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Garita Skipperling - Oarisma garita
General Description
[From Ferris and Brown 1981; Scott 1986; Layberry et al. 1998; Opler and Wright 1999; Glassberg 2001; Pyle 2002] Forewing 1.1-1.3 cm. Small, wing fringes white. Uppersurface without markings, varies from black to orange, veins often darker than background, forewing with white costal margin; undersurface without markings, forewing largely orange with blackish trailing edge, hindwing light brown with whitish veins, anal fold bright tawny.
Phenology
One flight, mostly mid-June through July, June to mid-July at low elevation (Scott 1986). June to mid-August (Glassberg 2001). Mid-June to mid-July in Canada (Layberry et al. 1998). June and July in the Rocky Mountain states (Ferris and Brown 1981). Early June to early August in Colorado (Emmel 1964; Scott and Scott 1978; Scott and Epstein 1987), mid-June to early July in western Nebraska and North Dakota (Johnson and Nixon 1967; McCabe and Post 1976), early June to early August in Oregon and Washington (Pyle 2002), mid-June to mid-July in Oregon (Warren 2005), mid-June to mid-July in British Columbia (Guppy and Shepard 2001).
Diagnostic Characteristics
Best determined by a combination of small size, white wing fringes, uppersurface dark to orange with darker veins; undersurface of forewing largely orange with blackish trailing edge, hindwing light brown with whitish veins.
Species Range
Montana Range
Range Descriptions
Native
Range Comments
Northeastern and southeastern British Columbia east to central Ontario, south through eastern Washington, northeastern Oregon, the Rocky Mountain region to southeastern Arizona, southern New Mexico, northern Mexico (Scott 1986; Layberry et al. 1998; Opler and Wright 1999; Glassberg 2001; Guppy and Shepard 2001); Up to 3048 m elevation in the Rocky Mountain states (Ferris and Brown 1981), 1676 m to 3200 m elevation in Colorado (Brown 1957; Scott and Scott 1978), to at least 915 m elevation in Oregon (Warren 2005). In Montana, reported throughout the state from at least 45 counties (Kohler 1980; Stanford and Opler 1993; FLMNH Lepidopterists' Society database), to at least 2000 m elevation. Common (Glassberg 2001).
Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 15
(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
Short-grass and mixed-grass prairie, moist prairie, streamsides, open woodlands, montane meadows, limestone openings, fields, mowed lawns, roadsides, moist pasture, weedy marshes (Emmel 1964; Scott 1986; Layberry et al. 1998; Opler and Wright 1999; Glassberg 2001; Pyle 2002; Warren 2005). Habitat in Montana not described but probably similar.
Food Habits
Larval food plants are grasses and sedges, including Agropyron (multiple species), Agrostis, Bouteloua, Bromus, Carex (multiple species), Elymus, Koeleria, Muhlenbergia (multiple species), Poa (multiple species), and Stipa (Scott 1986, 1992, 2006); also Cynodon, Lolium, and Setaria in captivity (James and Nunnallee 2011). Adults feed on flower nectar (including Achillea, Allium, Apocynum, Arnica, Asclepias, Astragalus, Calochortus, Campanula, Carduus, Ceanothus, Cerastium, Cirsium, Cleome, Convolvulus, Coreopsis, Crepis, Erigeron, Eriogonum, Gaillardia, Geranium, Hedysarum, Heterotheca, Lappula, Linum, Lupinus, Medicago, Melilotus, Oxytropis, Penstemon, Potentilla, Rudbeckia, Sedum, Senecio, Sisymbrium, Symphoricarpos, Symphyotrichum, Tetradymia, Townsendia, Trifolium, Vicia) and mud (Scott 2014).
Reproductive Characteristics
Females lay eggs singly on host plant leaves (undersurface) or stems, nearby vegetation, inert surfaces (Scott 1986, 1992, 2006; James and Nunnallee 2011). Eggs hatch after 7-9 days (depending on temperature), develop from L1 instar to L4 instar in about 43-50 days, L4 instar hibernates (overwinters), becomes active in spring and pupates, adults eclose (emerge from pupae) in about 7 days. Larvae feed openly on host plant leaves, build no nest, pupate on host plant stems and leaves (Scott 1979, 1986, 1992; James and Nunnallee 2011). Males patrol throughout the day low over short grass or through taller grass in meadows, valley bottoms, hillsides while searching for females (Scott 1975b, 1986; Warren 2005; James and Nunnallee 2011).
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.- Emmel, T.C. 1964. The ecology and distribution of butterflies in a montane community near Florissant, Colorado. American Midland Naturalist 72(2): 358-373.
- 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.
- Johnson, K. and E. S. Nixon. 1967. The Rhopalocera of northwestern Nebraska. American Midland Naturalist 78:508-528.
- Kohler, S. 1980. Checklist of Montana Butterflies (Rhopalocera). Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 34(1): 1-19.
- Layberry, R.A., P.W. Hall, and J.D. LaFontaine. 1998. The Butterflies of Canada. University of Toronto Press. 280 pp. + color plates.
- McCabe, T.L. and R.L. Post. 1976. North Dakota butterfly calendar (including possible strays). Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 15:93-99.
- 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. 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.
- Scott, J.A. and M.E. Epstein. 1987. Factors affecting phenology in a temperate insect community. American Midland Naturalist 117(1): 103-118.
- 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., 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
- Hendricks, P. and M. Roedel. 2001. A faunal survey of the Centennial Valley Sandhills, Beaverhead County, Montana. Report to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Montana Natural Heritage Program, Helena, MT. 44 p.
- Wiman, N.G. 2001. Dynamics of leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula L.) infested plant communities influenced by flea beetles in the Aphthona complex (Colepotera: Chrysomelidae). M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 148 p.
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