Uncompahgre fritillary

Uncompahgre fritillary
Conservation status
	; Endangered (ESA)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Boloria
Species:	B. improba
Subspecies:	B. i. acrocnema
Trinomial name
	Boloria improba acrocnema; Gall & Sperling, 1980

Last updated August 10, 2024

The Uncompahgre fritillary butterfly (Boloria improba acrocnema) is a species of butterfly in the Order Lepidoptera: Family Nymphalidae that is endemic to Colorado, USA.^[1]

Distribution

The Uncompahgre fritillary was first found above tree-line at Uncompahgre Peak, located in Hinsdale County, Colorado, USA by Larry Gall, Felix Sperling, Scott Graham, Kathleen Shaw, and Wendy Roberts working out of the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory.^[4] A few years following, another population was found at Redcloud Peak, about 10 miles south of Uncompahgre Peak.^[4]

The species is endemic to the northern San Juan Mountains and the southern Sawatch Range in parts of Gunnison County, Hinsdale County, and Chaffee County of southwestern Colorado, USA and has one of the smallest known ranges of all North American butterflies.^[5] Since their discovery, small populations of Uncompahgre fritillaries have been discovered at 9 other locations within this region and are monitored annually.

Their closest genetic relative is Boloria improba harryi which has only been found within the Wind River Mountains in Wyoming.^[6] Other similar looking species of butterflies are found within these habitats including the Varied checkerspot (Euphydryas anicia), Frieja fritillary (Clossiana frieja), and Arctic fritillary (Clossiana chariclea).^[6] The habitat characteristics of these butterflies include alpine tundra environments above tree-line (3800-4200m above sea level) that are northeast facing sloped meadows containing moderate amounts of moisture throughout the year, mostly from winter snowpack and rainfall during monsoon seasons.^[5]^[6]

Host plant

The Uncompahgre fritillary is a specialist species regarding their larval food plant and egg-laying site.^[7] They can be found in habitats containing patches of their host plant, snow willow (Salix reticulata spp. nivalis ), a dwarf willow that is structurally similar to the Arctic willow ( Salix arctica ).^[6]

Life cycle

Female adult butterflies lay their eggs individually on snow willow stems and leaves around the middle of July and they don't hatch until numerous weeks later.^[8] The eggs are tan in color and once hatched, the larvae will then feed on snow willow leaves throughout their biennial life cycle and overwinter under the snow until they emerge the following spring and molt.^[8] The adult butterflies are small with a fuzzy, dark brown to black body and brown-black antennae.^[8] The males and females are differentiated by the females wings being slightly lighter in color than the males.^[5]^[9] Their wingspan is approximately 1 inch wide and their wings are multi-colored containing distinct patterns of tan, orange, brown, and black with a distinct triangular shape emerging on the dorsal and ventral wing.^[8] As adult butterflies, the Uncompahgre fritillaries are only in flight for a few weeks during the summer season, emerging following the snow melt at these high elevation mountain peak. They can be seen on wing starting in late-June to early-July and are considered weak fliers that require full sunlight with little to no wind in order to fly and are considered a philopatric species.^[7]

Management

Population decline

Mark-recapture methods completed within a decade of their discovery showed low population estimates at Uncompahgre Peak and Redcloud Peak.^[9] The Uncompahgre fritillary was thought to be on the edge of extinction and was added to the Endangered Species List in 1991.^[5] Since then, early monitoring programs have found a number of additional populations in the San Juan Mountains but the small numbers detected at each of these locations remain inadequate for delisting.^[5] Predicted threats to this species and alpine tundra ecosystems include: grazing, illegal collection, recreation, and climate change, with an additional threat is the possibility of low genetic variability between the known butterfly populations.^[1]

The impacts of global climate change pose concerns to this species and alpine environments overall. Alpine environments are the coldest locations where pollinator species can still occur but the sensitive species of plants, insects, and animals found within these ecosystems might not have the ability to adapt to changes in temperatures and precipitation patterns.^[10]

Recovery efforts

The Uncompahgre fritillary butterfly is still listed as Federally Endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the recovery plan prioritizes actions to better understand the reasons for their low population estimates and to prevent this species from extinction.^[5] Their public locations at Uncompahgre Peak and Redcloud Peak are monitored annually by the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife to estimate changes in population sizes, as well as to understand more about this species' habitat.^[6] Management efforts carried out by these agencies have restricted grazing livestock on these particular slopes, rerouted hiking trails, and installed signage regarding the status of this species at the trailheads of these popular hiking locations.^[6] The specialist habitat requirements and small distribution of the Uncompahgre fritillary butterfly make it a useful indicator of the future impacts of climate change could have on alpine ecosystem health and structure.^[11] Efforts to preserve this species continue to prevent illegal collection and monitor population numbers, habitat quality, and environmental pressures that future populations could encounter.

Related Research Articles

Uncompahgre Peak is the sixth highest summit of the Rocky Mountains of North America and the U.S. state of Colorado. The prominent 14,321-foot (4365.0 m) fourteener is the highest summit of the San Juan Mountains and the highest point in the drainage basin of the Colorado River and the Gulf of California. It is located in the Uncompahgre Wilderness in the northern San Juans, in northern Hinsdale County approximately 7 miles (11 km) west of the town of Lake City.

Boloria selene, known in Europe as the small pearl-bordered fritillary and in North America as the silver-bordered fritillary, is a species of butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found across Europe, Asia and North America, and feeds exclusively on violets in its larval stages. This species prefers wet grassland habitats, where its larval food source, violets, are found. It overwinters in its larval stage, and eggs hatch in the late summer to early autumn. Members of this species are prey for multiple types of birds and other insects.

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.

Sunshine Peak is a fourteen thousand foot mountain peak in the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the San Juan Mountains in Hinsdale County approximately 9 miles (14 km) south west of Lake City, and about 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Redcloud Peak. It rises on the north side of the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River.

<i>Boloria</i> Genus of brush-footed butterflies

Boloria is a brush-footed butterfly (Nymphalidae) genus. Clossiana is usually included with it nowadays, though some authors still consider it distinct and it seems to warrant recognition as a subgenus at least.

Boloria chariclea, the Arctic fritillary or purplish fritillary, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in the northern parts of the Palearctic and Nearctic realms.

Boloria eunomia, the bog fritillary or ocellate bog fritillary is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae.

Boloria titania, the Titania's fritillary or purple bog fritillary, is a butterfly of the subfamily Heliconiinae of the family Nymphalidae.

Boloria improba, the dingy fritillary, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. In Europe it is only found in small parts of Scandinavia, more specifically the border region between Norway, Sweden and Finland. It is found in alpine or tundra habitats.

The ecology of the Rocky Mountains is diverse due to the effects of a variety of environmental factors. The Rocky Mountains are the major mountain range in western North America, running from the far north of British Columbia in Canada to New Mexico in the southwestern United States, climbing from the Great Plains at or below 1,800 feet (550 m) to peaks of over 14,000 feet (4,300 m). Temperature and rainfall varies greatly also and thus the Rockies are home to a mixture of habitats including the alpine, subalpine and boreal habitats of the Northern Rocky Mountains in British Columbia and Alberta, the coniferous forests of Montana and Idaho, the wetlands and prairie where the Rockies meet the plains, a different mix of conifers on the Yellowstone Plateau in Wyoming, the montane forests of Utah, and in the high Rockies of Colorado and New Mexico, and finally the alpine tundra of the highest elevations.

Speyeria mormonia, commonly known as the Mormon fritillary, is a North American butterfly belonging to the family Nymphalidae. It is highly diverse, having differentiated into several subspecies which occupy a wide geographic range. S. mormonia exhibits extreme protandry, which is the emergence of male adults before female adults. This has several consequences on male and female behavior. Habitat specificity is still being investigated, as there are few known environmental predictors, and S. mormonia appears to be associated with a wide range of habitats. This species is not under threat, and conservation efforts are generally not necessary.

Boloria alberta, the Alberta fritillary, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in the North American Rocky Mountains of British Columbia and Alberta and in northern Montana.

Boloria natazhati, the Beringian fritillary, cryptic fritillary or Pleistocene fritillary, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found from northwestern Canada as far south as northern British Columbia.

Boloria alaskensis, the mountain fritillary or Alaskan fritillary, is a species of fritillary butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It was described by William Jacob Holland in 1900 and is found in North America and North European Russia. The MONA or Hodges number for Boloria alaskensis is 4462. The larvae feed on false bistort and alpine smartweed.

Precipice Peak is a 13,144-foot-elevation (4,006-meter) mountain summit located in Hinsdale County, of Colorado, United States. It is situated 10.5 miles northeast of the community of Ouray, in the Uncompahgre Wilderness, on land managed by Uncompahgre National Forest. It is part of the San Juan Mountains which is a subset of the Rocky Mountains, and is situated west of the Continental Divide. Topographic relief is significant as the west aspect rises 2,500 feet above the West Fork Cimarron River valley in approximately one mile. Neighbors include Dunsinane Mountain three-quarters of a mile north, Courthouse Mountain 2.4 miles northwest, and Redcliff 2.2 miles south. The mountain's name was officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names in 1966. It is so named because of a very prominent precipice on the mountain's east face.

Coxcomb Peak is a 13,656-foot-elevation (4,162-meter) mountain summit located on the common boundary of Hinsdale County and Ouray County, in Colorado, United States. It is situated nine miles northeast of the community of Ouray, in the Uncompahgre Wilderness, on land managed by Uncompahgre National Forest. It is part of the San Juan Mountains which are a subset of the Rocky Mountains, and is situated west of the Continental Divide. Coxcomb ranks as the 171st-highest peak in Colorado, and topographic relief is significant as the south aspect rises 2,000 feet above Wetterhorn Basin in approximately one mile, and 4,400 feet above Cow Creek in three miles. Neighbors include Precipice Peak 2.7 miles to the north, Redcliff one-half mile north, Matterhorn Peak 2.3 miles to the east-southeast, and nearest higher neighbor Wetterhorn Peak 1.8 mile to the southeast. The mountain's descriptive name, which has been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names, was in use since at least 1906 when Henry Gannett published it in the Gazetteer of Colorado.

Redcliff is a 13,642-foot-elevation (4,158-meter) mountain summit located in Hinsdale County, in southwest Colorado, United States. It is situated nine miles northeast of the town of Ouray, in the Uncompahgre Wilderness, on land managed by Uncompahgre National Forest. It is part of the San Juan Mountains which are a subset of the Rocky Mountains, and is situated west of the Continental Divide. Redcliff ranks as the 175th-highest peak in Colorado, and topographic relief is significant as the west aspect rises 2,300 feet above the West Fork Cimarron River valley in approximately one mile. Neighbors include Precipice Peak and Dunsinane Mountain along the west-middle Cimarron divide three miles to the north, and nearest higher neighbor Coxcomb Peak one-half mile to the south. An ascent of Redcliff involves 3,300 feet of elevation gain and 10 miles of hiking, round-trip. The mountain's name was proposed by the Colorado Mountain Club, and was officially adopted in 1966 by the United States Board on Geographic Names. It is so named because of a large reddish-colored cliff on the mountain's east face.

References

1 2 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (2018). Uncompahgre Fritillary Butterfly (Clossiana improba acrocnema) 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation. Western Slope Office, Colorado Ecological Services, Grand Junction, Colorado.
↑ Scott, J.A. 1986. The butterflies of North America - A natural history and field guide. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA, USA. 583 pp.
↑ Gall, L.F., and F.A.H. Sperling. 1980. A new high altitude species of Boloria from southwestern Colorado (Nymphalidae), with a discussion of phonetics and hierarchical decisions. J. Lepidopterists's Soc. 34:230-252.
1 2 Pfeiler, Edward (1980). "Boloria bellona(Fabricius) (Nymphalidae: Heliconiinae) from the Blue Mountains of the Pacific Northwest". Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society. 67 (2): 143–144. doi:10.18473/lepi.v67i2.a6. ISSN 0024-0966. S2CID 87944802 – via ResearchGate.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Fish and Wildlife Service. 1994. Uncompahgre Fritillary Butterfly Recovery Plan. Denver, Colorado. 20 pp.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Alexander, K.D. and A.G. Keck. 2018. Uncompahgre Fritillary Butterfly Monitoring, Inventory, and Mapping: 2017 Report and Status. 28 pages.
1 2 Britten, Hugh B.; Brussard, Peter F.; Murphy, Dennis D. (March 1994). "The Pending Extinction of the Uncompahgre Fritillary Butterfly". Conservation Biology. 8 (1): 86–94. Bibcode:1994ConBi...8...86B. doi:10.1046/j.1523-1739.1994.08010086.x. ISSN 0888-8892.
1 2 3 4 Scott, James A. (1984) The Life History and Ecology of an alpine relict, Boloria improba acrocnema (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), illustrating a new mathematical population census method. Papilio (2).
1 2 Gall, L.F. 1983. Uncompahgre fritillary butterfly. Pages 477—479 in The IUCN Invertebrate Red Data Book. S.M. Wells, R.M. Pyle, N.M. Collins, eds. International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, Gland, Switzerland. 632 pp.
↑ Inouye, D. W. (2020). Effects of climate change on alpine plants and their pollinators. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1469(1), 26–37. doi : 10.1111/nyas.14104.
↑ Seidl, A. L. 1999. Population demographics and the conservation status of the Uncompahgre fritillary Boloria acrocnema (Nymphalidae). Journal of the Lepidopterists’ Society 53:32-36.

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[:2-1] 1 2 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (2018). Uncompahgre Fritillary Butterfly (Clossiana improba acrocnema) 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation. Western Slope Office, Colorado Ecological Services, Grand Junction, Colorado.

[2] Scott, J.A. 1986. The butterflies of North America - A natural history and field guide. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA, USA. 583 pp.

[3] Gall, L.F., and F.A.H. Sperling. 1980. A new high altitude species of Boloria from southwestern Colorado (Nymphalidae), with a discussion of phonetics and hierarchical decisions. J. Lepidopterists's Soc. 34:230-252.

[:12-4] 1 2 Pfeiler, Edward (1980). "Boloria bellona(Fabricius) (Nymphalidae: Heliconiinae) from the Blue Mountains of the Pacific Northwest". Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society. 67 (2): 143–144. doi:10.18473/lepi.v67i2.a6. ISSN 0024-0966. S2CID 87944802 – via ResearchGate.

[:02-5] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Fish and Wildlife Service. 1994. Uncompahgre Fritillary Butterfly Recovery Plan. Denver, Colorado. 20 pp.

[:4-6] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Alexander, K.D. and A.G. Keck. 2018. Uncompahgre Fritillary Butterfly Monitoring, Inventory, and Mapping: 2017 Report and Status. 28 pages.

[:1-7] 1 2 Britten, Hugh B.; Brussard, Peter F.; Murphy, Dennis D. (March 1994). "The Pending Extinction of the Uncompahgre Fritillary Butterfly". Conservation Biology. 8 (1): 86–94. Bibcode:1994ConBi...8...86B. doi:10.1046/j.1523-1739.1994.08010086.x. ISSN 0888-8892.

[:3-8] 1 2 3 4 Scott, James A. (1984) The Life History and Ecology of an alpine relict, Boloria improba acrocnema (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), illustrating a new mathematical population census method. Papilio (2).

[:5-9] 1 2 Gall, L.F. 1983. Uncompahgre fritillary butterfly. Pages 477—479 in The IUCN Invertebrate Red Data Book. S.M. Wells, R.M. Pyle, N.M. Collins, eds. International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, Gland, Switzerland. 632 pp.

[10] Inouye, D. W. (2020). Effects of climate change on alpine plants and their pollinators. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1469(1), 26–37. doi : 10.1111/nyas.14104.

[11] Seidl, A. L. 1999. Population demographics and the conservation status of the Uncompahgre fritillary Boloria acrocnema (Nymphalidae). Journal of the Lepidopterists’ Society 53:32-36.

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