The Mormon Metalmark is a species of Metalmark

Apodemia

Apodemia is a New World genus of metalmark butterflies found from Canada to Brazil.-Species:*Apodemia castanea -- Castanea Metalmark*Apodemia chisosensis -- Chisos Metalmark...

 butterfly (family Riodinidae

Riodinidae

The Riodinidae are a family of butterflies. The common name "metalmarks" refers to the small metallic-looking spots commonly found on their wings. There are approximately 1,000 species of metalmark butterflies in the world...

). Its upperside is orange-brown to black, checkered with black and white spots. Its caterpillar

Caterpillar

Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...

 host is various species of Eriogonum

Eriogonum

Eriogonum is the scientific name for a genus of flowering plants, in the family Polygonaceae. The genus is found in North America and is known as wild buckwheat. This is a highly species-rich genus, and indications are that active speciation is continuing...

(wild buckwheat). Its adult food is nectar from the flowers of Eriogonum and other plants, especially yellow-flowered composites

Asteraceae

The Asteraceae or Compositae , is an exceedingly large and widespread family of vascular plants. The group has more than 22,750 currently accepted species, spread across 1620 genera and 12 subfamilies...

, such as Senecio

Senecio

Senecio is a genus of the daisy family that includes ragworts and groundsels. The flower heads are normally rayed, completely yellow, and the heads are borne in branched clusters...

and Chrysothamnus

Chrysothamnus

Chrysothamnus is a member of the plant family Asteraceae. It is a semi-deciduous shrub, sometimes also called sagebrush. The native distribution is in the arid western United States and northern Mexico...

(rabbitbrush).

Its range is southern British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

 and Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....

, North Dakota

North Dakota

North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....

 to Washington, south to Southern California

Southern California

Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...

, Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

, New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

, and Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

.

Lange's Metalmark, Apodemia mormo langei, is an endangered subspecies

Subspecies

Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...

. It only occurs in and around the Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge

Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge

Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge is a sensitive sand dune habitat located near the city of Antioch, California on the south shore of the San Joaquin River. It serves as a refuge for three endangered species of plants and insects, and is closed to the public except for tours and events...

 in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

.

Other subspecies of the mormo complex with limited ranges include nigrescens (Colton

Colton

- England :* Colton, Cumbria* Colton, Leeds * Colton, Staffordshire- United States :*Colton, California* Colton, New York* Colton, Ohio* Colton, Oregon* Colton, South Dakota* Colton, Utah, a ghost town...

, Riverside Co., California); arenaria (sand dunes near LAX, Playa del Rey, LA Co., California); and pratti (Holcomb Valley

Holcomb Valley

Holcomb Valley, located in the San Bernardino Mountains about five miles north of Big Bear Lake, was the site of the most gold mined in Southern California. It was named after William F. Holcomb, who discovered gold there in 1860. That year started the largest gold rush in Southern California to...

, north of Big Bear Lake

Big Bear Lake

Big Bear Lake is a reservoir in the San Bernardino Mountains, in San Bernardino County, California, United States. At a surface elevation of , it has an east-west length of approximately 7 miles and is approximately 2.5 miles at its widest measurement, though the lake's width mostly averages a...

, San Bernardino Co., California).

External links

• Mormon Metalmark, Butterflies and Moths of North America
• Mormon Metalmark, Butterflies of Canada