California Sisters: Graceful flying mountain butterflies
California Sisters: Graceful flying mountain butterflies
By: Jon Hammond
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Posted by editor Tue Nov 30, 1999 00:00:00 PST
Viewed 760 times
0 responses 0 comments The Tehachapi Mountains provide important summer habitat for many species of Southern California butterflies. Though few people are aware of this fact, Tehachapi is a hot spot for butterflies — our best-known entomologist, Ed Sampson, first came to Tehachapi when he was 12 years old in pursuit of butterflies.
Among the many butterflies which grace this area in the warmer months is the California Sister (Adelpha bredowii), a distinctive and easily-recognizable butterfly. When viewed from above, California Sisters are mostly black with a white diagonal stripe on each wing and a large orange spot near the edge of each forewing.
In addition, California Sisters have a beautiful bluish or purplish sheen at the base of the wings where they attach to the body.
When their wings are folded, California Sisters exhibit soft lilac blue accent marks among the white stripes and orange spots.
California Sisters rarely visit flowers but can frequently be seen “puddling,” or visiting damp sand or mud to drink water and extract mineral salts. In many species of butterflies, especially some of the larger ones, males ingest salts along with the water. These salts, which aid in the nourishment of the butterfly eggs, are then passed along to the female during mating.
California Sisters are frequently mistaken for Lorquin’s Admirals (Limenitis lorquini), which are similar but slightly smaller and have narrow orange markings right on their wing margins, rather than the California Sister’s rounded spots that are farther in on the wing. Lorquin’s Admirals also have deep orange and white on the underside of their wings, rather than the lilac-blue and pale yellowish orange of California Sisters.
The attractive California Sister butterflies utilize local oak species as their food plants and their green or yellow caterpillars consume oak leaves. The adult butterflies can often be seen flying high through canyon and valley oaks, occasionally descending to water sources for a drink.
I have seen California Sisters in most of our mountain areas, including Water Canyon and Tehachapi Mountain Park, Bear Mountain, Cummings Mountain and Stallion Springs, and sometimes even along the lower stretches of Tehachapi Creek.
Butterfly season is upon us, so look closely and you’ll be rewarded with the sight of some of Tehachapi’s dozens of butterfly species.
Have a good week.
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