Summary ⁴

A relatively common spring and summer butterfly in many parts of Mt. Diablo State Park. Look for the stark contrast between the shiny copper-colored upper surface of the male's wings and the gray under surface.

Habitat ⁵

Comments: Chaparral grassslands, oak or oak-pine woodlands, and granitic sand slopes with its host plants, ERIOGONUM ELONGATUM and E. NUDUM (Garth and Tilden, 1963; Emmel and Pratt, 1998). Almost always found in terrain with topographic relief (Opler, 1999).

Cyclicity ⁶

Comments: Adults fly in a single flight from late March (southern California) to mid-July (Sierra Nevada foothills). Eggs are laid in axils of the inflorescence stems. Larvae develop in the eggs but do not hatch until late winter or spring. Larval feeding on host leaves takes place in the spring, followed by pupation in litter at the base of the host plant about 10 days before emergence of the adults.

North american ecology (us and canada) ⁷

Resident in western North America; Baja, California and southern Oregon (Scott 1986). Habitats are FOOTHILL WOODLAND AND CHAPARRAL. Hosts plants are herbaceous with known hosts a few species in genus Eriogonum (POLYGONACEAE). Eggs are laid singly on the folks of host plant stalks. Individuals overwinter as eggs. There is one flight each year with the approximate flight time MAY15-JUN15 (Scott 1986).

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Ken-ichi Ueda, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Ken-ichi Ueda
2. (c) David Hofmann, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/23326361@N04/3002208777
3. (c) J. Maughn, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by J. Maughn, http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmaughn/8810132952/
4. (c) Ken-ichi Ueda, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
5. Adapted by Ken-ichi Ueda from a work by (c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/14422146
6. Adapted by Ken-ichi Ueda from a work by (c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/14422148
7. Adapted by Ken-ichi Ueda from a work by (c) Leslie Ries, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/19605628

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• CUIC Insect Images
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants

Range Map

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