Jutta Arctic - Apple River, NS - 2010-05-25
Photo © Kathleen F. Spicer
What's this?
Status in Nova Scotia
Uncommon and very local. There are historical records from Mount Uniacke and Cape Breton; recent records are from Cumberland, Guysborough and Richmond counties. The
Maritimes Butterfly Atlas S-rank for this species is "S3: Uncommon, or found only in a restricted range, even if abundant at some locations (21 to 100 occurrences)."
Flight PeriodMid-May to late June.
HabitatTamarack and Black Spruce bogs.
Larval FoodplantsSedges such as Cotton-grass (
Eriophorum sp.), and
Carex.
Similar Species in Nova ScotiaNone.
NotesUntil recently, this species was known as Balder's Arctic,
Oeneis balderi.
This species has a two-year life-cycle: the larva passes its first winter as a first or second instar, and its second winter as a fourth or fifth instar.
It has been found in successive years in a Guysborough County bog (2011 and 2012), so these might almost be considered two independent populations of one species living in the same place at the same time.
Further Reading