FACTORS AFFECTING ABUNDANCE OF ADULT KARNER BLUES (LYCAEIDES-MELISSA-SAMUELIS) (LEPIDOPTERA, LYCAENIDAE) IN WISCONSIN SURVEYS 1987-95

At 141 pine-oak barrens in central and northwestern Wisconsin, 3,702 K arner blues (Lycaeides melissa samuelis Nabokov) were found in 81.1 hr of transect surveys during spring and 6,094 individuals in 116.6 hr d uring summer. Adults of five other closely related lycaenids occurred with Karner blues. The percentage of Karner blue males (of sexed indiv iduals) correlated negatively with advancing date within brood, exceed ed 50% on peak date within brood, but showed wide variability on a giv en date. Karner blues occasionally occurred up to 800 m from the neare st larval host, or in tiny, isolated host stands. However, all individ uals were within 3-5 km of other larger Karner blue populations. Earne r blue abundance significantly increased with decreasing latitude, inc reasing temperature, nearness to midpoint within brood, decreasing sit e canopy, increasing larval host abundance, and in summer compared to spring. Long-term monitoring sites showed dramatic but relatively simi lar fluctuations among broods (median of 2.8-fold change among ten bro od pairs) that apparently varied by individual brood rather than seaso n or year. Extensive dense host patches and dense Karner blues were in sites representing a diversity of management histories.