Family:Lycaenidae
Family
Description:
Note: This is really a complex comprised of several
species or subspecies, including C. echo, C. lucia, and possibly
others. Some authors refer to this species as Celastrina argiolus.
Range:
A widespread species, it can be found in Alaska, throughout Canada and the U.S.,
and south through Mexico and the mountains of Central America. It occurs throughout
much of Idaho.
Habitat:
It occupies a variety of habitat types, including fields, roadsides, meadows, marshes, swamps, in or near woodlands, and sagebrush steppe.
Diet:
Caterpillar:
Caterpillars feed on the flowers and fruits of a variety of plant species,
including dogwoods (Cornus spp.), buck brush (Ceanothus spp.),
meadowsweet (Spirea spp.), and viburnum (Viburnum spp.).
Adult:
Butterflies use flower nectar food. They can often be seen puddling at mud or dung.
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. Each caterpillar undergoes four stages of growth, or instars. There can be several generations
of caterpillars each growing season, with the last generation pupating before overwintering
in a physiological state called diapause. Adults generally fly from March to early
July. The spring butterflies are one of the first species to emerge after winter.
Reproduction:
Males actively patrol
in search of receptive females, and may occasionally perch.
Females lay eggs singly on the flower buds of host plants
.
Conservation:
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Global Rank: | Unranked; some species/subspecies have low population levels that are of concern. |
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.