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Special Segments
General Topics
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Special Segments General Topics |
Some Butterflies of the Tundra and Alpine Regions |
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The Tundra Biome and the Alpine vegetation zones at the tops of our mountain ranges are commonly widely separated by distance. However the two geographical regions share a great deal in common including the physical environment and the plants and animals that live in them. This is certainly true of the butterflies. Both regions share the same restricted groups of butterflies and sometimes the same species living in the tundra of the polar regions of North America can be found on the tops of mountains far to the south. |
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The Polaris Fritillary (Nymphalidae) is found in the tundra regions of North America, Greenland, Europe, and Asia. In North America the species inhabits the tundra of Alaska, the Yukon, and eastward across the northern boundaries of Canada. It reaches southward into northern British Columbia on the alpine tops of the mountains. Other species of Boloria also occur in the far north of North America, but none so typical of the tundra as polaris. The caterpillar feeds on mountains avens and blueberry in the blueberry plant family (Ericaceae).
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The Hecla Sulphur (Pieridae) occurs in the arctic reaches of both North America and the Old World. Its North American range includes Alaska and across the northern boundaries of Canada to Greenland. The Hecla Sulphur is only one of several species of Colias occuring in the tundra region and sometimes these species can be very difficult to tell apart. The caterpillar feeds on Alpine Milk Vetch in the pea family (Fabaceae). Related species include the two common sulphurs of city and country, the Clouded Sulphur and the Orange Sulphur.
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The Polixenes Arctic (Satyridae) is a North American tundra species occuring from Alaska in the west through northern Canada to Labrador and Quebec in the east. The species also occurs in the high alpine zones of the Rocky Mountains and a highly isolate population occurs on the top of Mount Katadhin in Maine. Apparently these montane populations were left stranded as the glaciers receded at the end of the last ice age. A related species (Melissa Arctic, Oeneis melissa) shows a similar distribution with an isolated population on Mount Washington in New Hampshire. The several species of Oeneis all feed on species of grasses and sedges. Species of the genus Oeneis can be disgustingly difficult to catch. They allow themselves to be carried in wind gusts and, when disturbed, fold their wings and drop to ground perfectly camouflaged by their coloration.
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The Banded Alpine (Satyridae) is a member of the large genus Erebia containing species typical of both the tundra and alpine regions of North America. The Banded Alpine occurs from northern and eastern Alaska and throughout far northern Canada as well as the eastern tundra regions of Russia. The species of Erebia are all grass or sedge feeders.
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The Phoebus Parnassius (Papilionidae) is a relative of the swallowtails, although it certainly doesn't look like it should be. Parnassius phoebus occurs in the Arctic regions of Russia as well as most of Alaska flying in tundra or alpine meadows. The other species of Parnassius in North America are found in open meadows in the taiga or in alpine habitats. The larvae feed for the most part on species of stonecrop (Sedum, Crassulaceae).
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