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Clodius Parnassian - Parnassius clodius
General Description
[From Ferris and Brown 1981; Scott 1986; Opler and Wright 1999; Glassberg 2001; Pyle 2002] Forewing 3.0-3.5 cm. Antennae solid black. Uppersurface of forewing border strong black, black bar within forewing cell rectangular and crossing entire cell, milky to smoky white (translucent especially at forewing margins); hindwing with two round red hindwing spots, none on forewing. Undersurface similar to uppersurface, female showing more red along inner edge of hindwing.
Phenology
One fight; mostly late June to mid-July, May in southeastern Washington (Scott 1986). May to mid-September (Glassberg 2001). Mid-June to mid-July in Wyoming (Auckland et al. 2004), July at high elevation in northern California (Shapiro 1977), early May to mid-September in Oregon and Washington (Pyle 2002; Warren 2005), late May to early August in British Columbia (Guppy and Shepard 2001).
Diagnostic Characteristics
Best determined by a combination of solid black antennae, uppersurface of forewing with strong black border, milky to smoky white (translucent especially at forewing margins), black bar within forewing cell rectangular and crossing entire cell; hindwing with two round reddish spots (none on forewing). Undersurface similar to uppersurface.
Species Range
Montana Range
Range Descriptions
Native
Range Comments
Southern British Columbia east to Alberta, western Montana, western Wyoming, south to central California, southern Idaho, central Utah (Opler and Wright 1999; Glassberg 2001; Guppy and Shepard 2001); to at least 2743 m elevation in northern California (Shapiro 1977), sea level to 2134 m elevation in Washington and Oregon (Pyle 2002), 549 m to 2438 m elevation in Oregon (Warren 2005). In Montana, reported from at least 17 counties in western Montana, east to Carbon County (Kohler 1978, 1980; Stanford and Opler 1993; FLMNH Lepidopterists' Society database), to at least 2641 m elevation. Common to abundant (Glassberg 2001).
Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 10
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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. Average straight-line distance traveled/day about 200 m (Auckland et al. 2004).
Habitat
Forest meadows and openings, roadsides, riparian canyons, subalpine edges and chutes, above treeline in alpine terrain (Shapiro 1977; Ferris and Brown 1981; Scott 1986; Opler and Wright 1999; Glassberg 2001; Pyle 2002). In Glacier National Park, Montana reported from above treeline in alpine terrain (Debinski 1993); in Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, reported from dry montane meadows (Debinski and Pritchard 2002; Debinski et al. 2013).
Food Habits
Larval food plants include multiple species of Dicentra, possibly Corydalis (McCorkle and Hammond 1985; Scott 1986; Guppy and Shepard 2002; Pyle 2002; Warren 2005; James and Nunnallee 2011). Adults feed on flower nectar, including Achillea, Anaphalis, Apocynum, Caltha, Calyptridium, Epilobium, Eriogonum, Leontodon, Lilium, Montia, Parnassia, Rubus, Sencio, Symphyotrichum, and Trifolium (Pyle 2002; Auckland et al. 2004; Scott 2014).
Reproductive Characteristics
Females lay eggs singly, scattered haphazardly on and near host plant (McCorkle and Hammond 1985; Scott 1986; Guppy and Shepard 2001; James and Nunnallee 2011). Eggs contain fully developed larvae about 30 days after laying, eggs overwinter for several months, possibly overwinter as L1 or L2 instar or pupae (Scott 1979, 1986; McCorkle and Hammond 1985; Guppy and Shepard 2001; James and Nunnallee 2011). Eggs hatch in 1-4 days once exposed to warmer (spring) temperatures, develop from L1 instar to L5 instar and pupae 18-19 days. Larvae nocturnal (rest on curled leaves on ground during day), feed on host plant leaves, build no nest. Pupate in light silken cocoon near base of host plant but above ground (James and Nunnallee 2011). Males patrol throughout day near host plants on hillsides and in meadows in search of females, which they overpower in midair and force to the ground for mating (Scott 1975; McCorkle and Hammond 1985; James and Nunnallee 2011).
Stewardship Responsibility
References
- Literature Cited AboveLegend:
View Online Publication
Auckland, J.N., D.M. Debinski, and W.R. Clark. 2004. Survival, movement, and resource use of the butterfly Parnassius clodius. Ecological Entomology 29(2): 139-149.- 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.
- Debinski, D.M. and J.A. Pritchard. 2002. A field guide to the butterflies of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Lanham, MD: Roberts Rinehart Publishers. 107 p.
- Debinski, D.M., J.C. Caruthers, D. Cook, J. Crowley, and H. Wickham. 2013. Gradient-based habitat affinities predict species vulnerability to drought. Ecology 94(5): 1036-1045.
- 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. 1978. Oeneis alberta (Satyridae) in Montana. Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 32: 57-58
- Kohler, S. 1980. Checklist of Montana Butterflies (Rhopalocera). Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 34(1): 1-19.
- McCorkle, D.V. and P.C. Hammond. 1985. Observations on the biology of Parnassius clodius (Papilionidae) in the Pacific Northwest. Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 39(3): 156-162.
- 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. 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.
- Shapiro, A.M. 1977. The alpine butterflies of Castle Peak, Nevada County, California. Great Basin Naturalist 37(4): 443-452.
- 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.
- 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. 1991. Inventory and monitoring of biodiversity: an assessment of methods and a case study of Glacier National Park, MT. Ph.D. Dissertation. Montana State University, Bozeman. 205 p.
- 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
- Kohler, S. 1978. Types of Parnassius clodius gallatinus (Papilionidae). Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 32:1-2.
- 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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