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Pacific Fritillary - Boloria epithore
Native Species
Global Rank:
G5
State Rank:
S5
Agency Status
USFWS:
USFS:
BLM:
External Links
General Description
[From Ferris and Brown 1981; Scott 1986; Opler and Wright 1999; Glassberg 2001; Pyle 2002] Forewing 2.1-2.4 cm. Tip of forewing and hindwing evenly rounded. Uppersurface bright orange with black markings large on basal half of wing, small on outer half, hindwing without black border. Undersurface of hindwing mottled light purplish-brown with postbasal spot row yellow. Above and below on both wings, submarginal row of slightly darkened crescents pointing outward.
Phenology
One flight; mid-May to June in the Coast ranges, June to July inland, July to mid-August at higher elevations (Scott 1986). Late May to August (Glassberg 2001). Early May to mid-August in the Oregon Cascades, mid-June to late August in the Wallowa Mountains (Warren 2005); late March to late September in Oregon and Washington (Pyle 2002); early May to early September in British Columbia (Guppy and Shepard 2001).
Diagnostic Characteristics
Best determined by submarginal row of slightly darkened crescents pointing outward above and below on both wings (pointing inward for most other Boloria).
Species Range
Montana Range
Range Descriptions
Native
Range Comments
Central British Columbia and southwestern Alberta south in the Cascades and Sierra Nevada to central Sierra Nevada, in the Rocky Mountains to central Idaho and western Montana; isolated population in southwestern Yukon (Scott 1986; Opler and Wright 1999; Glassberg 2001; Pyle 2002); to 2440 m elevation in Oregon (Warren 2005), 2170 m elevation in Washington and interior British Columbia (Guppy and Shepard 2001; Pyle 2002). In Montana, reported from all counties west of the continental divide, east to Hill and Blaine counties along the Canadian border (Kohler 1980; Stanford and Opler 1993). Common to abundant (Glassberg 2001).
Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 36
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Relative Density
Recency
(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)
Migration
Non-migratory.
Habitat
Openings in moist conifer forests, wet meadows, open slopes and hilltops, streamsides, logging roads, rural gardens (Scott 1986; Opler and Wright 1999; Pyle 2002; Warren 2005). In Glacier National Park, Montana reported from montane mesic meadows and above treeline in alpine terrain (Debinski 1993).
National Vegetation Classification System Groups Associated with this Species
Grassland
Montane - Subalpine Grassland
Wetland and Riparian
Alkaline - Saline Wetlands
Alpine Riparian and Wetland
Peatland
Riparian and Wetland Forest
Riparian Shrubland
Wet Meadow and Marsh
Food Habits
Larval food plants include several species of Viola (Scott 1986; Warren 2005; James and Nunnallee 2011). Adults feed on flower nectar, including Anaphalis, Cirsium, Fragaria, Potentilla, Rubus, and Symphyotrichum (Pyle 2002; James and Nunnallee 2011).
Reproductive Characteristics
Females lay eggs haphazardly and singly on twigs, grass stems, and other inert surfaces, but rarely on host plant (Scott 1986; James and Nunnallee 2011). Eggs hatch in about 4-7 days, develp rapidly (17-18 days) from L1 instar to L4 instar, L4 instars feeds a few days then departs host plant to seek shelter in dead leaves; diapauses (overwinters) as L4 instar. Following termination of diapause in spring L4 develops to L5 instar in 7-24 days (depending on temperature), pupates about 9-12 days later. Larvae not gregarious, build no nest, nocturnal, rest on undersides of host plant leaves (Scott 1986; James and Nunnallee 2011). Males patrol throughout the day in moist meadows and woods in search of females (Scott 1975b, 1986; James and Nunnallee 2011).
Stewardship Responsibility
References
- Literature Cited AboveLegend:
View Online Publication
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.
- Opler, P.A., K. Lotts, and T. Naberhaus, coordinators. 2010. Butterflies and moths of North America. Big Sky Institute, Bozeman, MT. Available at: www.butterfliesandmoths.org (Accessed 15 June 2015).
- 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. 1986. The butterflies of North America: a natural history and field guide. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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