North American Butterflies and Moths List

The definitive website on wildbirds & nature




The Registry of Nature Habitats

U.S. Geological Survey


Butterflies of North America

Butterflies of Oregon

California Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis californica)
JPG -- species photo


California Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis californica [Boisduval])

Wing span: 1 1/4 - 2 3/4 inches (3.2 - 7 cm).

Identification: Upperside is orange-brown with large black spots and dark wing borders. Underside looks like a dead leaf and is dark mottled brown with darker wing bases; hindwing does not have a centered silver spot.

Life history: Males perch in the late afternoon to look for females. Eggs are laid in bunches on the host plant; caterpillars eat leaves and feed together when young. Adults hibernate.

Flight: One brood: Adults emerge in June and fly until fall, then overwinter. They fly the following spring until April or May, mating and laying eggs for the next brood.

Caterpillar hosts: Various species of wild lilac (Ceanothus).

Adult food: Flower nectar.

Habitat: Chaparral, woodland, brush areas, forest clearings and edges.

Range: British Columbia south along the Pacific Coast to Baja California Norte, east to Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. Rare migrants to Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, and Vermont after periodic population explosions in Mexico.

Conservation: Not usually required.

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

Management needs: None reported.

References:

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:

Dornfeld, E. J. 1980. The Butterflies of Oregon. Forest Grove, 	Ore., Timber 
     Press.

Hinchliff, J. 1994. An atlas of Oregon Butterflies. Oregon State University
     Bookstore, Corvallis.

Hinchliff, J. 1994. The distribution of the butterflies of Oregon. Evergreen 
     Aurelians. Oregon State University Bookstore, Corvallis, 176 pp. + map. 

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.
California Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis californica)
distribution map
map legend

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