Butterfly resting on vegetation near to small brook in mid meadow area of Leek Spring Ecological Area.
Elevation about 7,250 feet. Within area of 2021 Caldor Fire impact.
Nectaring on Western Mountain Asters along roadside edge of moist meadow area in Leek Spring Ecological Area. Elevation about 7,350 feet. Within area of 2021 Caldor Fire impact.
Nectaring on Western Mountain Aster in mid meadow area of Leek Spring Ecological Area.
Elevation about 7,250 feet. Within area of 2021 Caldor Fire impact.
Nectaring on Western Mountain Aster in mid meadow area of Leek Spring Ecological Area.
Elevation about 7,250 feet. Within area of 2021 Caldor Fire impact.
Euphydryas chalcedona and Speyeria on Yerba Santa (Genus Eriodictyon) flowers. I saw several Speyeria flying over the Chaparral, back and forth and then on out of sight.
Private farm in Pescadero /Davenport area
Northern White-Skipper (Heliopetes ericetorum) Native, medium-size butterfly in the Skippers (Hesperiidae) family with a wing span of 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 inches (3.2 - 3.8 cm).
"Identification: Upperside of male is white with narrow black chevrons at the outer margins of wings; female has thicker, darker markings and black at the wing bases. Underside of both sexes is white with pale tan markings.
Life History: To find females, males patrol in canyon bottoms. Females deposit eggs singly on young leaves of the host plants. Caterpillars feed on leaves and live in shelters of rolled or tied leaves.
Flight: Several broods from April-October.
Caterpillar Hosts: Various mallows including globemallows (Sphaeralcea), hollyhock (Althaea), and mallow (Malva).
Adult Food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Open woodland, chaparral, dry washes, desert mountains, arid land.
Range: Eastern Washington south to western Colorado, southern California, Arizona, Baja California, and northwest Mexico.
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G4 - Apparently secure globally" https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Heliopetes-ericetorum
Butterflies and Moths of North America https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Heliopetes-ericetorum and https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species_search
Bug photographs from the U.S/Canada for I.D: https://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Heliopetes+ericetorum and https://bugguide.net
Butterflies Through Binoculars: The West: a field guide to the butterflies of western North America, by Jeffrey Glassberg, 2001, pp.242-243.
Butterflies of Central and Northern California: a guide to common and notable species, Jim Brock, laminated pamphlet, 2023
Glossary of butterfly terms: https://butterfly.ucdavis.edu/resources/glossary
Common Butterflies of California, Text and Photographs by Bob Stewart, 1997
Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America. Brock and Kaufman, 2003,
Butterflies & Their Favorite Flowering Plants: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park & Environs, Lynn and Gene Monroe, 2004
Wagner's Caterpillars of Western North America "last we heard 1450 species accounts were in progress" thebals 6/6/23.