 |
 
 |
|
|
|
Olympia Marble (Euchloe olympia [W. H. Edwards])
Wing span: 1 3/8 - 2 inches (3.5 - 5.1 cm).
Identification: Underside of hindwing with sparse marbling leaving much white space; pink tinge at upper margin in living butterlfies.
Life history: Males patrol on hilltops for females. Females lay single egg on flower bud of host plant; caterpillars eat flowers and fruits. Chrysalids hibernate.
Flight: One flight from April-July, early in Texas, later in the north.
Caterpillar hosts: Various rock cresses (Arabis species) in the mustard family (Brassicaceae).
Adult food: Flowers of rock cresses, chickweed, phlox, and houstonia.
Habitat: Various open areas including prairies, foothills, lakeshore dunes, shale barrens, meadows, open woodlands.
Range: Southern Canada, central Montana and Colorado, south to central Texas, east through Great Lake states. Isolated populations in Appalachians from Pennsylvania to Tennessee.
Conservation: Protect habitat of isolated populations.
Management needs: Conserve habitats with host plants and nectar sources.
The Nature Conservancy Global Rank: G4 - Apparently secure globally, though it might be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
References:
Clench, H. K. and P. A. Opler. 1983. Studies on nearctic Euchloe.
Part 8. Distribution, ecology, and variation of Euchloe olympia
(Pieridae) populations. Annals of Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, PA. Vol.
52, pages 41-54.
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:
Opler, Paul A. 1999. Peterson Field Guide to Western Butterflies, revised
edition. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass.
Stanford, R.E. and P.A. Opler. 1993. Atlas of Western USA Butterflies.
Privately published, Denver, Colo.
Tilden, J.W. and A.C. Smith. 1986. A Field Guide to Western Butterflies.
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass.
|
 1999 -
All Rights Reserved
| |