Large marble | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Pieridae |
Genus: | Euchloe |
Species: | E. ausonides |
Binomial name | |
Euchloe ausonides (Lucas, 1852) | |
Subspecies | |
Five, see text |
Euchloe ausonides, the large marble [1] or creamy marblewing, [2] is a species of butterfly that occurs in western North America. [1] It lays eggs on the terminal flower buds of a variety of plants in the mustard family, including introduced Eurasian species, and the larvae feed on the buds, flowers and fruit of these plants. [3] In California, it has witnessed population declines since the 1980s, especially in the Central Valley and the Bay Area. In Washington, subspecies the island marble butterfly (Euchloe ausonides ssp. insulanus) was listed as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act in 2020. [4]
The caterpillar is a dark green to a bluish gray color that is covered in black dots. [2] It is marked with yellow and white stripes lengthwise along its back and sides. [2] The size of the caterpillar reaches a length of 3/4 in. [2]
The large marble is a medium-sized butterfly. It has white scales that are scattered in the forewing and a black pattern on the tip of the forewing. [1] There is compact green marbling on the underside of the hindwing. [1] The wingspan of this butterfly can go from 3.8 - 5.1 cm. [1]
Females of E. ausonides are able to move at greater distances and speeds than males. [5]
Euchloe ausonides can be found in the west of North America. They can range from the south of Alaska to central California and northern New Mexico. [1] The island marble subspecies is nonmigratory. [6]
Euchloe ausonides tend to live in open, sunny areas such as valleys, hillsides, fields and meadows. [1] They often fly low next to streams and trails. [7] A requirement of the marble butterfly's habitat is a “host” plant. This provides a place for the butterfly to lay its eggs, and provides food for the growing caterpillars. [8] The subspecies, the island marble, is home to the San Juan Islands. Host plants, including the field mustard (Brassica rapa), are quite common in the San Juan Islands. [8] Additional host plants that are important to the marble butterflies are tall tumble mustard (Sisymbrium altissimum) and tall peppergrass (Lepidium virginicum).
The larva eats only on buds, flowers, and fruits. [3] Adult large marbles like to drink nectar from the flowers of the mustard family and other plants. [1]
Males will fly, or patrol, about 1 meter above the ground looking for females. The males will draw near white paper models, other light butterflies and other Euchloe individuals within about 20 cm. [9] They will either turn away and continue flight, or hover in courtship. [9] Both the males and females fly at a rapid rate of about 5 meters per second and will often travel 100 meters or more without resting. [9] If a flying male encounters a flying female, they will first hover near each other with the male behind. [9] The female will then land, and the male lands behind her and bends his abdomen to clasp hers. [9] If the weather permits, mating can occur all throughout the day.
In the late spring, adult butterflies will appear from their chrysalis and will fly free for about 7–9 days. [8] Within this time, they will feed on nectar plants, find a mate, fertilize their eggs, and finally lay their eggs on host plants. [8] Euchloe ausonides' eggs are laid on terminal flower buds. [3] After about 10–12 days, their eggs will hatch and a caterpillar is born. The caterpillars will eat the host plants. [8]
Its subspecies, Euchloe ausonides insulanus, or the island marble, is an endangered species. Because of its rarity and fragility, this butterfly officially listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as of May 4, 2020. [8] It was once thought to be extinct, but it has been rediscovered on San Juan Island in Washington. [10]
There have been multiple organizations putting in efforts to try and conserve the island marble for many years. Organizations such as US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the San Juan Preservation Trust, The National Park Service, and even a host of private landowners, schools, and concerned citizens have taken a stand to help conserve these endangered butterflies. [8]
To help local landowners understand and distinguish island marble butterflies, USFWS and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife worked together to develop information in order to provide voluntary guidelines for producing and managing island marble habitat. [11]
Although the island marble has been listed and is now protected under the Endangered Species Act, the rare butterfly still faces many threats. Currently, grazing by deer is a big problem for the endangered species. [12] The mustard plants that the island marble use for larval food and nectar are being eaten by the deer. [12] This may reduce the number of host plants that are suitable for the butterflies to lay their eggs on. Along with this, the deer inadvertently eat the caterpillars, eggs, and pupae. [12] In addition to the deer, there are also threats from non-native grazers introduced by people, including invasive European rabbits and snails, which also eat much of the native vegetation. [12] There have been a few actions that have taken place to deal with this problem.
Papilio glaucus, the eastern tiger swallowtail, is a species of butterfly native to eastern North America. It is one of the most familiar butterflies in the eastern United States, ranging north to southern Ontario, Canada, and is common in many different habitats. It flies from spring until fall, during which it produces two to three broods. Adults feed on the nectar of many species of flowers, mostly from those of the families Apocynaceae, Asteraceae, and Fabaceae. P. glaucus has a wingspan measuring 7.9 to 14 cm. The male is yellow with four black "tiger stripes" on each forewing. Females may be either yellow or black, making them dimorphic. The yellow morph is similar to the male, but with a conspicuous band of blue spots along the hindwing, while the dark morph is almost completely black.
Pieris rapae is a small- to medium-sized butterfly species of the whites-and-yellows family Pieridae. It is known in Europe as the small white, in North America as the cabbage white or cabbage butterfly, on several continents as the small cabbage white, and in New Zealand as the white butterfly. The butterfly is recognizable by its white color with small black dots on its wings, and it can be distinguished from P. brassicae by its larger size and the black band at the tip of its forewings.
Pieris brassicae, the large white, also called cabbage butterfly, cabbage white, cabbage moth (erroneously), or in India the large cabbage white, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is a close relative of the small white, Pieris rapae.
Anthocharis cardamines, the orange tip, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae, which contains about 1,100 species. A. cardamines is mainly found throughout Europe and temperate Asia (Palearctic) The males feature wings with a signature orange pigmentation, which is the origin of A. cardamines' common name.
Anthocharis midea, the falcate orangetip, is a North American butterfly that was described in 1809 by Jacob Hübner. It belongs to the family Pieridae, which is the white and sulphurs. These butterflies are mostly seen in the eastern United States, and in Texas and Oklahoma. They eat the nectar of violets and mustards. They tend to live in open, wet woods along waterways, in open swamps, and less often in dry woods and ridgetops. This species is a true springtime butterfly, being on the wing from April to May.
Anthocharis sara, the Sara Orangetip is one of three species in the Sara Orangetip complex. It is a California endemic butterfly with populations extending from Baja California into extreme southwest Oregon. The common name, Pacific Orangetip, is obsolete since its implied distribution includes two separate species.
Euchloe olympia, the Olympia marble, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. Its range is southern Canada and the Midwest, down into the southwestern United States. E. olympia is related to E. guaymasensis, but has a distinctive phenotype and genotype.
Eurytides marcellus, the zebra swallowtail, is a swallowtail butterfly native to the eastern United States and south-eastern Canada. It is the state butterfly of Tennessee. Its distinctive wing shape and long tails make it easy to identify, and its black-and-white-striped pattern is reminiscent of a zebra. The butterflies are closely associated with pawpaws, and are rarely found far from these trees. The green or black caterpillars feed on the leaves of various pawpaw species, while the adults feed on flower nectar and minerals from damp soil.
The white-letter hairstreak is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae.
The marsh fritillary is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. Commonly distributed in the Palearctic region, the marsh fritillary's common name derives from one of its several habitats, marshland. The prolonged larval stage lasts for approximately seven to eight months and includes a period of hibernation over the winter. The larvae are dependent on the host food plant Succisa pratensis not only for feeding but also for hibernation, because silken webs are formed on the host plant as the gregarious larvae enter hibernation. Females lay eggs in batches on the host plant and are, like other batch-layers, selective about the location of oviposition because offspring survivorship levels for batch-layers are more tied to location selection than they are for single-egg layers.
Euchloe ausonides insulanus, the island marble butterfly, is a subspecies of the Euchloe ausonides and is found in the San Juan Islands in Washington in the northwestern United States. The butterfly was thought to be extinct and was last observed on Gabriola Island, British Columbia in 1908. The species was rediscovered during a prairie butterfly survey in San Juan Island National Historical Park in 1998. After this rediscovery, surveys were conducted throughout the presumed range and found a few populations on San Juan Island and Lopez Island, but no remaining populations in Canada.
Euchloe ausonia, the eastern dappled white, is a southern European and Palearctic butterfly found mostly to the south and east of its almost indistinguishable relative the western dappled white.
The Mission blue is a blue or lycaenid butterfly subspecies native to the San Francisco Bay Area of the United States. The butterfly has been declared as endangered by the US federal government. It is a subspecies of Boisduval's blue.
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Erynnis persius, commonly known as Persius duskywing, is a species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae that occurs in North America. The eastern subspecies Erynnis persius persius is rarer and protected by law in some regions.
Edith's checkerspot is a species of butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is a resident species of western North America and among the subspecies, entomologists have long been intrigued by their many phenotypic variations in coloration, wing length, and overall body size. Most populations are monophagous and rely on plants including Plantago erecta and Orthocarpus densiflorus as their host species in developing from eggs through to larvae, pupae, and mature butterflies. Males exhibit polygyny whereas females rarely mate more than once. Males devote most of their attention to mate acquisition, and such mate locating strategies such as hilltopping behavior have developed. Climate change and habitat destruction have impacted certain subspecies. Three subspecies in particular, Euphydryas editha quino, Euphydryas editha bayensis and Euphydryas editha taylori, are currently under protection via the Endangered Species Act.
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Aphrissa statira, the statira sulphur, is a species of Lepidoptera in the family Pieridae. The species is a medium-sized yellow butterfly, with females more pale than males. They are found from southern regions of Florida and Texas through southern Brazil and northern Argentina. The caterpillars feed on the leaves of several local host plants, while adults prefer to feed on the nectar of red or orange colored flowers. The species is most noted for their dramatic migrations in the tropical areas of the Americas. They have been the subject of many studies about how butterflies navigate and orient during migration.
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