Subject Editor: Zdenek Fric
For the first time a comparison of variable external characters of a series of males and females of
Brown’s Grayling,
Albania is a country that, due to its political (50 years of communist regime and civil war) and infrastructural situation, only recently became open for travelling and lepidopterological investigation. Large parts of the country remain unexplored. It is not surprising that
Eckweiler had the idea to start searching for
As this taxon is often associated with Turkish
Our second objective was to explore areas in Albania that had never been explored before for butterflies. Before this field trip, we searched for all historical data from the sparse literature about Albanian butterflies. Maps of species and a global distribution map clearly showed how poor is the coverage for this country. We also intended to survey other areas in the provinces of Korçë, Kolonjë, Përmet, Tepelenë and Skrapar to increase the knowledge of the butterfly fauna from Albania in general. The detailed results of all our own observations will be published in a future faunistic publication.
AL: androconium length; AB: androconium breadth; A: ratio AL/AB; FW: forewing; HW: hindwing; MM: Morten Schneider Mølgaard; N°: number; N/A: not applicable; oc.: ocelli; SC: Sylvain Cuvelier; SD: standard deviation; subm.: submarginal; UNS: underside; UPS: upperside; Var: variable.
In two localities in the Albanian province Korçë (Boboshtiçë and Gjergjeviçë) males and females of
Since the discovery of
The male holotype, figured in black and white, was for a long time the only documented picture of this species (
Luckily, the two original photographs from this publication were available and they allow a better comparison. For this purpose, Jos Dils (Belgium) kindly provided the two photographs of the male holotype (
Recently, two prepared male specimens were figured by
In the field, fresh males of
Potential variables of the external characters were selected and included in an Excel workbook containing separate worksheets per species and gender. After this first selection, the colour of the fringes was discarded as a variable due to the difficulty of formulating measurable criteria. Drawings of measurement on UPS and UNS are included in
We photographed the upper- and underside of all male and female specimens of
Upper and underside of the
Androconial scales were removed from the upperside of the forewings of one
DMAP, distribution mapping software:
On 15.vii.2013, late in the afternoon, we started our search for
The next morning, 16.vii.2013, we entered deeper into the river valley and searched at 1100–1200 m altitude on SSW exposed steep rocky slopes with parts of loose gravel. On this ophiolite substrate (Fig.
On 18.vii.2013, early morning, we again visited this locality and observed that some males were already getting worn. One male
In Boboshtiçë, we observed the first ever known copula (Fig.
During these explorations, on 18.vii.2013, we were able to extend the known distribution of
Entering a remote valley, we observed steep rocky slopes orientated to the SSW on ophiolite substrate, as we had seen in Boboshtiçë. On climbing these slopes we immediately observed a large population of
To our big surprise, we noticed
There are two limitations of our dataset which require further attention in the future when new populations are discovered. The sample size of 38 males and 19 females for such variable butterflies remains suboptimal and the sample size of the two localities is not equal. The range and mean of all variables for the two populations is given in Table
Two
There seem to be a few marked differences between
Variability in
Variability in
Variability in
Measurements of
|
Males (n=30) |
Males (n=8) |
|||||||
Range (min-max) | SD | Mean | Range (min-max) | SD | Mean | ||||
|
Var 1: FW length from thorax to apex (mm) | 22.00 | 25.00 | 0.76 | 24.08 | 22.50 | 24.50 | 0.65 | 23.50 |
Var 2: FW white pupils in black oc. S2, S5 (N°) | 0.00 | 1.00 | 0.25 | 0.93 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 0.35 | 0.88 | |
Var 3: FW spots S3, S4 (N°) | 0.00 | 2.00 | 0.82 | 0.57 | 0.00 | 2.00 | 0.89 | 0.75 | |
Var 4: FW width subm. band oc. S2 (mm) | 5.50 | 7.25 | 0.44 | 6.54 | 5.75 | 6.75 | 0.37 | 6.31 | |
Var 5: FW width subm. band oc. S2/FW length (%) | 23.40% | 30.43% | 1.87% | 27.18% | 24.49% | 28.72% | 1.52% | 26.87% | |
Var 6: FW sex brand position (0-1) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | |
Var 7: HW oc. (N°) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | |
Var 8: HW width subm. band vein 3 (mm) | 6.00 | 8.25 | 0.52 | 7.28 | 6.00 | 7.75 | 0.62 | 6.94 | |
Var 9: HW width subm. band vein 3/FW length (%) | 25.53% | 35.23% | 2.01% | 30.25% | 26.09% | 32.98% | 2.34% | 29.51% | |
|
Var 10: FW white pupils in black oc. S2, S5 (N°) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 |
Var 11: FW oc. S5 towards cell paler area (0-1) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | |
Var 12: FW spots in S3, S4 (N°) | 0.00 | 2.00 | 0.37 | 1.93 | 0.00 | 2.00 | 0.71 | 1.75 | |
Var 13: FW marg. line (0-1) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | |
Var 14: FW basal area cell: black markings (0-1) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | |
Var 15: FW oc. S5 length (mm) | 2.50 | 4.00 | 0.33 | 3.04 | 2.70 | 3.25 | 0.20 | 3.03 | |
Var 16: FW oc. S5 length/FW length (%) | 10.83% | 16.33% | 1.30% | 12.60% | 11.74% | 14.22% | 0.93% | 12.91% | |
Var 17: FW oc. S5 length/FW centre oc. S5-margin (%) | 49.52% | 80.00% | 8.17% | 60.73% | 52.17% | 65.00% | 4.97% | 58.58% | |
Var 18: FW centre oc. S5-margin (mm) | 4.00 | 5.50 | 0.36 | 5.03 | 5.00 | 5.75 | 0.29 | 5.19 | |
Var 19: FW centre oc. S5-margin/FW length (%) | 16.33% | 22.92% | 1.58% | 20.88% | 21.28% | 23.96% | 0.94% | 22.07% | |
Var 20: HW oc. (N°) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 0.35 | 0.88 | |
Var 21: HW median band (0-1) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | |
|
Females (n=14) Boboshtiçë | Females (n=5) Gjergjeviçë | |||||||
Range (min-max) | SD | Mean | Range (min-max) | SD | Mean | ||||
|
Var 1: FW length from thorax to apex (mm) | 24.00 | 27.00 | 0.84 | 26.14 | 24.00 | 26.00 | 0.71 | 25.00 |
Var 2: FW white pupils in black oc. S2, S5 (N°) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | |
Var 3: FW spots S3, S4 (N°) | 1.00 | 2.00 | 0.36 | 1.86 | 0.00 | 2.00 | 0.89 | 1.40 | |
Var 4: FW width subm. band oc. S2 (mm) | 7.00 | 8.25 | 0.41 | 7.48 | 6.50 | 7.50 | 0.37 | 6.95 | |
Var 5: FW width subm. band oc. S2/FW length (%) | 26.92% | 32.35% | 1.57% | 28.63% | 25.00% | 30.00% | 1.79% | 27.83% | |
Var 6: FW sex brand position (0-1) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
Var 7: HW oc. (N°) | 1.00 | 2.00 | 0.43 | 1.21 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | |
Var 8: HW width subm. band vein 3 (mm) | 7.00 | 8.75 | 0.50 | 7.86 | 7.00 | 8.00 | 0.55 | 7.40 | |
Var 9: HW width subm. band vein 3/FW length (%) | 25.93% | 33.33% | 1.85% | 30.07% | 26.92% | 32.00% | 2.31% | 29.62% | |
|
Var 10: FW white pupils in black oc. S2, S5 (N°) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 |
Var 11: FW oc. S5 towards cell paler area (0-1) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | |
Var 12: FW spots in S3, S4 (N°) | 2.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 | |
Var 13: FW marg. line (0-1) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | |
Var 14: FW basal area cell: black markings (0-1) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | |
Var 15: FW oc. S5 length (mm) | 3.00 | 3.75 | 0.29 | 3.35 | 3.00 | 4.00 | 0.44 | 3.61 | |
Var 16: FW oc. S5 length/FW length (%) | 11.11% | 14.42% | 1.15% | 12.81% | 12.00% | 16.00% | 1.59% | 14.43% | |
Var 17: FW oc. S5 length/FW centre oc. S5-margin (%) | 45.93% | 71.43% | 8.50% | 56.51% | 54.55% | 66.67% | 4.95% | 61.02% | |
Var 18: FW centre oc. S5-margin (mm) | 5.25 | 6.75 | 0.49 | 5.98 | 5.50 | 6.25 | 0.29 | 5.90 | |
Var 19: FW centre oc. S5-margin/FW length (%) | 19.44% | 25.96% | 1.92% | 22.88% | 22.00% | 25.00% | 1.13% | 23.60% | |
Var 20: HW oc. (N°) | 1.00 | 2.00 | 0.51 | 1.43 | 1.00 | 2.00 | 0.45 | 1.20 | |
Var 21: HW median band (0-1) | 0.00 | 1.00 | 0.52 | 0.50 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 |
Measurements of pooled data of
|
Males (n=38) |
Males (n=15) |
|||||||
Range (min-max) | SD | Mean | Range (min-max) | SD | Mean | ||||
|
Var 1: FW length from thorax to apex (mm) | 22.00 | 25.00 | 0.77 | 23.96 | 24.50 | 27.00 | 0.70 | 26.30 |
Var 2: FW white pupils in black oc. S2, S5 (N°) | 0.00 | 1.00 | 0.27 | 0.92 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | |
Var 3: FW spots S3, S4 (N°) | 0.00 | 2.00 | 0.82 | 0.61 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 | |
Var 4: FW width subm. band oc. S2 (mm) | 5.50 | 7.25 | 0.43 | 6.49 | 5.00 | 6.50 | 0.51 | 5.85 | |
Var 5: FW width subm. band oc. S2/FW length (%) | 23.40% | 30.43% | 1.79% | 27.11% | 18.87% | 25.00% | 1.77% | 22.24% | |
Var 6: FW sex brand position (0-1) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | |
Var 7: HW oc. (N°) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 | |
Var 8: HW width subm. band vein 3 (mm) | 6.00 | 7.75 | 0.55 | 7.21 | 5.50 | 7.50 | 0.54 | 6.47 | |
Var 9: HW width subm. band vein 3/FW length (%) | 25.53% | 35.23% | 2.07% | 30.09% | 21.30% | 27.78% | 1.92% | 24.59% | |
|
Var 10: FW white pupils in black oc. S2, S5 (N°) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 |
Var 11: FW oc. S5 towards cell paler area (0-1) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 0.26 | 0.07 | |
Var 12: FW spots in S3, S4 (N°) | 0.00 | 2.00 | 0.45 | 1.89 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 | |
Var 13: FW marg. line (0-1) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | |
Var 14: FW basal area cell: black markings (0-1) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | |
Var 15: FW oc. S5 length (mm) | 2.50 | 4.00 | 0.30 | 3.03 | 2.25 | 3.25 | 0.28 | 2.71 | |
Var 16: FW oc. S5 length/FW length (%) | 10.83% | 16.33% | 1.23% | 12.67% | 8.65% | 12.50% | 0.94% | 10.31% | |
Var 17: FW oc. S5 length/FW centre oc. S5-margin (%) | 49.52% | 80.00% | 7.60% | 60.28% | 40.00% | 55.00% | 5.01% | 48.89% | |
Var 18: FW centre oc. S5-margin (mm) | 4.00 | 5.75 | 0.35 | 5.06 | 5.00 | 6.25 | 0.44 | 5.57 | |
Var 19: FW centre oc. S5-margin/FW length (%) | 16.33% | 23.96% | 1.54% | 21.13% | 18.52% | 24.04% | 1.64% | 21.17% | |
Var 20: HW oc. (N°) | 0.00 | 1.00 | 0.16 | 0.97 | 0.00 | 2.00 | 0.62 | 1.67 | |
Var 21: HW median band (0-1) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 0.41 | 0.80 | |
Females (n=19) |
Females (n=20) |
||||||||
Range (min-max) | SD | Mean | Range (min-max) | SD | Mean | ||||
|
Var 1: FW length from thorax to apex (mm) | 24.00 | 27.00 | 0.94 | 25.84 | 27.00 | 31.50 | 1.27 | 29.43 |
Var 2: FW white pupils in black oc. S2, S5 (N°) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | |
Var 3: FW spots S3, S4 (N°) | 0.00 | 2.00 | 0.56 | 1.74 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 | |
Var 4: FW width subm. band oc. S2 (mm) | 6.50 | 8.25 | 0.46 | 7.34 | 7.25 | 10.00 | 0.63 | 8.48 | |
Var 5: FW width subm. band oc. S2/FW length (%) | 25.00% | 32.35% | 1.62% | 28.42% | 25.44% | 31.75% | 1.56% | 28.79% | |
Var 6: FW sex brand position (0-1) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
Var 7: HW oc. (N°) | 1.00 | 2.00 | 0.37 | 1.16 | 1.00 | 3.00 | 0.51 | 1.95 | |
Var 8: HW width subm. band vein 3 (mm) | 7.00 | 8.75 | 0.54 | 7.74 | 6.00 | 9.00 | 0.77 | 7.41 | |
Var 9: HW width subm. band vein 3/FW length (%) | 25.93% | 33.33% | 1.93% | 29.95% | 20.69% | 29.03% | 2.12% | 25.17% | |
|
Var 10: FW white pupils in black oc. S2, S5 (N°) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 |
Var 11: FW oc. S5 towards cell paler area (0-1) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 0.47 | 0.30 | |
Var 12: FW spots in S3, S4 (N°) | 2.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 | |
Var 13: FW marg. line (0-1) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | |
Var 14: FW basal area cell: black markings (0-1) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | |
Var 15: FW oc. S5 length (mm) | 3.00 | 4.00 | 0.34 | 3.42 | 3.25 | 4.50 | 0.29 | 3.85 | |
Var 16: FW oc. S5 length/FW length (%) | 11.11% | 16.00% | 1.43% | 13.24% | 10.48% | 15.00% | 1.11% | 13.12% | |
Var 17: FW oc. S5 length/FW centre oc. S5-margin (%) | 45.93% | 71.43% | 7.86% | 57.70% | 41.94% | 64.29% | 5.32% | 54.55% | |
Var 18: FW centre oc. S5-margin (mm) | 5.25 | 6.75 | 0.44 | 5.96 | 6.50 | 8.00 | 0.40 | 7.09 | |
Var 19: FW centre oc. S5-margin/FW length (%) | 19.44% | 25.96% | 1.74% | 23.07% | 22.22% | 25.81% | 1.09% | 24.10% | |
Var 20: HW oc. (N°) | 1.00 | 2.00 | 0.50 | 1.37 | 1.00 | 3.00 | 0.60 | 1.55 | |
Var 21: HW median band (0-1) | 0.00 | 1.00 | 0.50 | 0.63 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 0.51 | 0.55 |
The maximal range and mean of all variables for the two species are shown in Table
Var 13: UNS FW submarginal line in both sexes (Figs
Var 14: UNS FW basal area of the cell in both sexes (Figs
Var 6: UPS FW sex brand position in males (Figs
Var 7: UPS HW number of oc. in males (Figs
The wingspan of the females was in many cases useful in the field for the identification but one
The dense sex band in the FW cell makes it difficult to isolate the androconial scales (Fig.
According to the criteria of Gross, the androconial scales of
Overview of the statistical significance of Mann-Whitney U tests of all variables of
Z ♂ | p ♂ | Z ♀ | p ♀ | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Var 1: FW length from thorax to apex (mm) | -0.873 | 0.38430 | 2.694 |
|
Var 2: FW white pupils in black oc. S2, S5 (N°) | -0.838 | 0.40090 | 0.195 | 0.84930 |
Var 3: FW spots S3, S4 (N°) | -2.890 |
|
0.495 | 0.62414 |
Var 4: FW width subm. band oc. S2 (mm) | 2.048 |
|
1.889 | 0.05876 |
Var 5: FW width subm. band oc. S2/FW length (%) | 1.995 |
|
0.265 | 0.79486 |
Var 6: FW sex brand position (0-1) | 3.994 |
|
N/A | N/A |
Var 7: HW oc. (N°) | -1.995 |
|
1.340 | 0.18024 |
Var 8: HW width subm. band vein 3 (mm) | 0.859 | 0.38978 | 0.130 | 0.89656 |
Var 9: HW width subm. band vein 3/FW length (%) | 1.971 |
|
-1.709 | 0.08726 |
Var 10: FW white pupils in black oc. S2, S5 (N°) | 0.004 | 1.00000 | 0.005 | 1.00000 |
Var 11: FW oc. S5 towards cell paler area (0-1) | 3.994 |
|
-3.794 |
|
Var 12: FW spots in S3, S4 (N°) | -0.417 | 0.67448 | 0.005 | 1.00000 |
Var 13: FW marg. line (0-1) | 3.994 |
|
-3.794 |
|
Var 14: FW basal area cell: black markings (0-1) | 3.994 |
|
-3.794 |
|
Var 15: FW oc. S5 length (mm) | -0.810 | 0.41794 | -0.635 | 0.52870 |
Var 16: FW oc. S5 length/FW length (%) | -0.512 | 0.61006 | 0.480 | 0.63122 |
Var 17: FW oc. S5 length/FW centre oc. S5-margin (%) | -1.466 | 0.14156 | 0.405 | 0.68916 |
Var 18: FW centre oc. S5-margin (mm) | 1.736 | 0.08186 | -0.475 | 0.63836 |
Var 19: FW centre oc. S5-margin/FW length (%) | 1.757 | 0.07840 | -0.030 | 0.97606 |
Var 20: HW oc. (N°) | 0.796 | 0.42372 | -0.685 | 0.49650 |
Var 21: HW median band (0-1) | 2.732 |
|
-0.595 | 0.55520 |
Visualization of the significant difference between
Additional field work in other localities of the province of Korçë and in the provinces Kolonjë, Përmet, Tepelenë and Skrapar fill an important gap in the documented distribution of the butterflies from south-eastern Albania. The coverage map (Fig.
Coverage of historical data and personal observations: map of Albania indicating
The discovery of
The butterfly probably has a more restricted and fragmented distribution in Greece due to the less frequently present favoured type of geological substrate. This idea is already supported by the almost complete lack of evidence despite the many efforts of numerous lepidopterists since the discovery of the butterfly by
During the examination of the Albanian material it became clear that
The only feature for Greek
Despite clear differences in the androconial scales, it would be interesting to make an analysis of external characters with the very similar
The androconial scale of
We encourage entomologists to visit Albania during different periods of the year to do research not only for
We are grateful to Rudy Swennen for his valuable help with geological data of Albania. We also thank Jos Dils for providing the photographs of the
Variables of