Alberta Arctic (Oeneis alberta Elwes)
Wing span: 1 3/8 - 2 1/4 inches (3.5 - 5.7 cm).
Identification: Upperside is light yellow-gray. Underside is light brown; forewing has a postmedian line bent sharply at the end of the cell; hindwing has a sharp-edged dark median band.
Life history: Males perch and patrol all day on bunchgrass-covered slopes. Caterpillars probably hibernate in their fourth stage.
Flight: One brood from May-June.
Caterpillar hosts: Bunchgrass, possibly Festuca.
Adult food: Not reported.
Habitat: Virgin prairie, dry bunchgrass hills.
Range: Canadian prairie provinces east to southern Manitoba. Isolated populations along the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona.
