Family:Lycaenidae
Family
Description:
Note: This species is referred to with the genus name
Hyllolycaena by some authors.
Range:
Primarily an eastern species, it ranges from Maine west across the northeastern
U.S. to eastern Colorado, eastern Wyoming, most of Montana, and the central
edge of Idaho. In Canada it ranges
from northwestern Alberta south and east to southern Ontario.
Habitat:
It occurs in wet areas including marshes, swamps, wet meadows, and near reservoirs.
Diet:
Caterpillar:
Caterpillars feed on the leaves of docks (Rumex spp.) and knotweeds
(Polygonum spp.).
Adult:
Butterflies drink flower nectar.
Ecology:
There are one to two generations of caterpillars each summer in the northern portion of its range, and possibly three in the south. Eggs overwinter and hatch in the spring. Adults generally fly from mid-June to October.
Reproduction:
Males perch to wait
for receptive females. Females lay pale green eggs singly on the leaves, petioles, or seeds of
host plants;
eggs may also be laid on the dead leaves of host plants growing in water.
Conservation:
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Global Rank: | G5; populations are widespread, abundant, and secure. |
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.