Family:Lycaenidae
Family
Description:
Note:
This species
is referred to by the genus name Epidemia by some authors. The distinction
between this species and the Dorcas Copper, Lycaena dorcas, is
not clear in some locations, such as in the Rocky Mountains, where the two have
been known to hybridize.
Range:
This species ranges from
Alaska south and east through Canada to the Great Lakes, and from the west coast
of the U.S. east through northern Arizona and New Mexico north to South Dakota.
It occurs throughout Idaho.
Habitat:
It utilizes a wide variety of habitats, such as disturbed areas, fields,
meadows, and marshes.
Diet:
Caterpillar:
Caterpillars feed on the leaves of members of the buckwheat family (Polygonaceae),
including knotweed (Polygonum spp.) and docks (Rumex spp.), and
on cinquefoils (Potentilla spp.).
Adult:
Butterflies drink flower nectar.
Ecology:Eggs
overwinter in some locations, and hatch in the spring. The number of generations
of caterpillars each summer depends on the location, from only one at higher
elevations and the far north to four at low elevations in California. Each caterpillar
undergoes four stages of growth, called instars. Caterpillars pupate in the organic debris at the base
of their host plants.
Pupae or young caterpillars
overwinter in a physiological state called diapause in some locations. Adults generally
fly from March to
November (June through August at high elevations).
Reproduction:
Males perch to
wait for receptive females, or may actively patrol
in search of them. Females lay pale green eggs singly at or near the bases of
host plants. The eggs fade in color to white after several days. Females in
the laboratory lay their eggs on host plant flowers and fruits.
Conservation:
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Global Rank: | G5; populations are widespread, abundant, and secure. |
Coolidge, K. R. 1924. Life history of Heodes helloides. Entomological News 35:306-312.
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.