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Astarte Fritillary - Boloria astarte
General Description
[From Ferris and Brown 1981, Scott 1986, Glassberg 2001, Guppy and Shepard 2001] Considered by some authors a subspecies of B. tritonia. Forewing 2.3-2.5 cm; large. The orange-brown color bright, the markings clearly defined. Ventral hindwing with alternating black-edged bands of rusty and white or cream, a uniform postmedian band of whitish crescents and a series of black dots just beyond it, ventral hindwing base with only three white spots.
Phenology
One flight: adults July to August, mostly in even-numbered years in Washington, every year in Alberta; July to mid-August in Alberta, late June to July in the Arctic (Scott 1986, Glassberg 2001).
Diagnostic Characteristics
Identified by combination of large size, ventral hindwing with alternating black-edged bands of rusty and white or cream, and a uniform postmedian band of whitish crescents and a series of black dots just beyond it, the ventral hindwing bases with only three white spots.
Species Range
Montana Range
Range Descriptions
Native
Range Comments
Alaska and Yukon Territory south in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia and Alberta to northern Montana (Glacier National Park), to the Cascades and Okanogan Highlands in extreme northern Washington (Scott 1986, Pyle 2002). In Montana, reported only from Flathead and Glacier counties (Kohler 1980, Standford and Opler 1993). Rare to locally uncommon (Glassberg 2001).
Migration
Non-migratory.
Habitat
Rocky wind-swept ridges, slides, steep scree slopes above treeline in alpine terrain, exceeding 2300 m elevation (Ferris and Brown 1981, James and Nunnallee 2011). Above treeline in alpine terrain in Glacier National Park (Debinski 1993).
Food Habits
Larvae feed on Saxifraga, particularly S. bronchialis. Adults feed on flower nectar, Arnica and Dryas particularly favored (Scott 1986, Pyle 2002, James and Nunnallee 2011).
Reproductive Characteristics
Egg-laying occurs for about 1 week in mid-late July, eggs laid on or near host plant (Saxifraga bronchialis), near the ground on on underside of leaves. Most eggs hatch in 8 days. Larvae are biennial, overwintering twice, the first winter as first instar L1 larvae, the second winter as L4 larvae. Captive-reared larvae develop through L4 in about 28 days. L5 larvae pupated after another 20 days, adults eclosed (emerged) 12 days later (Scott 1986, Pyle 2002, James and Nunnallee 2011). Males patrol all day near the ground, on south-facing scree slopes (usually near host plant) and near leeward edges of ridgetops and hilltops, in search of females.
Management
Populations in the contiguous United States are very limited and all should be conserved.
Stewardship Responsibility
Threats or Limiting Factors
None reported
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.
- 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. 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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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