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Description:Upperside of the male is iridescent green-blue; females are brown with blue at wing bases. Underside is pale gray with green at wing bases and rows of irregular black spots. Wingspan is 2.5 - 3.2 cm.
Life History:Males patrol near the host plants, close to the ground. Eggs are laid in flower buds of clover; caterpillars eat the developing flowers. Half-grown caterpillars hibernate, then resume feeding and development the following year.
Habitat:Bogs, roadsides, stream edges, open fields, meadows, open forests.
Distribution:Boreal western North America from central Alaska south along mountains to southern California and southwestern New Mexico; east across southern Canada and northern Great Lakes area to Maine.
Status:The species has The Nature Conservancy Global Rank of G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Resources:
Go to the Butterflies and Moths of North America to view the species account.
Learn About Butterflies
Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus) [Copyright: Paul Opler]
Under the modern system of classification, there is no one unified group of invertebrates. All invertebrate animals belong to the Kingdom Animalia, and there are more than thirty phlya (singular phlyum) that contain invertebrates. Invertebrates are grouped together by this common term not because they share features in common, but largely because of what they lack: a backbone or vertebrae.
All of these phlya are considered to be invertebrates:
California Sister Butterfly (Adelpha bredowii) [Photo: Christopher Christie]
Invertebrates are animals that lack a backbone or spinal column. This diverse group includes insects, mollusks, crustaceans, worms, coral, nematodes, and similar organisms. Invertebrates are found in freshwater and marine environments as well as in terrestrial habitats.
Invertebrates that depend on freshwater ecosystems such as lakes, rivers, streams and ponds are called freshwater invertebrates. By contrast, terrestrial invertebrates are species that live entirely on land and do not depend on aquatic ecosystems to complete any phase of their life cycle.
Insects represent a large component of the invertebrate biodiversity in California with about 28,000 species identified in the state (Source: Atlas of the Biodiversity of California
). Currently, 21 of the 32 species and subspecies of invertebrates listed as either threatened or endangered by the State of California are insects. The California Department of Fish and Game maintains the threatened and endangered invertebrates species list as part of their responsibility under the California Endangered Species Act. California is home to hundreds of species of butterflies and moths, which are important insects because they serve as pollinators.
The California Endangered Insects at the University of California Berkeley that contains additional species information for many of the endangered insects on the state threatened and endangered list.
To access a list of Butterfly and Moth species found in California as well as maps, species accounts, species checklist and photographs, check out the Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA) site, or Art Shapiro's Butterfly site, an extensive resource about butterfly species in the central valley of California.
The privately funded and hosted California On-line Dragonfly Guide Site contains information about field guides, provides an on-line field key to adult dragonflies (
Odonata
)
, and offers many other identification tools.
Butterflies and Moths of North America is an interactive, searchable, and updateable web-enabled database of butterfly and moth information. Data contained therein include distribution maps, species accounts, photographs, and checklists of species by U.S. county or by Mexican state. Go directly to the web site, or learn more about this project.
The Children's Butterfly Site is an educational opportunity for all ages. Investigate a butterfly's transformation during metamorphosis, browse images of species from across the globe, or print coloring book pages. Learn all about these magnificent creatures by reading answers to the extensive frequently asked questions.
Invertebrates as Pollinators
A hummingbird clearwing moth (Hemaris thysbe). [Photo: Bruce Marlin, www.cirrusimage.com.]
Invertebrates, such as ants, bees, wasps, beetles, butterflies, moths, flies, mosquitoes, and midges all act as pollinators.
The ![A hummingbird clearwing moth (Hemaris thysbe). [Photo: Bruce Marlin, www.cirrusimage.com.]](https://cybercemetery.unt.edu/archive/nbii/20120112215538im_/http://www.nbii.gov/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_2_23080_1864_6811_43/http%3B/cbi-lap7.cbi.cr.usgs.gov%3B7097/publishedcontent/publish/geographic/mountain_prairie/pollinators_highlight/mpin_pollinators_highlight__narrow__1.jpg)
