Lorquin's Admiral
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| Limenitis lorquini (Boisduval, 1853) |
The Lorquin's Admiral (Limenitis lorquini) is a butterfly from the Nymphalinae family. The butterfly is named after Pierre Joseph Michel Lorquin, a French naturalist that came to California from France during the Gold Rush and made important discoveries on the natural history of the terrain. [1]
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[edit] Physical description
The Lorquin's Admiral has brown-black wings, each with a row of white spots across the wings and orange colored tips. The butterfly's wingspan is estimated between 47 to 71 mm [2], though females are generally larger than males.
[edit] Habitat
The Lorquin's Admiral can mostly be found across Upper Sonoran to the Canadian Zone, east to western Montana and Idaho. Known areas include southern British Columbia (including Vancouver Island, north of Emerald Lake), Cypress Hills in southwestern Saskatchewan as well as southwestern Alberta.The butterfly resides mostly in forest edges, mountain canyons, parks, streamsides, fencerows, orchards, and groves of cottonwood and poplar. Usually the butterflies feed on California buckeye, yerba santa, privet, bird droppings, and dung.[3]. It is extremely territorial and will attack any intruders to its habitat, including large birds.
[edit] Larva
The Lorquin's Admiral larva are usually yellow along with a patch of white on its back. Common trees that the larva feed on include willow (Salix), poplar, wild cherry (Prunus), cottonwood (Populus), and an assortment of orchard trees including that of cherry, apple, and plum.
[edit] Flight season
The Lorquin's Admiral usually flies around April to October, though it depends on the region. Butterflies found in northern areas tend to fly once (usually between June and August) whereas southern butterflies (mainly in California) tend to fly multiple times.
[edit] Similar species
- White Admiral (L. a. rubrofasciata)
- Weidemeyer's Admiral(L. weidemeyerii)
- California Sister Butterfly (Adelpha bredowii californica)
