Family:Hesperiidae.
Family
Description:
Alternate Common Name: Bald Duskywing
Range:
This species ranges from southern Alberta and Saskatchewan south to Mexico,
with an isolated population in southern California. It occurs in isolated patches
in Idaho.
Habitat:
It occurs in open areas such as prairies and forest openings
and edges.
Diet:
Caterpillar:
Caterpillars feed on the leaves of certain legume species, including lupine
(Lupinus spp.), milk vetch (Astragalus spp.), and lotus (Lotus
spp.).
Adult: Butterflies drink flower nectar.
Ecology:
Caterpillars live in nests made from leaves rolled or tied together
with silk. There
are two generations of caterpillars each year in most of the range, and possibly
more in the Californian population. The overwintering stage has not been observed
or reported. Adults generally fly
from March through August.
Reproduction:
Males perch to
wait for receptive females. Females lay eggs singly under the leaves of host plants.
Conservation:
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Global Rank: | G5
population levels are secure, but may be of concern in the future |
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.