Oeneis tanana

Oeneis tanana

Imperiled  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Subtribe: Satyrina
Genus: Oeneis
Species group: Oeneis (bore)
Species:
O. tanana
Binomial name
Oeneis tanana
A. Warren & Nakahara 2016

Oeneis tanana is a species of butterfly, a member of the Satyrinae. It occurs in Alaska, and is believed to be the only endemic species of butterfly in the state.[2] It is speculated to be a hybrid species of Oeneis bore and O. chryxus.[3] The species is threatened due to habitat loss.[1]

Range and habitat

It occurs only in the Tanana River valley area of Alaska. This valley, or part of it, was a glacial refugium during the last ice age. O. tanana inhabits clearings in boreal spruce forests.

Larval foods

Speculated to be grasses and sedges.

Adult foods

Unknown, but related species sip nectar.

Life cycle

Adults are on the wing between mid May and early July, but mostly mid June. It takes two seasonal cycles for the caterpillars to completely develop. Adults are only found during odd numbered years.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Oeneis tanana". explorer.natureserve.org.
  2. ^ "Is Alaska's first new butterfly species in decades an ancient hybrid?". phys.org. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  3. ^ Warren, Andrew D.; Nakahara, Shinichi; Lukhtanov, Vladimir A.; Daly, Kathryn M.; Ferris, Clifford D.; Grishin, Nick V.; Cesanek, Martin; Pelham, Jonathan P. (2016). "A new species of Oeneis from Alaska, United States, with notes on the Oeneis chryxus complex (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae)" (PDF). The Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera. 49. The Lepidoptera Research Foundation, Inc.: 1–20. doi:10.5962/p.266460. S2CID 90861276. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 February 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2016.