The Lorquin's Admiral (Limenitis lorquini) is a butterfly

Butterfly

A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...

 from the Nymphalinae

Nymphalinae

Nymphalinae is a subfamily of brush-footed butterflies . Sometimes, the Limenitidinae are included here as further tribe, while the Melitaeini are occasionally considered a distinct subfamily.- Systematics:...

 subfamily. The butterfly is named after Pierre Joseph Michel Lorquin, a French naturalist who came to California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 from France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 during the Gold Rush

Gold rush

A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...

 and made important discoveries on the natural history of the terrain.

Physical description

The Lorquin's Admiral has brown-black wings, each with a row of white spots across the wings and orange colored tips. Wingspan: 47 to 71 mm though females are generally larger than males.

Habitat

The Lorquin's Admiral can mostly be found across Upper Sonoran to the Canadian Zone, east to western Montana

Montana

Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...

 and Idaho

Idaho

Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....

. Known areas include southern British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

 (including Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...

, north of Emerald Lake), Cypress Hills in southwestern Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....

 as well as southwestern Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

.The butterfly resides mostly in forest edges, mountain canyons, parks, streamsides, fencerows, orchards, and groves of cottonwood and poplar. Usually the butterflies feed on California buckeye, yerba santa, privet, bird droppings, and dung. It is extremely territorial and will attack any intruders to its habitat, including large birds.

Larva

The Lorquin's Admiral larva are usually yellow along with a patch of white on its back. They are laid near or on the tips of leaves. Common trees that the larva feed on include willow

Willow

Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...

 (Salix), poplar

Poplar

Populus is a genus of 25–35 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar , aspen, and cottonwood....

, wild cherry (Prunus), cottonwood (Populus), and an assortment of orchard trees including that of cherry, apple, and plum.

Flight season

The Lorquin's Admiral usually flies around April to October, though it depends on the region. Butterflies found in northern areas tend to fly once (usually between June and August) whereas southern butterflies (mainly in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

) tend to fly multiple times.

Similar species

• White Admiral (L. arthemis)
• Weidemeyer's Admiral (L. weidemeyerii)
• California Sister Butterfly
  California Sister Butterfly
  The California Sister , sometimes placed in the genus Limenitis), is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. The butterfly is named for its black and white markings on the forewing that resemble a nun's habit...
  
  (Adelpha bredowii californica)

External links

• Butterflies of Oregon
• Lorquin's Admiral, Butterflies of Canada