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Uhler's Arctic - Oeneis uhleri
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] Forewing 2.3-2.7 cm. Uppersurface dull orange-brown usually with 1 or more forewing submarginal eyespots, hindwing with several submarginal eyespots. Undersurface of both wings with more than 1 and usually many small submarginal black spots (some with white center), forewing lacks postmedian line and outward line projection, hindwing with black wavy striations on white or gray background.
Phenology
One flight; late May to early July and mostly alternate years (Scott 1986). Mid-May to mid-July) Glassberg 2001). June and July in British Columbia (Guppy and Shepard 2001).
Diagnostic Characteristics
Best determined by undersurface of both wings with small submarginal black eyespots, the hindwing usually with 4-5 submarginal spots.
Species Range
Montana Range
Range Descriptions
Native
Range Comments
Northeastern Alaska, Yukon and extreme Northwest Territories, southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, North Dakota, western South Dakota and Nebraska, in the Rocky Mountain states south to northern New Mexico (Ferris and Brown 1981; Scott 1986; Opler and Wright 1999; Glassberg 2001); to 3658 m elevation in Colorado but mostly below 3050 m (Brown 1957; Scott and Scott 1978; Ferris and Brown 1981). Relic populations in prairie pine forest of western Dakotas and Nebraska (Johnson 1975). In Montana, reported throughout most of the state except the extreme northwestern counties (Kohler 1980; Stanford and Opler 1993). Locally common in Colorado (Scott and Scott 1978).
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
Virgin dry prairie, slopes and hilltops, foothills, grassy openings in pine and subalpine woodlands, above treeline in alpine terrain (Scott 1986; Opler and Wright 1999; Glassberg 2001; Guppy and Shepard 2001). In Glacier National Park, Montana reported from above treeline in alpine terrain (Debinski 1993).
Food Habits
Limited information. Larval food plants likely include Festuca, Koeleria, and Poa, among other possibilities (eggs laid on each), possibly Carex (Scott 1986, 1992, 2006). Adults feed infrequently on flower nectar (including Eriogonum, Prunus, Senecio, Thermopsis) and mud (Scott 2014).
Reproductive Characteristics
Females lay eggs singly and haphazardly on dried grass blade, pine needles in forest litter. Number of eggs per ovariole (1/8 of total) about 30 (Ehrlich and Ehrlich 1978). Eggs hatch in about 20 days, larve hibernate (overwinter) in L3 or L4 instar, L2 and L5 also reported (perhaps second winter for older larvae), pupate in loose soil (Brown 1957; Scott 1979, 1992, 2006; Guppy and Shepard 2001). Males perch throughout the day on logs, low plants, slope crests, in clearings, in and near bunchgrass communities to await passage of females, sometimes patrol short distances (Masters and Sorensen 1969; 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.- 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.
- Ehrlich, A.H. and P.R. Ehrlich. 1978. Reproductive strategies in the butterflies: I. Mating frequency, plugging, and egg number. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 51(4): 666-697.
- 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.
- Masters, J.H. and J.T. Sorensen. 1969. Field observations on forest Oeneis (Satyridae). Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 23(3): 155-161.
- 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. 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. 2006. Butterfly hostplant records, 1992-2005, with a treatise on the evolution of Erynnis, and a note on new terminology for mate-locating behavior. Papilio new series #14. 74 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.
- 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
- Fultz, J.E. 2005. Effects of shelterwood management on flower-visiting insects and their floral resources. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 163 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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