North American Butterflies and Moths List

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Butterflies of North America

Butterflies of Pennsylvania

Northern Metalmark (Calephelis borealis)
JPG -- species photo

Northern Metalmark (Calephelis borealis [Grote & Robinson])

Wing span: 1 1/8 - 1 1/4 inches (2.9 - 3.2 cm).

Identification: Male forewing rounded. Upperside of both wings brown with wide orange borders and dark median band.

Life history: Adults may rest upside down beneath leaves. Males perch on leaves to seek females. Eggs are laid on the underside of host plant leaves, which the caterpillars eat. Half-grown caterpillars hibernate in leaf litter.

Flight: One brood from mid-June to late July.

Caterpillar hosts: Roundleaf ragwort (Senecio obovatus); possibly golden ragwort (Senecio aureus) and common fleabane (Erigeron philadelphicus).

Adult food: Nectar from flowers including butterflyweed, white sweet clover, goldenrod, ox-eye daisy, sneezeweed, and yarrow.

Habitat: Open woodland streams near serpentine, shale, or limestone barrens.

Range: Western Connecticut south through west-central Pennsylvania; central Appalachians and Ohio River Valley. Isolated populations in southwest Missouri and eastern Oklahoma.

Conservation: Most populations are small and isolated. Almost all populations should be of concern.

The Nature Conservancy Global Rank: G3 - Very rare or local throughout its range or found locally in a restricted range (21 to 100 occurrences). (Threatened throughout its range).

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.

Author: Jane M. Struttmann

State and Regional References:


Glassberg,  J.  1993.  Butterflies Through Binoculars: A Field Guide to 

     Butterflies in the Boston-New York-Washington Region.  Oxford Univ. Press, 

     New York, N.Y.  160 pp.



Layberry, R.A., Hall, P.W. & Lafontaine, D.J., 1998.  The Butterflies of 

     Canada.  University of Toronto Press, Toronto, ON.  280 pp. 

     

Opler, P.A. 1998. A field guide to eastern butterflies, revised format.

     Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.     



Shapiro, A.M. 1966.  Butterflies of the Delaware Valley.  American Entomological

     Society Special Publication.  Philadelphia, PA.  79 pp. 



Tietz, H.M.  1952.  The Lepidoptera of Pennsylvania.  The Pennsylvania State 

     College School of Agriculture Agricultural Experiment Station.  State 

     College, PA.  194 pp.



Wright, D.M.  1995,  Atlas of Pennsylvania Butterflies. Special Private 

     Publication, Lansdale, PA.  22 pp.

Northern Metalmark (Calephelis borealis)
distribution map
map legend

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