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Butterfly populations are a very good indicator of the health of an area's ecosystem !!
This species is found in a wide variety of habitats where the caterpillar host plants (a variety of different species of oaks) are in abundance.
Their preferred habitat is oak woodland, riparian canyons and mixed coniferous forests.
Adults are usually found near water or streams.
They are abundant in the Sky Island Mountain Ranges in SE Arizona and southern Rocky Mountains.
In much of their range, there are two broods a year, with adult butterflies flying from March – early May and August – early November in southern populations, April – June and August – December in northern populations.
Diet: caterpillars use a variety of oak species as host plants.
Diet: Flowers and butterflies seem to be made for each other, but in this case neither of these butterfly species are partial to flowers.
Instead they sip from sappy tree wounds, rotting fruit, dung or even rotting carcasses! Adults also mud puddle for nutrients.
Avg. Wing Span: 7.62 – 12.7 cm / 3 - 5 “
Family: Nymphalidae
The single biggest threat to butterfly survival is habitat destruction!!
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