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Nymphalis californica (Boisduval) California Tortoiseshell; Western Tortoise Shell

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Higher taxa:  Life   Insecta   Lepidoptera   Nymphalidae   Nymphalis   Global map IDnature guides: Butterflies, Insecta We parsed the following live from the Web into this page. Such content is managed by its original site and not cached on Discover Life. Please send feedback and corrections directly to the source. See original regarding copyrights and terms of use. National Biological Information Infrastructure, Montana State University CalPhotos

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© John Pickering, 2006-2010 Nymphalis californica, top	© John Pickering, 2006-2010 Nymphalis californica, bottom
© Norbert Kondla, 2009 Nymphalis californica	© Norbert Kondla, 2009 Nymphalis californica
© Copyright Bob Poole 2010 Nymphalis californica, top

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Butterflies and Moths of North America Occurrence maps, species accounts, checklists, and photographs     Home Site Navigation Taxonomic Groups Map Search Species Search Image Gallery Make a Donation! Your contribution will help us maintain & improve this resource. More Information About Acknowledgments Cite This Resource Contact Us Disclaimer Frequently Asked Questions Get Involved Glossary In the News Links Recent Updates Home Species Detail California Tortoiseshell Nymphalis californica (Boisduval, 1852) Attributes of Nymphalis californica Family: Brush-footed Butterflies ( Nymphalidae ) Subfamily: True Brushfoots ( Nymphalinae ) Identification: Upperside is orange-brown with large black spots and dark wing borders. Underside looks like a dead leaf and is dark mottled brown with darker wing bases; hindwing does not have a centered silver spot. Life history : Males perch in the late afternoon to look for females. Eggs are laid in bunches on the host plant; caterpillars eat leaves and feed together when young. Adults hibernate. Flight : One brood overwinter . They fly the following spring until April or May, mating and laying eggs for the next brood. Wing span : 1 1/4 - 2 3/4 inches (3.2 - 7 cm). Caterpillar hosts: Various species of wild lilac (Ceanothus). Adult food: Flower nectar. Habitat: Chaparral, woodland, brush areas, forest clearings and edges. Range: British Columbia south along the Pacific Coast to Baja California Norte, east to Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. Rare migrants to Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, and Vermont after periodic population explosions in Mexico. Conservation: Not usually required. NatureServe Global Status : G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery. Management needs: None reported. Documented Records for Nymphalis californica Display alternate map range: North America Arizona California Colorado Idaho Illinois Iowa Mexico Michigan Minnesota Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Mexico New York North Dakota Oregon Pennsylvania South Dakota Utah Vermont Washington Wyoming

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CalPhotos     Photo Database   Number of matches : 10 Query: SELECT * FROM img WHERE ready=1 and taxon like "Nymphalis californica%" and (lifeform != "specimen_tag" OR lifeform != "Animal") ORDER BY taxon Click on the thumbnail to see an enlargement Nymphalis californica California Tortoiseshell Butterfly ID: 0000 0000 1006 0161 [detail] © 2006 Abe G. Doherty Nymphalis californica California Tortoiseshell Butterfly ID: 0000 0000 1006 0162 [detail] © 2006 Abe G. Doherty Nymphalis californica California Tortoiseshell ID: 0000 0000 0809 1230 [detail] © 2009 Kay Loughman Nymphalis californica California Tortoiseshell ID: 0000 0000 0807 1452 [detail] © 2007 Ron Wolf Nymphalis californica California Tortoiseshell ID: 0000 0000 0807 1453 [detail] © 2007 Ron Wolf Nymphalis californica California Tortoiseshell ID: 0000 0000 0807 1454 [detail] © 2007 Ron Wolf Nymphalis californica California Tortoiseshell ID: 0000 0000 0807 1455 [detail] © 2007 Ron Wolf Nymphalis californica California Tortoiseshell ID: 0000 0000 1208 0309 [detail] © 2008 Ron Wolf Nymphalis californica California Tortoiseshell ID: 0000 0000 1208 0310 [detail] © 2008 Ron Wolf Nymphalis californica California Tortoiseshell ID: 0000 0000 0509 0246 [detail] © 2009 John W. Wall Using these photos: A variety of organizations and individuals have contributed photographs to CalPhotos. Please follow the usage guidelines provided with each image. Use and copyright information, as well as other details about the photo such as the date and the location, are available by clicking on the [detail] link under the thumbnail. See also: Using the Photos in CalPhotos .    Copyright © 1995-2010 UC Regents. All rights reserved. CalPhotos is a project of BSCIT     University of California, Berkeley