Mountain Fritillary - Hodges#4462
Boloria alaskensis
This record describes Boloria alaskensis (species). Recorded family: Nymphalidae. Recorded order: Lepidoptera.
Identification and Appearance
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
- Superfamily
- Papilionoidea
- Family
- Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
- Subfamily
- Heliconiinae
- Tribe
- Argynnini
- Genus
- Boloria (Lesser Fritillaries)
Imported taxonomy record. Source availability varies; see the source references and editorial policy below.
Habitat and Range
Geographic Range
Arctic northwestern North America in Alaska, Yukon, N.W.Territories, & western Nunavut, but also extending southward in relictual Alpine colonies through the Canadian Rockies into British Columbia & Alberta, and isolated in the Wind River Range in Wyoming. Also arctic north Asia.
Additional species information
Species notes from the sources
Etymology: In the past, this species has usually been considered to be part of the Eurasian species Boloria napaea . It is also very similar in appearance to Boloria pales , the European type species of the genus. There is much debate as to species limits, and as to just how many species there are within the subgenus Boloria (to which this species belongs). Some would argue that there are only one or two species worldwide. Others divide it up into numerous regional species, with B. alaskensis being the American and north Arctic Asian representative. There are most likely (?) about four or five "real" biological species.
About Butterflies and Moths: the wider group
Order-level background for Lepidoptera, the group containing Boloria alaskensis. Species-specific details appear above.
Group overview
Lepidoptera includes approximately 180,000 described species of butterflies and moths. Moths outnumber butterflies roughly 10:1. The monarch butterfly's eastern population has declined by more than 80% since the mid-1990s, and the western population by over 95% since the 1980s. The IUCN lists the migratory monarch as Vulnerable.
Ecological role of the group
Butterflies and moths are essential indicators of ecosystem health. As caterpillars, they are a primary food source for birds - a single nest of blue tit chicks requires ~10,000 caterpillars. Adult moths pollinate many night-blooming plants.
Economic and practical significance of the group
Lepidoptera are critical pollinators. In Europe, grassland butterfly species have declined by almost 50% since the early 1990s. In the UK, three-quarters of butterflies are in decline. In the U.S., five butterfly species have gone extinct since 1950, with 29 listed as endangered.
Recorded sources for this group: IUCN Red List, Xerces Society, USFWS, PNAS, WWF. Imported estimates may describe particular regions or reporting periods.