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Myrina Fritillary - Boloria myrina
Other Names:
Boloria selene
General Description
[From Ferris and Brown 1981; Scott 1986; Opler and Wright 1999; Glasberg 2001; Pyle 2002] Forewing 1.9-2.7 cm. Uppersurface orange with sparse black markings, strong marginal black chains, hindwing black border with inward-pointing black chevrons; undersurface of hindwing with basal black spot rimmed by sliver in reddish-brown field, median and marginal rows of silvered-white spots, central silver spot elongate, postmedian spots small and black (or red-brown).
Phenology
Three flights in lowland US mid-May to mid-September; two flights in Nova Scotia to Saskatchewan June to early August, in Newfoundland late June to early September; one flight in Colorado mountains July to early August, in Alberta late June to early August, in the far north late June to July (Scott 1986). Late May to early September in most locations, June to July in Pacific Northwest (Glassberg 2001). Mid-April to early September in Oregon and Washington (Pyle 2002); early June to mid-August in Oregon (Warren 2005); late May to early September in southern British Columbia (Threatful 1988; Guppy and Shepard 2001).
Diagnostic Characteristics
Best determined by a combination of the upper surface with strong marginal black chains, undersurface of hindwing with basal black spot rimmed by sliver in reddish-brown field, median and marginal rows of silvered-white spots, central silver spot elongate, postmedian spots small and black (or red-brown).
Species Range
Montana Range
Range Descriptions
Native
Range Comments
Holarctic. In North America from central Alaska east through Canada south of the tundra, south to central Washington and Oregon, in the Rocky Mountains to northern New Mexico, in the east from Nebraska to Virginia (Scott 1986; Opler and Wright 1999; Glassberg 2001); 2316 m to 3353 m elevation in the mountains of Colorado (Brown 1957; Scott and Scott 1978), 366 m to 1585 m elevation in Oregon and Washington (Warren 2005), to 917 m elevation in southeastern British Columbia (Threatful 1988). In Montana, reported from across the state (Kohler 1980; Stanford and Opler 1993), as low as 1000 m elevation in Missoula County (Kohler 1977). Locally common to locally abundant in Alberta and Montana, locally rare to locally uncommon elsewhere (Glassberg 2001).
Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 8
(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version)
Map Help and Descriptions
Relative Density
Recency
(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)
Migration
Non-migratory.
Habitat
Wet meadows, willow bogs, open grassy marshes, moist aspen groves, wet to mesic tallgrass prairie (Brown 1957; Scott 1986; Swengel 1997; Opler and Wright 1999; Glassberg 2001; Pyle 2002; Warren 2005). In Glacier National Park, Montana reported from montane mesic meadows (Debinski 1993), elsewhere in Montana from wet open meadows and river bottoms (Kohler 1977).
National Vegetation Classification System Groups Associated with this Species
Wetland and Riparian
Alkaline - Saline Wetlands
Alpine Riparian and Wetland
Peatland
Wet Meadow and Marsh
Food Habits
Larval food plants include several species of Viola (Scott 1986, 1992; Swengel 1997; Guppy and Shepard 2001; James and Nunnallee 2011). Adults feed on flower nectar, including Asclepias, Erigeron, Helianthus, Senecio, Solidago, and Verbena (Pyle 2002; Scott 2014).
Reproductive Characteristics
Females lay eggs singly and haphazardly near but seldom on the host plant (Scott 1986, 1992). Eggs hatch in 5-6 days (depending on temperature), develop from L1 instar to L5 instar and pupation in about 25-30 days (first brood) or 30-34 days; adults eclose (emerge from pupae) in 10-20 days. Larvae build no nest, feed nocturnally with the early instars feeding on undersides of leaves, overwinter as L2-L4 instars, mostly L3 (Scott 1979, 1986; James and Nunnallee 2011). Males patrol throughout the day, usually over level ground in wet meadows and around springs near host plants, in search of females (Scott 1975b, 1986; James and Nunnallee 2011).
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.- Debinski, D. 1993. Butterflies of Glacier National Park, Montana. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Natural History, the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. No. 159: 1-13.
- 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.
- James, D.G. and D. Nunnallee. 2011. Life histories of Cascadia butterflies. Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University Press. 447 p.
- Kohler, S. 1980. Checklist of Montana Butterflies (Rhopalocera). Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 34(1): 1-19.
- 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.
- Pyle, R.M. 2002. The butterflies of Cascadia: a field guide to all the species of Washington, Oregon, and surrounding territories. Seattle Audubon Society, Seattle, Washington. 420 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. 1979. Hibernal diapause of North American Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea. Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 18(3): 171-200.
- Scott, J.A. 1986. The butterflies of North America: a natural history and field guide. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California.
- Scott, J.A. 1992. Hostplant records for butterflies and skippers (mostly from Colorado) 1959-1992, with new life histories and notes on oviposition, immatures, and ecology. Papilio new series #6. 185 p.
- 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.
- Scott, J.A. and G.R. Scott. 1978. Ecology and distribution of the butterflies of southern central Colorado. Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 17(2): 73-128.
- 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.
- Swengel, A.B. 1997. Habitat associations of sympatric violet-eating fritillaries (Euptoeita, Speyeria, Boloria)(Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in tallgrass prairie. Great lakes Entomologist 30(1/2): 1-18.
- Threatful, D.L. 1988. A list of the butterflies and skippers of Mount Revelstoke and Glacier National Parks, British Columbia, Canada (Lepidoptera). Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 27(3-4): 213-221.
- Warren, A.D. 2005. Lepidoptera of North America 6: Butterflies of Oregon, their taxonomy, distribution, and biology. Contributions of the C. P. Gillette Museum of Arthropod Diversity, Colorado State University. Fort Collins, Colorado. 406 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.
- Caruthers, J.C., and D. Debinski. 2006. Montane meadow butterfly species distributions in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. University of Wyoming National Park Service Research Center Annual Report, 2006. Vol. 30, Art. 14. 85-96.
- Debinski, D.M., R.E. VanNimwegen, and M.E. Jakubauskas. 2006. Quantifying relationships between bird and butterfly community shifts and environmental change. Ecological Applications 16(1): 380-393.
- Forister, M.L., C.A. Halsch, C.C. Nice, J.A. Fordyce, T.E. Dilts, J.C. Oliver, K.L. Prudic, A.M. Shapiro, J.K. Wilson, J. Glassberg. 2021. Fewer butterflies seen by community scientists across the warming and drying landscapes of the American West. Science 371:1042-1045.
- Forister, M.L., E.M. Grames, C.A. Halsch, K.J. Burls, C.F. Carroll, K.L. Bell, J.P. Jahner, et al. 2023. Assessing risk for butterflies in the context of climate change, demographic uncertainty, and heterogeneous data sources. Ecological Monographs 93(3):e1584. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecm.1584
- Layberry, R.A., P.W. Hall, and J.D. LaFontaine. 1998. The Butterflies of Canada. University of Toronto Press. 280 pp. + color plates.
- Maxell, B.A. 2016. Northern Goshawk surveys on the Beartooth, Ashland, and Sioux Districts of the Custer-Gallatin National Forest: 2012-2014. Montana Natural Heritage Program. Helena, MT. 114pp.
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