North American Butterflies and Moths List

The definitive website on wildbirds & nature

---

Butterflies of North America

Butterflies of California

Large Marble (Euchloe ausonides)

---

Large Marble (Euchloe ausonides [Lucas])

Wing span: 1 1/2 - 2 inches (3.8 - 5.1 cm).

Identification: Scattered white scales in forewing black bar. Black pattern on tip of upperside of forewing. Dense green marbling on underside of hindwing.

Life history: Males patrol valleys and hillsides for females. Eggs are laid singly on unopened flower buds; caterpillars eat flowers and fruits. Chrysalids hibernate.

Flight: One in the north, May-July; two in central California, February-April and May-August.

Caterpillar hosts: Plants of the mustard (Brassicaceae) family including rockcress (Arabis drummondi), dyer's woad (Isatis tinctoria), mustards (Brassica species), and hedge mustard (Sisymbrium species).

Adult food: Nectar from flowers of the mustard family and other plants such as fiddleneck (Amsinckia) and brodiaeas.

Habitat: Valleys, hillsides, fields, meadows, and other open sunny areas.

Range: Alaska south to central California and northern New Mexico, east to southwest Manitoba.

Conservation: Not usually required.

Management needs: None needed.

The Nature Conservancy Global Rank: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.

References:

Opler, P. A. 1968. Studies on nearctic Euchloe. Part 5.  Distribution. 
     Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 7(2):  65-86.

Opler, P. A. 1969 (1970). Studies on nearctic Euchloe. Part 6.  
     Systematic of adults. Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 8(4): 
     153-168.

Opler, P. A. 1974. Studies on nearctic Euchloe. Part 7.  Comparative 
     life histories, hosts, and the morphology of immature stages. Journal 
     of Research on the Lepidoptera  13(1): 1-20.

Opler, P. A. and G. O. Krizek. 1984. Butterflies east of the  Great Plains. 
     Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. 294 pages, 54 color plates.

Opler, P. A. and V. Malikul. 1992. A field guide to eastern  butterflies.  
     Peterson field guide #4. Houghton-Mifflin Co.,  Boston. 396 pages, 
     48 color plates.

Scott, J. A. 1986. The butterflies of North America. Stanford  University 
     Press, Stanford, Calif. 583 pages, 64 color plates.

Tilden, J. W. 1986. A field guide to western butterflies.  Houghton-Mifflin 
     Co., Boston, Mass. 370 pages, 23 color plates.

Author: Jane M. Struttmann

State and Regional References:

Brown, J.W., Real, H.G., and D.K. Faulkner. 1992. Butterflies of Baja 
     California. Lepidoptera Research Foundation, Beverly Hills, Calif.

Comstock, J.A. 1927. Butterflies of California. Privately published, Los 
     Angeles, Calif. [Facsimile available from 	Entomological Reprint 
     Specialists, Los Angeles, Calif.]

Dameron, W. 1997. Searching for butterflies in southern California.
     Flutterby Press, Los Angeles, Calif.

Emmel, T.C. Editor. 1998. Systematics of western North American butterflies.
     Mariposa Press, Gainesville, Florida.

Emmel, T. C. and J. F. Emmel. 1973. The Butterflies of Southern California. 
     Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Science Series No. 26.

Garth, J.S. and J.W. Tilden. 1986. California Butterflies.  California Natural
     History Guide 51. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los 
     Angeles.
     
Langston, R.L. 1981. The Rhopalocera of Santa Cruz Island, California. Journal
     of Research on the Lepidoptera 18: 24-35.     

Miller, Scott E. 1985. Butterflies of the Califorenia Channel Islands. Journal
     of the Research on the Lepidoptera 23: 282-296.     

Opler, Paul A. 1999. Peterson Field Guide to Western Butterflies, revised 
     edition. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass.

Orsak, L.J. 1977. The Butterflies of Orange County, California. Museum of 
     Systematic Biology, University of california, Irvine.

Stanford, R.E. and P.A. Opler. 1993. Atlas of Western USA Butterflies. 
     Privately published, Denver, Colo.

Steiner, J. 1990. Bay Area Butterflies: The Distribution and Natural History 
     of San Francisco Region Rhopalocera. Hayward, Calif.: Hayward State 
     University, Masters Thesis.

Tilden, J.W. and A.C. Smith. 1986. A Field Guide to Western Butterflies. 
     Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass.

Tilden, J.W. 1965. Butterflies of the San Francisco Bay Region. California 
     Natural History Guide 12. University of California Press, Berkeley and 
     Los Angeles.

Large Marble (Euchloe ausonides)

---

Disclaimer
Return to species list
Return to Butterflies of North America main page

---

---