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White-veined Arctic - Oeneis bore
General Description
[From Ferris and Brown 1981; Scott 1986; Opler and Wright 1999; Glassber 2001; Guppy and Shepard 2001] Forewing 2.2-2.5 cm. Wings translucent, without eyespots. Uppersurface of female forewing often orange-tan in middle, male forewing with gray sex patch in middle. Undersurface light brown, veins of hindwing usually white, hindwing with dark median band outlined by basal and postmedian lines edged with white.
Phenology
One flight; mostly late June to early August, mid-June and July in western Arctic, alternating years except every year in Colorado and Wyoming (Ferris and Brown 1981; Scott 1986). Late June to mid-August (Glassberg 2001). June and July in British Columbia (Guppy and Shepard 2001).
Diagnostic Characteristics
Best determined externally by combination of wings translucent and without eyespots, undersurface of hindwing with dark median band outlined by basal and postmedian lines edged with white, the hindwing veins usually white.
Species Range
Montana Range
Range Descriptions
Native
Range Comments
Holarctic. In North America, throughout Alaska and Yukon, east north of treeline to Labrador and Greenland, isolated population on Mt. Albert, Quebec; also south in isolated populations in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Alberta, Montana, Wyoming, Utah to southwestern Colorado (Opler and Wright 1999; Glassberg 2001; Guppy and Shepard 2001); to at least 3810 m elevation in Colorado (Brown 1957; Ferris and Brown 1981). Reported in Montana only in the Beartooth Mountains of Carbon and Stillwater counties (Kohler 1980; Stanford and Opler 1993), probably above 3048 m elevation. Locally rare to locally uncommon (Glassberg 2001).
Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 1
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Map Help and Descriptions
Relative Density
Recency
(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)
Migration
Non-migratory.
Habitat
Tundra, taiga, grassy alpine slopes, rocky ridges, subarctic bogs, sedge meadow, hummocky tundra (Oosting and Parshall 1978; Ferris and Brown 1981; Scott 1986; Opler and Wright 1999; Glassberg 2001; Guppy and Shepard 2001). Habitat in Montana not described but probably occupies similar alpine terrain in Beartooth Mountains.
National Vegetation Classification System Groups Associated with this Species
Alpine
Alpine - Sparse and Barren
Alpine - Vegetated
Wetland and Riparian
Alpine Riparian and Wetland
Peatland
Wet Meadow and Marsh
Food Habits
Limited information. Larval food plants include Carex and several species of Festuca (Scott 1986). Adults occasionally feed on flower nectar, including unidentified "yellow sunflower" (Scott 2014).
Reproductive Characteristics
Limited information. Females lay eggs singly on blades of host grass or sedge. Biennial; early instar larvae (L1-L2?) probably hibernate the first winter, L4-L5 instars hibernate a second winter (Scott 1986). Males perch and patrol throughout the day on grassy hilltops and hillsides as they seek females females (Scott 1975b, 1986).
Stewardship Responsibility
References
- Literature Cited AboveLegend:
View Online Publication
Brown, F.M. 1957. Colorado Butterflies. Proceedings; Numbers Three through Seven. Denver Museum of Natural History, Denver, Co.- Ferris, C.D. and F.M. Brown (eds). 1981. Butterflies of the Rocky Mountains. Univ. of Oklahoma Press. Norman. 442 pp.
- Glassberg, J. 2001. Butterflies through Binoculars: A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Western North America. Oxford University Press.
- Guppy, C.S. and J.H. Shepard. 2001. Butterflies of British Columbia: including western Alberta, southern Yukon, the Alaska Panhandle, Washington, northern Oregon, northern Idaho, northwestern Montana. UBC Press (Vancouver, BC) and Royal British Columbia Museum (Victoria, BC). 414 pp.
- Kohler, S. 1980. Checklist of Montana Butterflies (Rhopalocera). Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 34(1): 1-19.
- Oosting, D.P. and D.K. Parshall. 1978. Ecological notes on the butterflies of the Churchill region of northern Manitoba. Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 17(3): 188-203.
- Opler, P.A. and A.B. Wright. 1999. A field guide to western butterflies. Second edition. Peterson Field Guides. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 540 pp.
- Scott, J.A. 1975b. Mate-locating behavior of western North American butterflies. Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 14:1-40.
- Scott, J.A. 1986. The butterflies of North America: a natural history and field guide. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California.
- Scott, J.A. 2014. Lepidoptera of North America 13. Flower visitation by Colorado butterflies (40,615 records) with a review of the literature on pollination of Colorado plants and butterfly attraction (Lepidoptera: Hersperioidea and Papilionoidea). Contributions of the C.P. Gillette Museum of Arthopod Diversity. Fort Collins, CO: Colorado State University. 190 p.
- Stanford, R.E. and P.A. Opler. 1993. Atlas of western USA butterflies: including adjacent parts of Canada and Mexico. Unpubl. Report. Denver and Fort Collins, Colorado 275 pp.
- Additional ReferencesLegend: View Online Publication
Do you know of a citation we're missing?- Allen, T.J., J.P. Brock, and J. Glassberg. 2005. Caterpillars in the field and garden: a field guide to the butterfly caterpillars of North America. Oxford University Press.
- Brock, J.P. and K. Kaufman. 2003. Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, NY 284 pp.
- Layberry, R.A., P.W. Hall, and J.D. LaFontaine. 1998. The Butterflies of Canada. University of Toronto Press. 280 pp. + color plates.
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