Range extension of Doleschallia Tongana (nymphalidae) to the Samoan archipelago, with notes on its life history and ecology
Cook RP and Vargo D. 2000. Range extension of Doleschallia Tongana (nymphalidae) to the Samoan archipelago, with notes on its life history and ecology. Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society. 54(1):33-35
Adults and larvae of the nymphalid butterfly Doleschallia tongana vomana Fruhst, were recently documented for the first time in the Samoan archipelago, on the island of Tutuila, American Samoa. Distributed from Melanesia to western Polynesia, this species consists of several sub-species, with D. t. vomana endemic to Fiji. The establishment of this species on Tutuila is likely to result of natural dispersal by adult(s) blown from Fiji, though the success of this colonization was made possible only as the result of human introduction of the host plants Graptophyllum pictum and Pseuderanthemum carruthersii (Acanthaceae).
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Cook, Robert; Vargo, Don
- Units
- NPSA , PACN
- Keywords
- American Samoa, Butterfly, Doleschallia Tongana, Nymphalidae