http://10.70.15.71/taxonomy/term/49/0 en http://10.70.15.71/butterfly/Limenitis/lorquini <p>A characteristic <a class="glossary-term" href="/glossary/3#term164"><acronym title="Occurring along creeks, rivers, or other bodies of fresh water. These wetter habitats are usually characterized by different flora and fauna than their adjacent upland habitats. The Pipevine Swallowtail and Lorquin’s Admiral are characteristic riparian butterflies.">riparian</acronym></a> <a class="glossary-term" href="/glossary/3#term169"><acronym title="The primary unit of classification below genus under the Linnaean system. For our purposes, groups of interbreeding or potentially interbreeding populations of individuals that share an evolutionary history and ancestry. However, there is significant debate on what exactly constitutes a species and many definitions and concepts have been proposed. The most common of these is the biological species concept, which requires that sets of populations must be able to successfully and regularly interbreed and produce viable, fertile offspring.">species</acronym></a> from sea level to at least 8000', flying along willow-lined streams and perching territorially. It appears to mimic the inedible California Sister, with which it often occurs. Adults visit California Buckeye, Buttonbush, Yerba Santa and a variety of other flowers, and males are enthusiastic puddlers.</p> <p>Sierran and Sacramento Valley specimens are strongly violet-tinged beneath. Coast Range ones tend to be distinctly redder. Valley specimens are often quite small. Lorquin's Admiral hybridizes with Weidemeyer's Admiral (<i>L. weidemeyeri</i>) southeast of our area; the farthest north any sign of hybrid influence has been detected is Topaz Lake.</p> <p>Since the late 1990s this species has been in precipitous and unexplained decline in the Sacramento Valley, becoming <a class="glossary-term" href="/glossary/3#term111"><acronym title="When an organism that had been formerly been present at a site is presumed to be completely absent. If the organism is no longer found anywhere, it is “globally extinct”.">extinct</acronym></a> in North Sacramento and Rancho Cordova and flirting with extinction in West Sacramento; there has been no decline in <a class="glossary-term" href="/glossary/3#term143"><acronym title="Pertaining to the mountains, especially in between about 3000’ and 7000’ in the Sierra Nevada where conifer forests dominate.">montane</acronym></a> populations, and indeed Lorquin's Admiral seems to have become commoner in Sierra Valley in the same period.</p> <p>The host plants are willows-in my experience, only the glabrous, green-leaved ones-and the species has 2 broods at Donner and 3 in the Valley, where it flies - not continuously - from April to October. <a class="glossary-term" href="/glossary/3#term87"><acronym title="The second stage of Lepidoptera metamorphosis. The primary activity in this stage is eating, eating, and eating. In fact, it is only the larval stage of a butterfly or moth that grows and “runt” adults can result from a poor diet as a caterpillar. ">Larva</acronym></a> seems to mimic a bird dropping.</p> Limenitis Sun, 28 May 2006 18:08:46 +0000 admin 84 at http://10.70.15.71