Range:
This species ranges from northern British Columbia south and east across southern
Canada to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. In the U.S., it ranges from the Pacific
Northwest south to southern California, Arizona, and New Mexico, extending east
as far as western Montana, western South Dakota, and central Colorado. It occurs
through much of Idaho.
Habitat:
It occurs in wooded canyons and valleys and along streams and forests.
Diet:
Caterpillar:
Caterpillars feed on the leaves of stinging nettles (Urtica spp.).
Adult:
Butterflies use flower nectar, tree sap, and liquids from mud for food.
Ecology:
There are generally one to two generations of caterpillars each summer, and sometimes three along the Pacific coast. Caterpillars construct shelters by tying the edges of leaves together with silk. Butterflies feed through the fall, then overwinter in a physiological state called diapause. They emerge in the spring to mate and lay eggs, and may be seen as early as February on occasion.
Reproduction:
Males perch to wait
for receptive females. Females lay pale green eggs, singly or in small stacks
or groups, on the undersides of the leaves of host plants.
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.