| California Sister | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Tribe: | Limenitidini |
| Genus: | Adelpha |
| Species: | A. californica |
| Binomial name | |
| Adelpha californica Geyer, 1837 |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Adelpha bredowii californica (Butler, 1865) |
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The California Sister (Adelpha californica), sometimes placed in the genus Limenitis), is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. The butterfly is named for its black and white markings on the forewing that resemble a nun's habit. It is commonly found on oak trees (on which it lays its eggs) and by water sources where it sips salts from the mud.
The California Sister is found in oak woodlands through much of California and western Oregon to extreme southern Washington. Recent phylogenetic studies confirmed that it represents a distinct species from the sister butterflies found in southwestern Mexico (Mexican Sister, A. fessonia), which it was previously included as subspecies, as do those occurring from Utah and Colorado south through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Mexico to Guatemala (Arizona Sister, A. eulalia)
The California Sister is similar in appearance to the Lorquin's Admiral (Limenitis lorquini). However, the California Sister has red spots on its forewings surrounded by black, whereas the Admiral has orange wing tips. It can also be distinguished by the small blue wing shaped patches with red centers on the front of the forewing. Its wingspan ranges from 1 to 3 inches.
Other similar butterflies are:
California Oaks (Quercus species) are used as larval host-plants.
Adults prefer fruit that has fallen from its source or has been pecked at by birds. They rarely sip nectar from flowers but occasionally use California Buckeye - (Aesculus californica) and Toyon - (Heteromeles arbutifolia) flowers as food sources.
This species flies twice a year, from April to June and again from August to September.