John White's Drawings of Papilio Glaucus L. (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae): New Light on the 'First American Butterfly' and the Problem of Glaucus Versus Antilochus L. Part I: White to Moffet

Authors

Ronald S. Wilkinson, The Library of Congress

Document Type

Peer-Review Article

Abstract

All American lepidopterists are familiar with the "first picture of an American butterfly." William J. Holland's account of one of John White's watercolors of Papilio glaucus L. first appeared as a separate article (Holland, 1929), and was later adapted for the second edition of his immensely popular The Butterfly Book (Holland, 1931). Sub sequent research has added many facts to our knowledge of White's life, and much more can now be said about his paintings and later use of them. A reappraisal of the first identifiable record of a North American butterfly is now possible, and, more important to taxonomists, evidence can be provided to support a decision upon the suggestion of F. Martin Brown (1968) that the name of the yellow form of Papilio glaucus should be antilochus L.

Recommended Citation

Wilkinson, Ronald S. 1973. "John White's Drawings of Papilio Glaucus L. (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae): New Light on the 'First American Butterfly' and the Problem of Glaucus Versus Antilochus L. Part I: White to Moffet," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 6 (1)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22543/0090-0222.1175
Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol6/iss1/2