A SYSTEMATIC INVENTORY OF RARE AND IMPERILED BUTTERFLIES ON THE CITY OF BOULDER OPEN SPACE AND MOUNTAIN PARKS and recommendations for their conservation Field Season 1997 Prepared by: Phyllis M. Pineda and Aaron R. Ellingson Prepared for: The City of Boulder Open Space and City of Boulder Mountain Parks TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................. 2 TABLES AND FIGURES ............................................................................................................... 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................... 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................................................. 6 RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................................. 8 INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................... 10 Butterfly and Skipper Diversity of the Colorado Front Range ................................................................................ 10 Purpose ................................................................................................................................................................... 11 BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................................... 12 Colorado’s Natural Heritage Program .................................................................................................................... 12 The Natural Heritage Network and Biodiversity..................................................................................................... 13 What is Biological Diversity? ................................................................................................................................. 13 The Natural Heritage Ranking System .................................................................................................................... 15 Protection Urgency Ranks .................................................................................................................................. 17 Management Urgency Ranks .............................................................................................................................. 17 Element Occurrence Ranks ................................................................................................................................ 18 Potential Conservation Sites ............................................................................................................................... 19 Potential Conservation Site Boundaries ............................................................................................................. 19 Off-Site Considerations ...................................................................................................................................... 20 Ranking of Conservation Sites ........................................................................................................................... 20 Legal Designations .................................................................................................................................................. 21 METHODS .................................................................................................................................... 22 RESULTS ...................................................................................................................................... 25 Potential Conservation Sites ................................................................................................................................... 25 Potential Conservation Site Format .................................................................................................................... 27 North Boulder Grasslands .................................................................................................................................. 28 Boulder Foothills ................................................................................................................................................ 33 2 Shanahan Grasslands .......................................................................................................................................... 40 Marshall Mesa .................................................................................................................................................... 45 Doudy Draw ....................................................................................................................................................... 50 Summary of Search Results .................................................................................................................................... 54 Targeted Inventory Areas Results ........................................................................................................................... 56 CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................................................ 60 REFERENCES AND LITERATURE CITED ............................................................................... 61 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................................... 65 Appendix A: Invertebrate Characterization Abstracts............................................................................................. 67 Erynnis martialis ................................................................................................................................................ 68 Stinga morrisoni ................................................................................................................................................. 70 Hesperia ottoe .................................................................................................................................................... 72 Polites rhesus ..................................................................................................................................................... 74 Polites origenes rhena ....................................................................................................................................... 75 Atrytone arogos iowa ......................................................................................................................................... 77 Paratrytone snowi .............................................................................................................................................. 79 Euphyes bimacula .............................................................................................................................................. 81 Atrytonopsis hianna turneri ............................................................................................................................... 83 Amblyscirtes simius ............................................................................................................................................ 84 Callophrys mossii schryveri ............................................................................................................................... 85 Euphilotes rita coloradensis .............................................................................................................................. 87 Celastrina sp 1 ................................................................................................................................................... 88 Speyeria idalia ................................................................................................................................................... 90 Appendix B. Adult Butterfly and Skipper Phenologies ......................................................................................... 93 Appendix C. Associated Butterfly and Skipper Species ........................................................................................ 94 3 TABLES AND FIGURES TABLE 1. DEFINITION OF COLORADO NATURAL HERITAGE RARITY RANKS ............................................................ 16 TABLE 2. FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCY SPECIAL DESIGNATIONS ............................................................................. 21 TABLE 3. BUTTERFLY AND SKIPPER SPECIES OF CONCERN .......................................................................................... 22 TABLE 4. TARGETED INVENTORY AREAS AND RELATED BUTTERFLIES .................................................................... 23 TABLE 5. POTENTIAL CONSERVATION SITES ..................................................................................................................... 26 TABLE 6. BUTTERFLY AND SKIPPERS OF CONCERN AT THE NORTH BOULDER GRASSLANDS SITE ................... 29 TABLE 7. OTHER NATURAL HERITAGE ELEMENTS AT THE NORTH BOULDER GRASSLANDS SITE ...................... 29 TABLE 8. BUTTERFLIES AND SKIPPERS OF CONCERN AT THE BOULDER FOOTHILLS SITE ................................... 34 TABLE 9. OTHER NATURAL HERITAGE ELEMENTS AT THE BOULDER FOOTHILLS SITE ........................................ 34 TABLE 10. BUTTERFLY AND SKIPPERS OF CONCERN AT THE SHANAHAN GRASSLANDS SITE ...........................