North American Butterflies and Moths List

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Butterflies of North America

Uhler's Arctic (Oeneis uhleri)
JPG -- species photo

Uhler's Arctic (Oeneis uhleri [Reakirt])

Wing span: 1 1/2 - 2 3/16 inches (3.8 - 5.6 cm).

Identification: Upperside is dull orange-brown with dark veins. Underside of hindwing has a dark basal half, a lighter outer half. Both wings have one-to-many small submarginal spots.

Life history: To find females, males perch and occasionally patrol below ridge crests in bunch-grass habitat. Females lay eggs singly on grasses and sedges. Fourth-stage caterpillars hibernate, emerge in the spring to feed again, and pupate just under the soil.

Flight: One brood from early June to early July.

Caterpillar hosts: Grasses and sedges.

Adult food: Not reported.

Habitat: Slopes in dry, open bunchgrass habitats; tundra; openings in pine forest.

Range: Northeast Alaska, Yukon and western Northwest territories. Central Alberta south through the Rocky Mountains to northern New Mexico; east through the Canadian prairie provinces to western Minnesota.

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

Uhler's Arctic (Oeneis uhleri)
distribution map
map legend

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