Family:Hesperiidae
Family
Description:
Range:
This species ranges across southern Canada from Alberta to Nova Scotia, and
across the northern U.S. from eastern Washington and northeastern Oregon to
the east coast, extending south as far as northern Colorado. In Idaho, it can be found from the panhandle to the central
part of the state.
Habitat:
It occurs in moist areas such as marshes, meadows, and along
streams.
Diet:
Caterpillar:
Caterpillars feed on the leaves of various grasses, including bluegrass
(Poa spp.).
Adult: Butterflies drink flower nectar.
Ecology:
There is usually one generation of caterpillars each summer,
but there may be two in certain locations. Caterpillars construct nests of leaves tied with silk. Caterpillars overwinter
in a physiological state called diapause. Adults generally fly from late May to
early August. The butterflies when at rest are found with their forewings partially
open and their hindwings fully open.
Reproduction:
Males perch
to wait for receptive females. Females lay eggs singly on or near host grasses.
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.