Family:Hesperiidae
Family
Description:
Alternate Common Name: Cloudy Wing.
Range:
This species exhibits an extensive in Canada, from Alberta east to the
Atlantic; throughout the entire eastern half of the U.S.; and from southern
British Columbia south through parts of California, and south through the Rocky
Mountain states to the southwest and Mexico. It has been documented to occur
in three counties of Idaho: Adams, Boise, and Elmore.
Habitat:
It occurs in or near wooded or brushy areas.
Diet:
Caterpillar:
Caterpillars feed on the leaves of a variety of legumes (Fabaceae family), including
beggars tick (Desmodium spp.), bush clover (Lespedeza spp.),
and wild pea (Lathyrus spp.).
Adult: Butterflies drink flower nectar from a wide variety of flowers, often those white, pink, or purple in color.
Ecology:
Caterpillars live in nests of leaves rolled or tied with silk. Older caterpillars
overwinter in a physiological state called diapause. The number of generations
of caterpillars each year varies regionally, with there being only one in the
north or at high elevation and two or more in the south. Adults generally fly from May through July.
Reproduction:
Males perch all
day in shrubs and small trees, often on hilltops, to wait for receptive females.
Eggs are laid singly under 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.