Family:Lycaenidae
Family
Description:
Note: This species consists of approximately ten races
or subspecies, all of which vary slightly in appearance.
Range:
This widespread species ranges from Alaska through most of Canada to Nova Scotia;
through the western third of the U.S.; through the northern U.S. and a portion
of the southeastern U.S. It occurs through most of Idaho.
Habitat:
It can be found in a variety of habitats, including meadows, fields, open woodlands, coastal dunes, and along streams.
Diet:
Caterpillar:
Caterpillars feed on new leaves, flowers, and fruits of legumes, such as milk
vetches (Astragalus spp.), other vetches (Vicia spp.), peas (Lathyrus
spp.), lupines (Lupinus spp.), and deer weed (Lotus scoparius).
Adult:
Butterflies drink flower nectar
Ecology:
The caterpillar is equipped with a honey gland, also known as a dorsal nectary
organ, which emits a sugary solution agreeable to ants. The ants feed on
the solution and in turn protect the caterpillar from predators. Also for protection,
the caterpillar bears a pair of everscible tubercles or tentacles
on the eighth segment.
These tubercles are usually housed within the body, but when the caterpillar
feels threatened by the approach of a potential predator, they can be pushed
out to release a chemical which mimics an ant alarm pheromone. This scent causes the ants to become
frenzied and aggressive, and the potential predator takes leave or is eaten
by the ants. There is only one new generation of caterpillars each growing season.
Each caterpillar undergoes four stages of growth, called instars. Pupae overwinter in a physiological state called
diapause. Adults
generally fly from
April to June, but may be seen as early as February and as late as August in
some locations. The butterflies are one of the first species typically seen
in the spring.
Reproduction:
Males actively patrol
in search of receptive females. Females lay eggs singly on the flower buds or
new leaves of host plants
.
Conservation:
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Global Rank: | G5; most populations are widespread, abundant, and secure. One subspecies in California, once thought to be extinct, is ranked T1, which means it is critically imperiled because of extreme rarity and is imminently vulnerable to extinction. |
Ferris, C. D. and F. M. Brown. (eds.) 1981. Butterflies of the Rocky Mountain States. Univ. of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma, USA, 442 pp.
Opler, P. A., H. Pavulaan, and R. E. Stanford. 1995. Butterflies of North America. Jamestown, North Dakota, USA: Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Home Page. http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/lepid/bflyusa/bflyusa.htm (Version 05Nov98).
Opler, P. A. and A. B.Wright. 1999. A Field Guide to the Western Butterflies. Second Edition. Peterson Field Guide Series. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, New York, USA, 540 pp.
Pyle, R. M. 1981. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Butterflies. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York, New York, USA, 924 pp.
Scott, J. A. 1986. The Butterflies of North America. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California, USA, 583 pp.
Stanford, R. E. and P. A. Opler. 1993. Atlas of Western U.S.A. Butterflies (Including Adjacent Parts of Canada and Mexico). Published by authors, Denver, Colorado, USA, 275 pp.