To Butterflies of North America Second Edition

A Swift Guide to Butterflies of North America Second Edition Swift Guide to North American Butterflies, 2nd edition, pg 1-15 introduction.indd 1 1/11/17 10:39 AM A Swift Guide to Butterfliesof North America Second Edition by Jeffrey Glassberg Princeton University Press Princeton and Oxford Acknowledgements © 2017 by Jeffrey Glassberg This book would not have Published by Princeton University Press, been possible without the 41William Street, Princeton, New Jersey help, support and love from 08540 my wife, Jane Vicroy Scott. All rights reserved. No part of this Over the past 30 years, publication may be reproduced, stored hundreds of people have in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in helped me learn about the any form or by any means, electronic, butterflies of North America, mechanical, photocopying, recording by providing detailed local or otherwise, without the express information and photographs. and prior written permission of the Please refer to the Butterflies publisher. through Binoculars books for a complete listing of all of these contributors. Most of the approximately 3600 photographs in this book were taken by the author, but another one hundred photographers provided about 225 wonderful photographs ISBN 978-0-691-17650-5 that increase the usefulness Library of Congress Control Number: of this guide. Thanks to 2016960487 them all for allowing their Printed on acid-free paper. ∞ photographs to be used in this work. Printed in China 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Jane V. Scott’s careful eyes found many typographical errors and looked over all of this work, making useful suggestions for Half-title page: A Martial Scrub-Hairstreak its improvement. (Strymon martialis) Title page: Two Variable Checkerspots (Euphydryas chalcedona) Contents Introduction 7 About This Book 7 Butterfly Identification 7 Butterfly Biology 8 Names 9 Interacting with Butterflies 9 “Releasing” Butterflies 10 Conservation 11 North American Butterfly Association 11 Wing Areas and Body Parts 12 About the Species Accounts 13 Abbreviations, Symbols and Glossary 14 About the Maps 15 Swallowtails Papilionidae 16 Parnassians Parnassiinae 16 True Swallowtails Papilioninae 18 Whites and Yellows Pieridae 36 Whites Pierinae 36 Marbles and Orangetips 46 Yellows Coliadinae 52 Sulphurs 52 Yellows 68 Gossamerwings Lycaenidae 74 Coppers Lycaeninae 74 Harvester Miletinae 83 Hairstreaks Theclinae 84 Blues Polyommatinae 122 Metalmarks Riodinidae 146 Contents Brushfoots Nymphalidae 158 Heliconians and Fritillaries Heliconiinae 158 Heliconians 158 Greater Fritillaries 162 Lesser Fritillaries 182 True Brushfoots Nymphalinae 190 Patches, Checkerspots and Crescents 190 Anglewings, Ladies and Relatives 220 Admirals and Relatives Limenitidinae et al. 232 Leafwings Charaxinae 246 Emperors Apaturinae 250 Snouts Libytheinae 253 Satyrs Satyrinae 254 Ticlears, Clearwings Ithomiinae 277 Mimic-Queen and Monarchs Danainae 277 Skippers Hesperiidae 280 Firetips Pyrrhopyginae 280 Spreadwing Skippers Pyrginae 280 Skipperlings Heteropterinae 332 Grass-Skippers Hesperiinae 334 Giant-Skippers Megathyminae 394 Hawaii 400 Conclusion Photo Credits 402 Selected Bibliography 403 Selected Websites 403 Caterpillar Foodplant Index 404 Butterfly Species Index 408 Visual Index 418 INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION Focus on the World of Butterflies and Find Yourself Beginning their lives as caterpillars (which, like humans, are earthbound), butterflies — fragile, ephemeral and ethereal — are connected to the human soul and to the possibility of transformation. Your involvement with butterflies will connect you to nature, allowing you to find your place within it. I hope that the beauty, intensity and tranquility of butterflies will transform you into a person who works to conserve the biological heritage of our planet. Because, if we can save butterflies, we can save ourselves®. About This Book The purpose of this book is to help you to identify adult North American butterflies. Very little information that is not directly related to this purpose is included. For a more expansive introduction to butterfly biology, butterfly gardening and other topics, see my book Butterflies of North America (Sterling Publishing). The Swift Guide format places all text directly with the illustrations, allowing swift access to the information while you are in the field. In order to facilitate identification, images of butterflies are arranged so that similar species can be easily compared. This means rotating images to align the butterflies in similar orientations so that you don’t need to perform mental gymnastics to compare them. This book treats all of the species of butterflies found in NorthAmerica and Hawaii. The order of presentation is based upon the NABA Checklist and English Names of North American Butterflies, slightly modified to compare similar species or to provide a more pleasing layout. All photographs of live butterflies taken by the author are of wild, unrestrained butterflies. Butterfly Identification If you are new to butterflying, start by sorting the butterflies you see into one of the six families found in North America — swallowtails; whites and yellows; gossamerwings; metalmarks; brushfoots; and skippers. This is usually easy, because, in general, swallowtails are large with “tails,” whites and yellows are white or yellow, gossamerwings are very small and delicate, brushfoots are medium-sized orange to brown and skippers have distinctive flight and large bodies. Soon you’ll recognize subgroups, such as grass- skippers and then be able to identify species by using this book, noting the indicated field marks, range, habitat and foodplant. Of course, not every individual butterfly you see will be identifiable to species. Some, you might not see well enough. Some may be too 7 INTRODUCTION worn, missing almost all of their scales, and thus field marks. And, a few species. such as Scarce and Common Streaky-Skippers, are not yet separable in the field given current information. Variation Not every butterfly of the same species looks exactly the same. Far from it! This is one of the reasons that butterflying is continually exciting, every individual is a little different. However, the great variability of butterfly wing patterns does make it challenging to dis- tinguish each species. For almost all field marks given in this guide, it is likely that, very rarely, there will be some individual that will not have that field mark. So, if you think that you are seeing a very rare species, it is best to check multiple field marks. Butterfly Biology Each butterfly goes through four distinct stages in its life: Egg, caterpillar, pupa and adult. Life Cycle Egg Butterfly eggs are themselves quite varied, with eggs of different groups of butterflies having different architectures and color patterns. Females usually lay their eggs on a plant species that will support the growth of the caterpillar. Some species tend to lay their eggs on the upperside of leaves, some on the underside. Some species lay single eggs at the tips of leaves while others lay masses of eggs on a single leaf. And some species, such as Question Marks, often stack their eggs, one on top of another. Caterpillar The caterpillar hatches out of the egg and begins to eat. The caterpillars of most species have a limited palette — they will eat only a limited number of plant species, sometimes only a single plant species. Searching for these plant species may allow you to find the caterpillars and the adults as well. The caterpillar spends most of its time eating and growing. Periodically it grows too large for its skin — an exoskeleton — and sheds the old skin, revealing a new one that was below it. A caterpillar typically goes through 4 or five of these growth stages, each one called an “instar.” Chrysalis When the caterpillar has grown to full size, it attaches itself to a support and pupates. The caterpillar, now encased in a hard outer shell (the chrysalis), becomes a pupa. Inside the chrysalis an amazing transformation is taking place. The tissues and structures of the caterpillar are broken down and replaced by the tissues and structures of the adult butterfly. This process usually takes one to two weeks, although some butterflies overwinter as a chrysalis. Adult The adult butterfly emerges from the chrysalis with its wings still folded, but otherwise it is fully formed. Small butterflies do not grow larger! 8 INTRODUCTION Flight Periods Some butterflies have a life cycle that is continuous, throughout warm weather. But most species have descrete periods of time during which adults normally fly. For example, the Satyrium hairstreaks are single-brooded, with adults flying for about a month, usually in the early summer. Other species have two broods each year. So, searching for Coral Hairstreaks in September is surely futile, but you’ll likely see some Eastern Tailed-Blues instead. Behavior Butterflies have an extensive range of behaviors. They are also capable of learning. Un- derstanding some behavior is useful for finding butterflies. For example, most butterflies “eat” by nectaring at flowers and so the easiest way to find many butterflies is to locate the good nectar plants in the area. Females lay their eggs on specific caterpillar foodplants — locate these plants in an area and you have a good chance of finding the butterfly. All butterflies seek mates. Some males search for females at the caterpillar foodplant. Still others congregate on the highest hilltop in the area, which often serves as a butterfly singles bar. Lastly, many butterflies,

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