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

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

Northern Metalmark (Calephelis borealis)
distribution map
map legend

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