Family:Hesperiidae
Family
Description:
Alternate Common Name: Roadside Rambler.
Range:
This widespread species ranges from southern Canada south through the U.S. to
central Mexico. It does not occur along the Pacific coast, in parts of the deserts
of the southwest, or in the peninsula of Florida. It can be found in much of
Idaho.
Habitat:
It utilizes a variety of open habitats including fields, pastures,
gardens, and disturbed or waste areas.
Diet:
Caterpillar:
Caterpillars feed on the leaves of three common plant genera: lambs-quarters (Chenopodium
spp.), amaranths (Amaranthus spp.), and cocks comb (Celosia
spp.).
Adult: Butterflies drink flower nectar, most often from flowers close to the ground.
Ecology:
Caterpillars construct shelters from leaves rolled and tied
with silk. There are two generations
of caterpillars each growing season. Those from the second generation overwinter
in their leaf shelters, in a physiological state called diapause. Adults generally fly from May through
August. Butterflies often bask in the sun with their wings open.
Reproduction:
Males actively patrol
in search of receptive females. Females lay eggs singly on the uppersides of
host plant leaves.
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.