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Mohave Sootywing - Hesperopsis libya
General Description
[From Ferris and Brown 1981; Scott 1986; Opler and Wright 1999; Glassberg 2001; Pyle 2002] Forewing 1.4-1.5 cm. Margins uncheckered. Uppersurface brownish-black with a white submarginal bar on forewing apex; white submarginal band of male, white postmedian band of female, white cell spot of both sexes present or absent. Undersurface with gray forewing apex, gray hindwing with white spotting; male lack costal fold.
Phenology
One flight, July to early August in North Dakota and Montana; two flights June through August in Colorado; many flights, March through October in California (Scott 1986). June to early August in one flight areas, March through October in two flight areas (Glassberg 2001). June and July in most of Rocky Mountain states, April to October in Utah (Ferris and Brown 1981). Mid-July to early August in North Dakota (McCabe and Post 1976), early July to early August in Oregon (Pyle 2002; Warren 2005).
Diagnostic Characteristics
Best determined by a combination of dark brownish-black uppersurface, white submarginal bar on uppersurface of forewing apex, undersurface of hindwing grayish with large white spots.
Species Range
Montana Range
Range Descriptions
Native
Range Comments
Southeastern Oregon, southwestern Idaho, eastern Montana, western North Dakota south through Wyoming, western Colorado, intermountain western US and southern California to northwestern New Mexico and northern Mexico (Scott 1986; Opler and Wright 1999; Glassberg 2001); up to 1980 m elevation in the Rocky Mountain states and Intermountain West (Ferris and Brown 1981), to at least 1341 m elevation in Oregon (Warren 2005). In Montana, reported from nine eastern counties between Richland County in the north and Carter County in the south, west to Carbon County (Kohler 1980; Stanford and Opler 1993; FLMNH Lepidopterists' Society database, to at least 1326 m elevation. Rare to uncommon (Glassberg 2001).
Migration
Non-migratory.
Habitat
Alkali flats, saltbush concentrations, sagebrush desert, desert hills, shale barrens, watercourses, ravines (Ferris and Brown 1981; Scott 1986; Opler and Wright 1999; Glassberg 2001; Pyle 2002). Habitat in Montana not described but probably similar, and includes badlands (FLMNH Lepidopterists' Society database).
Food Habits
Limited information. Larval food plants are members of the Chenopodiaceae, particularly Atriplex canescens, proabaly Atriplex confertifolia, which is eaten in captivity (Ferris and Brown 1981; Scott 1986, 1992; Warren 2005). Adults feed on flower nectar, including Centaurea, Chrysothamnus, and Medicago (Warren 2005; Scott 2014).
Reproductive Characteristics
Limited information. Females lay eggs singly on uppersurface of host plant leaves. Larvae feed on host plant leaves, live in silk-tied leaf-tube nests (Scott 1986, 1992). Males patrol in morning and early afternoon in gullies around host plants in search of passing females (Scott 1975b, 1986).
Stewardship Responsibility
References
- Literature Cited AboveLegend:
View Online Publication
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.
- Kohler, S. 1980. Checklist of Montana Butterflies (Rhopalocera). Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 34(1): 1-19.
- 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. 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. 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.
- 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., 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
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