InsectNet forum

Thanks to a prompting by JHyatt, and knowing that one of our other members is jonesing to raise marcellus, starting a thread to share images and data on this novelty of eastern USA, but not North Eastern, beauty.

Quick photo not to the standards of others, below. Top large dark specimens are Florida late July, the lower small whiter specimens from Kentucky in April.

Interesting clash (or changed range?) of marcellus.

iNaturalist shows ONE record from New York state, which is easy enough to write off as a strat. In fact, and not surprisingly, according to iNaturalist records, marcellus, like so many species, has a range restriction outside of the Terminus of Southern Aggression, i.e., not in most of PA, nor NY.

Shapiro (Butterflies and Skippers of New York State, 1973) reports marcellus as a stray in Finger Lakes region, but bivoltine in Genesee and Orleans counties (western NY). He seems to be in conflict because he cites that marcellus does not occur in the coastal plains, which in fact includes Genesee and Orleans counties.

Though he is more specific citing that marcellus occurs in SW NY, as does the fooodplant Pawpaw, Asimina triloba. iNaturalist observations show this plant currently grows very spottily throughout NY, and currently with no more frequency in SW NY than some other areas. iNaturalist shows zero observations for Pawpaw in Genesee county and Orleans county. I've seen Pawpaw, but very rarely.

I wonder what this means.

You must be talking about me lol. There are also a couple of records from northern MI (probably same individual) and Point Pelee in Ontario. It’s not that it can’t survive here due to the winters, it’s mainly lack of pawpaw. Historically, marcellus was a resident breeder in Ontario before 99% of the Carolinian forest was destroyed.