A paper on this has appeared in a top-journal in biology (Forister et al.,
in: Biology Letters 2011;7:399-402).

--- Excerpts from the article follow here. Contact me offlist for an
e-copy. ---



After 60 years, an answer to the question: what is the Karner blue
butterfly?

Matthew L. Forister1,*, Zachariah Gompert2, James A. Fordyce3 and Chris C.
Nice4

1Department of Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89552, USA
2Department of Botany, Program in Ecology, University of Wyoming, Laramie,
WY 82071, USA
3Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee,
Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
4Department of Biology, Population and Conservation Biology Program, Texas
State University, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA
*Author for correspondence (mforister@unr.edu).

The Karner blue butterfly (KBB), Lycaeides melissa samuelis, is a federally
protected taxon whose relationship to the Melissa blue, Lycaeides melissa,
has been a point of contention during the 66 years since the KBB was first
described. Using a large population-genomic dataset and a model of
population divergence with migration, we investigated the relationship
between the KBB and L. melissa, as well as the relationship between L.
melissa and a third taxon, Lycaeides idas. We report that gene flow between
the KBB and L. melissa is low, and comparable to gene flow between L.
melissa and L. idas. Considering this population-genetic evidence, we
conclude that the KBB is a unique evolutionary lineage that should be
recognized as Lycaeides samuelis.

Keywords: conservation genetics; gene flow; Lycaeides melissa samuelis;
population genomics; next-generation sequencing

--- Citing from the Introduction:
"Based on variation in wing pattern and genitalic morphology, the KBB was
described as a subspecies of Lycaeides melissa 66 years ago by Vladimir
Nabokov in 1944, who subsequently and informally revised his opinion to
consider it a distinct species [6,7]."

--- Citing from the Discussion:
"[...] we conclude that the current subspecific designation for the KBB is
inappropriate, and that the KBB should be elevated to Lycaeides samuelis
Nabokov."

--- Citing from the reference list:
"6 Nabokov, V. 1949 The nearctic members of the genus Lycaeides Hubner
(Lycaenidae, Lepidoptera). Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 101, 479–541.
7 Nabokov, V. 1975 From letter to Robert Dirig. In Nabokov’s butterflies
(eds B. Boyd & R. M. Pyle), pp. 713–714. Boston, MA: Beacon Press."


Best regards,
Martin Voracek

-----------------------------------------------------
Martin Voracek, D.Sc., D.M.Sc., Ph.D., M.Sc., M.Phil.
Associate Professor
University of Vienna, School of Psychology
Vice Head, Department of Basic Psychological Research
Head, Research Methods Unit
Postal address: Liebiggasse 5, Rm 03-46, A-1010 Vienna, Austria
Phone: +43 1 4277-47846; Fax: +43 1 4277-47849
E-Mail: martin.voracek@univie.ac.at
Web: http://homepage.univie.ac.at/martin.voracek/