| Mormon Metalmark | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Division: | Rhopalocera |
| Family: | Riodinidae |
| Genus: | Apodemia |
| Species: | A. mormo |
| Binomial name | |
| Apodemia mormo (Felder & Felder, 1859) |
|
The Mormon Metalmark (Apodemia mormo) is a species of Metalmark butterfly (family Riodinidae). Its upperside is orange-brown to black, checkered with black and white spots. Its caterpillar host is various species of Eriogonum (wild buckwheat). Its adult food is nectar from the flowers of Eriogonum and other plants, especially yellow-flowered composites, such as Senecio and Chrysothamnus (rabbitbrush).
Its range is southern British Columbia and Saskatchewan, North Dakota to Washington, south to Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Mexico.
Lange's Metalmark, Apodemia mormo langei, is an endangered subspecies. It only occurs in and around the Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge in California.
Other subspecies of the mormo complex with limited ranges include nigrescens (Colton, Riverside Co., California);[1] arenaria (sand dunes near LAX, Playa del Rey, LA Co., California);[2] and pratti (Holcomb Valley, north of Big Bear Lake, San Bernardino Co., California).[3]