Callippe silverspot butterfly

Taxobox |name = "Speyeria callippe callippe"


status = EN
scientific cassification
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
classis = Insecta
ordo = Lepidoptera
familia = Nymphalidae
subfamilia = Heliconiinae
genus = "Speyeria"
species = "S. callippe"
subspecies = "S. c. callippe"
trinomial = "Speyeria callippe callippe"
trinomial_authority = Boisduval, 1852The Callippe Silverspot Butterfly ("Speyeria callippe callippe") is a federal endangered species in the brush-footed butterfly family Nymphalidae. It is a member of the Heliconiinae, the subfamily known as longwings. The adult has a wingspan of just over two inches. The wings are eyecatching with a brown, tan, and black scalloped pattern on their surfaces and orange-brown with characteristic silver spots on the undersides. The wings and abdomen are hairy. The larvae are spiny, dark-colored caterpillars.

The larvae eat one species of plant only, the yellow pansy, or "Johnny Jump-up" ("Viola pedunculata"). The female adults lay their eggs on the plant or nearby, and the larvae overwinter nearby in a silk pouch. In the spring they feed on the yellow pansy, molt four times, then pupate for two weeks in a nest of leaves which they glue together with silk. The adult lifespan is about three weeks in late spring or early summer.

This subspecies occurs in a few isolated spots in the San Francisco Bay Area, mostly near Oakland and Berkeley. Its native region is now extensively developed and heavily populated, leaving the butterfly critically endangered. Recently the subspecies has been known only from two spots near South San Francisco, the hills above Pleasanton, Sears Point in the North Bay, and in spots between Vallejo and Cordelia.

Loss of habitat is the primary cause of endangerment. Any native grassland that remains in the butterfly's habitat is currently disappearing due to varied causes, including development, off-road vehicles, grazing, and invasive plants.

This subspecies was listed as a federal endangered species in 1997. California does not list insects as state endangered species.

References

*U.C. Berkeley, Essig Museum of Entomology. California's Endangered Insects.
*U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2003. Draft Recovery Plan for the Callippe Silverspot Butterfly ("Speyeria callippe callippe").
*U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 1, Portland, Oregon.