Following the publication of the new Butterfly Field Guide (see below) I have just finished updating the names of some of the species here on the website so that they are aligned. Some changes I had been aware of but others were new to me. The changes are:
1) The three Aphrissa species have now been placed back in the genus Phoebis where Bates placed them back in 1935.
1) The three Aphrissa species have now been placed back in the genus Phoebis where Bates placed them back in 1935.
2) Caribbean Sailor Dynamine egaea is a junior synonym of Dynamine serina and not the other way round so I have amended.
3) It has now been determined that the single species of Hamadryas in Cuba is in fact in the lineage of Gray Cracker Hamadryas februa and not Hamadryas amphichloe as previously thought.
4) The Chestnut Leafwing Cymatogramma echemus has had quite a few name changes over the years and has now been placed in the genus Cymatogramma rather than Memphis where it had been previously. It used to be considered to be the same species as the Hispaniolan Leafwing C. verticordia which is a bit strange as that has large white spots on the wings, but that was corrected a few years back.
In the latest Field Guide Anetia cubana has been called the Florida Leafwing which is not very sensible as it doesn't occur in Florida and is endemic to Cuba, so I have called this Cuban Leafwing.
In the Field Guide they have named C. echemus as Cuban Leafwing but as this common name is used for A. cubana I have used Chestnut Leafwing for C. echemus just as other websites like Butterflies and Moths of North America.
In the latest Field Guide Anetia cubana has been called the Florida Leafwing which is not very sensible as it doesn't occur in Florida and is endemic to Cuba, so I have called this Cuban Leafwing.
In the Field Guide they have named C. echemus as Cuban Leafwing but as this common name is used for A. cubana I have used Chestnut Leafwing for C. echemus just as other websites like Butterflies and Moths of North America.
5) It had been previously thought that Ephyriades arcas occurred on Cuba as well as E. zephodes but it is now believed from DNA work that has been done (pers. comm.) that the only species of this tricky pair to occur on Cuba and Hispaniola is Ephyriades zephodes. So that brings the total Cuba butterfly list back down to 200 species although it has to be said that a small number of these are of vagrants that have turned up just once or twice a long time ago, even as far back as the 19th century, and for which there is no physical evidence in the form of a specimen. It's fair to say that some of these species would probably not stand up to modern scrutiny for inclusion on a Category A list for a country. I haven't counted up the number of species included in the new Field Guide but that's why it is less that the number detailed here on the website.
Ephyriades zephodes Zephodes Duskywing male 8 Jan 2014 nr Baracoa © David Kohl
I have also updated the thumbnail pages and the downloadable species list that you can find here on the website. Enjoy!
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