Dakota skipper | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Hesperiidae |
Genus: | Hesperia |
Species: | H. dacotae |
Binomial name | |
Hesperia dacotae | |
Hesperia dacotae, the Dakota skipper, is a small to medium-sized North American butterfly. It has a wingspan of approximately one inch and the antennae form a hook. The male's wings are a tawny-orange to brown on the forewings with a prominent mark and dusty yellow on the lower part of the wing. The female wing is a darker brown orange and white spots on the forewing margin.
The adult Dakota skippers are active for only three weeks in June and July which is their total lifespan. Their eggs, which are laid on the underside of leaves, are hatched in July and the caterpillar larvae feed on native grass until they go dormant in late summer. The caterpillar larvae then winter in shelters very close to the ground. In spring they come out of dormancy in their adult form. They are found in healthy natural tall grass and prairie grass from Minnesota to Saskatchewan. They are now considered extirpated from Illinois and Iowa. The largest most stable population is now found in North Dakota.
The Dakota skipper has experienced declining populations from destruction and modification of native prairie for grazing, herbicide use and building. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service placed the Dakota skipper on the Candidate list for protections under the Endangered Species Act from 1975 to 2014, [3] and it has been petitioned twice for protection under the Endangered Species Act in 1994 and 2003. [4] The Dakota skipper was awarded Threatened status under the Endangered Species Act in 2014. [5]
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 ausonides, the large marble or creamy marblewing, is a species of butterfly that occurs in western North America. 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. 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 was listed as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act in 2020.
The arroyo toad is a species of true toads in the family Bufonidae, endemic to California, U.S. and Baja California state, Mexico. It is currently classified as an Endangered species on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species because of habitat destruction. The arroyo toad is at the intersection of ecological significance and conservation concern.
Sprague's pipit is a small songbird (passerine) in the family Motacillidae that breeds in the short- and mixed-grass prairies of North America. Migratory, it spends the winters in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Sprague's pipits are unusual among songbirds in that they sing high in the sky, somewhat like a goldfinch or skylark. It is more often identified by its distinctive descending song heard from above than by being seen on the ground. Males and females are cryptically coloured and similar in appearance; they are a buffy brown with darker streaking, slender bills and pinkish to yellow legs. Sprague's pipit summer habitat is primarily native grasslands in the north central prairies of the United States and Canada. The species was named after the botanical illustrator Isaac Sprague.
The Utah prairie dog is the smallest species of prairie dog endemic to the south-central steppes of the American state of Utah.
Fender's blue butterfly is a subspecies of Boisduval's blue endemic to the Willamette Valley of northwestern Oregon, United States. The potential range of the butterfly extends from south and west of Portland, OR to south of Eugene, OR. The butterfly is host-specific on the Kincaid's lupine, which it relies on for reproduction and growth. The male and female can be identified by their difference in wing color. The Fender's Blue Butterfly was added to the endangered species list in January 2000, but as of February of 2023, has been reclassified as "threatened". The Fender's blue butterfly population has increased over the past 20 years and projected to increase more through conservation efforts. In Willamette Valley, Oregon, there are currently 90 sites filled with Fender's blue.
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.
The Chipola slabshell is a part of the phylum Mollusca and the class Bivalvia. This species has suffered a large decrease with upwards of 75% of habitat lost. It is now confined to only a few remnant sites in small drainages within the Chipola River. The federal Endangered Species Act protects it as a designated threatened species by Florida's Endangered and Threatened Species Rule.
The callippe silverspot butterfly is a federal endangered subspecies in the brush-footed butterfly family Nymphalidae. This is a subspecies. It is a member of the Heliconiinae, the subfamily known as longwings. The adult has a wingspan of just over two inches. The wings are eyecatching with a brown, tan, and black scalloped pattern on their surfaces and orange-brown with characteristic silver spots on the undersides. The wings and abdomen are hairy. The larvae are spiny, dark-colored caterpillars.
Apodemia mormo langei, the Lange's metalmark butterfly, is an endangered North American butterfly. It is a subspecies of the Mormon metalmark and belongs to the family Riodinidae. The butterfly is endemic to California, where it is known from one strip of riverbank in the San Francisco Bay Area. A 2008 count estimated the total remaining population at 131 individuals. Since 2011, this number has dropped to about 25–30.
Myrtle's silverspot is a medium-sized butterfly in the brush foot family (Nymphalidae), an endangered subspecies of the zerene fritillary. It is endemic to California, where it is known from only about four locations just north of the San Francisco Bay Area, including two at Point Reyes National Seashore. Its wingspan is approximately 2.2 inches (56 mm). The upper surfaces of the wings are golden brown with numerous black spots and lines. The undersides are brown, orange and tan with black lines and silver and black spots. Larvae are dark colored with many sharp branching spines on their backs. Myrtle's silverspot is larger and paler than the closely related Behrens' silverspot, which is now limited to the vicinity of Point Arena in Mendocino County. Myrtle's silverspot is also closely related to the Oregon silverspot.
The Zayante band-winged grasshopper is a species of insect in the family Acrididae. It is endemic to a small portion of the Santa Cruz Mountains in California.
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.
Papilio aristodemus, the Schaus' swallowtail or island swallowtail, is a species of American butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It is found in southern Florida in the United States and throughout the West Indies. It is named in honor of William Schaus.
The Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve is located in southeastern Manitoba near Gardenton and Vita, this is about 50 kilometres (31 mi) south of Steinbach, Manitoba. It is one of the last remaining stands of tallgrass prairie in Manitoba and is part of the Tallgrass Aspen Parkland conservation area in Manitoba and Minnesota. Several groups and organizations help in land preservation in the Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie such as the Nature Conservancy of Canada, Nature Manitoba, Environment Canada, Manitoba Conservation and the Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corporation.
The crystal skipper is a species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae that is found only along a 30-mile (50 km) stretch of barrier islands in North Carolina. The skipper was first discovered in 1978 and the paper describing it as a full species was published in 2015.
Hesperia ottoe, the Ottoe skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae.
Hesperia pahaska, the Pahaska skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae.
Oarisma poweshiek, the Poweshiek skipperling, is a North American butterfly in the family Hesperiidae (skippers), subfamily Hesperiinae. The range of this species in Canada is restricted to southeastern Manitoba, and in the United States it historically ranged from the Dakotas to the southern Lower Peninsula of Michigan.
Carterocephalus palaemon, the chequered skipper or arctic skipper, not to be confused with the large chequered skipper, is a species of woodland butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. This butterfly can live in grasslands. The upperside of the butterfly is brown with orange spots and on its underside the chequered skipper is orange with brown spots. Chequered skippers are found in Great Britain and other European regions, but seen locally in Japan and in North America. The size of the chequered skipper ranges from 19 to 32 mm with females being larger. In the 1970s, the chequered skipper went extinct in England due to the new management of the woodlands.