Chromosomes of the fritillaries of the genus Brenthis (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae) from Japan. : I. A revised study of the chromosomes of Brenthis daphne iwatensis from Hokkaido

Abstract

Larvae of Brenthis daphne iwatensis were collected at Bibi, Chitose-shi, Hokkaido. Its chromosomes were examined with both lactoacetic orcein squashes of testes and Carnoy air-dried Giemsa preparations of other tissues crashed in 60% acetic acid. The haploid chromosome number established is 12 in the male (Figs.1-3); counts were made in 381 spermatocyte metaphases (metaphase I:336; metaphase II:45) from three laboratory-reared pupae. The haploid complement comprizes two elements larger in size than the remaining ten. The occurrence of twenty-four diploid chromosomes was confirmed in mitoses in the testes and other tissues (Fig.4) of these pupae. Previously, an n, 14-karyotype was observed in the males of this subspecies from Asahikawa, Hokkaido (MAEKI, 1961). But, as stated above, such karyotype has not been encountered in the Bibi males examined.