style: normal;">(in the family = Eucinetidae, the so-called "plate-thigh beetles")=A0</SPAN></I>is named = (five species in North America), one of which<I> N. punctulatus</I> = (LeConte) which is found in (amongst other places), Nova = Scotia.=A0</SPAN></DIV><DIV><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><SPAN = class=3D"Apple-style-span">Another prominent name is <I>Amphion</I>, for = whom the sphinx moth genus <I>Amphion</I> (Hunbner, 1819), with the = single species <I>Amphion floridensis</I> (Clark) [formerly = called=A0<I>Amphion nessus</I> (Cramer)], the so-called Nessus Sphinx, a = beautiful, although seldom seen species in Nova = Scotia.</SPAN></DIV><DIV><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><SPAN = class=3D"Apple-style-span"><I>Zethus</I>, in turn is=A0commemorated in = the genus <I>Zethus</I> (Fabricius, 1804) in the subfamily Eumeninae = (the potter and mason wasps), with six species in North America. I'm not = sure offhand, if this genus is represented in Nova Scotia's = fauna.</SPAN></DIV><DIV><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>What's in a name? A very = great deal it would appear ...</DIV><DIV><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Cheers!</DIV><DIV><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Chris</DIV><DIV><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><BR><DIV><DIV>On 14-Sep-06, = at 10:36 AM, Eleanor Lindsay wrote:</DIV><BR = class=3D"Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type=3D"cite"> One = final butterfly question:<BR> Which is correct: <B>mourning </B>or = <B>morning</B>?<BR> Eleanor<BR> <BR> Christopher Majka wrote: = <BLOCKQUOTE = cite=3D"mid76F98A92-9BBF-4E5F-BEBB-8A843BED1C77@ns.sympatico.ca" = type=3D"cite">Hi Jean & Eleanor, <DIV><BR> <DIV> <DIV = style=3D"margin: 0px;">Jean Timpa wrote:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE = type=3D"cite"><DIV style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><SPAN = class=3D"Apple-tab-span" style=3D"white-space: pre;"> </SPAN><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"> </DIV> <DIV style=3D"margin: = 0px;">As the day begins to cool off again, it will find another = protected place, perhaps even the same one, and go back to dormancy = until real spring comes. They must have a marvelous anti freeze = system.=A0</DIV> </BLOCKQUOTE> <BR> </DIV> <DIV>They do indeed. = During winter diapause (i.e. hibernation), butterflies (in fact all = hibernating insects) do a number of things:</DIV> <DIV><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"> </DIV> <DIV>1) The blood thickens = as a result of the secretion of significant quantities of glycerol, and = since the blood=A0circulates freely in the body cavity of an insect = (i.e. there are no blood vessels) this results in all the body tissues = being bathed with an "anti-freeze" (in some insects sorbitol or an = alcohol is secreted rather than glycerol);</DIV> <DIV><BR = class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN = class=3D"Apple-style-span">2) The water content in the body decreases = (dropping, for instance, from 80% in <I>Limenitis</I> species to = 55%);</SPAN></DIV> <DIV><BR class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"> </DIV> = <DIV>3) What free water remains is converted to a colloidal = (gelatin-like) form.</DIV> <DIV><BR class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"> = </DIV> <DIV>All these changes ensure that the butterflies can survive = the winter without freezing damage to their tissues. How some insects = can quickly=A0 "defrost" during mild conditions in the winter and = then=A0rapidly=A0re-enter diapause mode when it gets cold seems = extraordinary to me.</DIV> <DIV><BR class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"> = </DIV> <DIV>Cheers,</DIV> <DIV><BR class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"> = </DIV> <DIV>Chris</DIV> <DIV><BR class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"> = </DIV> <DIV><DIV style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT style=3D"font-family: = Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; = font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; = font-stretch: normal;" face=3D"Times" = size=3D"3">_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._= ._._._._._.</FONT></DIV><DIV style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: = 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT style=3D"font-family: = Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; = font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; = font-stretch: normal;" face=3D"Times" size=3D"3">Christopher Majka - = Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History</FONT></DIV><DIV = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; "><FONT style=3D"font-family: Times; font-style: = normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; = line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;" = face=3D"Times" size=3D"3">1747 Summer Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, = Canada<SPAN class=3D"Apple-converted-space">=A0 </SPAN>B3H = 3A6</FONT></DIV><DIV style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT style=3D"font-family: = Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; = font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; = font-stretch: normal;" face=3D"Times" size=3D"3">(902) 424-6435 <SPAN = class=3D"Apple-converted-space">=A0 </SPAN>Email <<A = href=3D"mailto:c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca">c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca</A>></F= ONT></DIV><DIV style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT style=3D"font-family: = Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; = font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; = font-stretch: normal;" face=3D"Times" = size=3D"3">_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._= ._._._._._.</FONT></DIV> </DIV> <BR> </DIV> </BLOCKQUOTE> = </BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR><DIV> <P style=3D"margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px = 0.0px"><FONT face=3D"Times" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: 12.0px = Times">_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._= ._._._.</FONT></P> <P style=3D"margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT = face=3D"Times" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: 12.0px Times">Christopher Majka = - Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History</FONT></P> <P style=3D"margin: = 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face=3D"Times" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: = 12.0px Times">1747 Summer Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada<SPAN = class=3D"Apple-converted-space">=A0 </SPAN>B3H 3A6</FONT></P> <P = style=3D"margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face=3D"Times" size=3D"3" = style=3D"font: 12.0px Times">(902) 424-6435 <SPAN = class=3D"Apple-converted-space">=A0 </SPAN>Email <<A = href=3D"mailto:c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca">c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca</A>></F= ONT></P> <P style=3D"margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face=3D"Times"= size=3D"3" style=3D"font: 12.0px = Times">_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._= ._._._.</FONT></P> </DIV><BR></DIV></BODY></HTML>= --Apple-Mail-44--451353750--
next message in archive
no next message in thread
previous message in archive
previous message in thread
Index of Subjects