Page 263 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

BUTTERFLY CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Nymphalidae
TRIBUTION
DISTRIBUTION North America, from Alaska to Quebec and south to Wisconsin
DIS
DISTRIBUTION
HABIT
A
HABITAT T Mid-elevation pine forests and grasslands
HABITAT
HOST PLANTS S Various sedges and grasses, including Carex spp. and Festuca spp.
T PLANT
HOS
HOST PLANTS
NOTE
TE
NOTE Caterpillar that may be vulnerable in a warming climate
NO
A
T
TUS
TION S
A
CONSERV
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but considered secure in most of its range
CONSERVATION STATUS
ADULT WINGSPAN
1¾–2⅛ in (45–54 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
1⅜ in (35 mm)
OENEIS CHRYXUS
CHRYXUS ARCTIC 261
(DOUBLEDAY, [1849])
Chryxus Arctic caterpillars are biennial, overwintering twice,
and have five instars. The female finds sedges growing in a
turf-like mat under a pine tree and lays an egg on a dead branch
just above the sedge. The tiny caterpillar then drops onto the
sedge, feeds for several months, and overwinters. It feeds during
the next brief summer and then overwinters once more as a
nearly mature caterpillar. The following spring, after feeding
briefly, it turns into a brown-orange pupa in a slight silken
cocoon in the litter, emerging as an adult in June.

Adults suck the nectar from a number of ower species but also
sip moisture from wet soil. Several dozen Oeneis species occur
in high latitude areas in North America and Eurasia. All have
similar caterpillars, but most live on grassland or tundra. As the
species are well adapted to living in harsh environments, global
warming could reduce numbers.

The Chryxus Arctic caterpillar is pinkish to tan
to dark brown with many paler and darker
stripes. The head bears six distinct, brown to
black, vertical stripes. There is a prominent black
dorsal stripe and other brown stripes covering
the sides, which make the larvae resemble grass.
At the posterior there is a pair of short tails. Actual size