Northern Metalmark (Calephelis borealis [Grote & Robinson])
Wing span: 1 1/8 - 1 1/4 inches (2.9 - 3.2 cm).
Identification: Male forewing rounded. Upperside of both wings brown with wide orange borders and dark median band.
Life history: Adults may rest upside down beneath leaves. Males perch on leaves to seek females. Eggs are laid on the underside of host plant leaves, which the caterpillars eat. Half-grown caterpillars hibernate in leaf litter.
Flight: One brood from mid-June to late July.
Caterpillar hosts: Roundleaf ragwort (Senecio obovatus); possibly golden ragwort (Senecio aureus) and common fleabane (Erigeron philadelphicus).
Adult food: Nectar from flowers including butterflyweed, white sweet clover, goldenrod, ox-eye daisy, sneezeweed, and yarrow.
Habitat: Open woodland streams near serpentine, shale, or limestone barrens.
Range: Western Connecticut south through west-central Pennsylvania; central Appalachians and Ohio River Valley. Isolated populations in southwest Missouri and eastern Oklahoma.
Conservation: Most populations are small and isolated. Almost all populations should be of concern.
The Nature Conservancy Global Rank: G3 - Very rare or local throughout its range or found locally in a restricted range (21 to 100 occurrences). (Threatened throughout its range).
