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Desert Marble (Euchloe lotta Beutenmueller)
Wing span: 1 1/4 - 1 3/4 inches (3.2 - 4.5 cm).
Identification: Upperside of forewing with cell bar very close to edge of wing. Cell bar usually wide and devoid of white scales, but may be narrow in some populations. Underside pearly white; hindwing with dark green marbling.
Life history: Males patrol on hilltops or ridges for receptive females. Eggs are laid singly on host plant leaves, flowers, or fruits. Flowers and fruits are the preferred food of the caterpillars. Chrysalids hibernate.
Flight: One flight from March-June.
Caterpillar hosts: Plants in the mustard (Brassicaceae) family including rock cress (Arabis), peppergrass (Lepidium), and tansy-mustard (Descurainia).
Adult food: Flower nectar including that of hosts and others such as phloxes.
Habitat: Deserts, rocky canyons, hills, ridges, open pinyon-juniper woodlands.
Range: Interior of south British Columbia east of Cascades and Sierra Nevada south to southern California, east to Colorado and New Mexico.
Conservation: None reported.
Management needs: Manage habitat with host plants.
The Nature Conservancy Global Rank: G5, globally secure.
References:
Bailowitz, R. A., and J. P. Brock. 1991. Butterflies of southeastern Arizona.
Sonoran Arthropod Studies, Inc., Tucson, Arizona. 342 pages.
Emmel, T.C. and J.F. Emmel. 1973. The butterflies of southern California.
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles. 148 pages.
Ferris, C.D. and F.M. Brown. 1981. Butterflies of the Rocky Mountain States.
University of Oklahoma Press, Norman. 442 pages.
Garth, J.S. and J.W. Tilden. 1986.California Butterflies. University of California
Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles. 246 pp, 24 plates.
Layberry, R.A., P.W. Hall, and J.D. Lafontaine. 1998. The Butterflies of Canada.
University of Toronto Press, Toronto. 282 pages, 32 color plates.
Opler, P. A. 1968. Studies on nearctic Euchloe. Part 5. Distribution. Journal
of Research on the Lepidoptera 7(2): 65-86.
Opler, P. A. 1969 (1970). Studies on nearctic Euchloe. Part 6. Systematic of
adults. Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 8(4): 153-168.
Opler, P. A. 1974. Studies on nearctic Euchloe. Part 7. Comparative life
histories, hosts, and the morphology of immature stages. Journal of
Research on the Lepidoptera 13(1): 1-20.
Opler, P.A. 1999. A field guide to western butterflies. Houghton-Mifflin Co.,
Boston, Mass. 540 pages, 44 color plates.
Scott, J. A. 1986. The butterflies of North America. Stanford University
Press, Stanford, Calif. 583 pages, 64 color plates.
Author: Paul A. Opler
State and Regional References:
Brown, J.W., Real, H.G., and D.K. Faulkner. 1992. Butterflies of Baja
California. Lepidoptera Research Foundation, Beverly Hills, Calif.
Comstock, J.A. 1927. Butterflies of California. Privately published, Los
Angeles, Calif. [Facsimile available from Entomological Reprint
Specialists, Los Angeles, Calif.]
Dameron, W. 1997. Searching for butterflies in southern California.
Flutterby Press, Los Angeles, Calif.
Emmel, T.C. Editor. 1998. Systematics of western North American butterflies.
Mariposa Press, Gainesville, Florida.
Emmel, T. C. and J. F. Emmel. 1973. The Butterflies of Southern California.
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Science Series No. 26.
Garth, J.S. and J.W. Tilden. 1986. California Butterflies. California Natural
History Guide 51. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los
Angeles.
Langston, R.L. 1981. The Rhopalocera of Santa Cruz Island, California. Journal
of Research on the Lepidoptera 18: 24-35.
Miller, Scott E. 1985. Butterflies of the Califorenia Channel Islands. Journal
of the Research on the Lepidoptera 23: 282-296.
Opler, Paul A. 1999. Peterson Field Guide to Western Butterflies, revised
edition. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass.
Orsak, L.J. 1977. The Butterflies of Orange County, California. Museum of
Systematic Biology, University of california, Irvine.
Stanford, R.E. and P.A. Opler. 1993. Atlas of Western USA Butterflies.
Privately published, Denver, Colo.
Steiner, J. 1990. Bay Area Butterflies: The Distribution and Natural History
of San Francisco Region Rhopalocera. Hayward, Calif.: Hayward State
University, Masters Thesis.
Tilden, J.W. and A.C. Smith. 1986. A Field Guide to Western Butterflies.
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass.
Tilden, J.W. 1965. Butterflies of the San Francisco Bay Region. California
Natural History Guide 12. University of California Press, Berkeley and
Los Angeles.
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