Range:
This butterfly exhibits a large range, extending from southern Canada, throughout
the entire U.S., south through Mexico into South America. It occurs in sections
of Idaho, primarily in the panhandle
and the southwest.
Habitat:
It occurs in many kinds of open, often weedy, areas, including
open woodlands, chaparral,
along coasts, and in fields and vacant lots.
Diet:
Caterpillar:
Caterpillars eat the flowers, fruits and occasionally young leaves of a
large array of both cultivated and wild plants representing over 15 different
families. Cultivated species include corn (Zea mays), cotton (Gossypium
spp.), bean (Phaseolus spp.), alfalfa (Medicago sativa), and hops
(Humulus spp.).
Adult:
Butterflies drink nectar from a wide variety of flowers.
Ecology:
The number of generations of caterpillars each year varies with location,
with there being two in the north and up to four in the south. Each caterpillar
undergoes four stages of growth, called instars. The caterpillar is equipped with
a honey gland, also known as a dorsal nectary organ, which
emits a sugary solution agreeable to ants. The ants feed on the solution and
in turn protect the caterpillar from predators. The caterpillar is referred
to in parts of its range as the "cotton square borer," and it can
cause significant damage to crops when feeding in large numbers. Pupae overwinter in a physiological state called
diapause. Adults
generally fly from
March to November. The tails of the two hindwings of the butterfly resemble
antennae and may act to fool predators into biting the wrong end of the butterfly
allowing it to escape.
Reproduction:
Males perch on
trees and shrubs in the afternoon and evenings to wait for receptive females.
Eggs are laid singly on the flowers of host plants.
Conservation:
Idaho Status: | Unprotected nongame species. |
Global Rank: | G5; populations are widespread, abundant, and secure.. |
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.