Sacramento Fish & Wildlife Office
Species Account
CALLIPPE SILVERSPOT BUTTERFLY
(Speyeria callippe callippe)
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About usCLASSIFICATION: Federal Endangered Species (62:64306; December 5, 1997)
CRITICAL HABITAT: None designated
RECOVERY PLAN: Calippe Silverspot Butterfly Recovery Plan (Under development)
DESCRIPTION:
The callippe silverspot (Speyeria callippe callippe) is a medium-sized butterfly in the brush foot family (Nymphalidae). It has a wingspan of about 2 ¼ inches. The upper wings are brown with extensive black spots and lines, and the basal areas are extremely dark. The undersides are brown, orange-brown and tan with black lines and distinctive black and bright silver spots. The basal areas of the wings and body are densely hairy. The caterpillars are dark-colored with many branching sharp spines on their backs.
The callippe silverspot is found in native grassland and adjacent habitats. Females lay their eggs on the dry remains of the larval food plant, Johnny jump-up (Viola pedunculata), or on the surrounding debris.
About a week after hatching, caterpillars (larvae) wander a short distance and spin a silk pad upon which they spend the summer and winter. In the spring they immediately seek out Johnny jump-up plants. In May they grow, shedding their skins four times. They then form pupa, the transformational phase during which they become adults, within a chamber of leaves that they have drawn together with silk. They emerge as adults in about two weeks and live for about three weeks. Depending upon environmental conditions, this period ranges from mid-May to late July. The adults seek the top of a hill to mate.
DISTRIBUTION:
The species was known historically to occur in seven populations in the San Francisco Bay region. The historic range included the inner coast range on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay from northwestern Contra Costa County south to the Castro Valley area in Alameda County. On the west side of the Bay, it ranged from San Francisco south to the vicinity of La Honda in San Mateo County. Five colonies, including the one located at Twin Peaks in San Francisco, were extirpated. The remaining colonies exist on mostly privately-owned land, but also on city, county, and State-owned land.
Since 1988, callippe silverspot butterflies have been recorded at San Bruno Mountain and Sign Hill near South San Francisco (San Mateo County), in the hills near Pleasanton (Alameda County), at Sears Point (Sonoma County), and in the hills between Vallejo and Cordelia.
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
The primary cause of the decline of the callippe silverspot butterfly is the loss of habitat from human activities. The species is imperiled by the current and potential future destruction and alteration of it's habitat due to off-road vehicle use, unsuitable levels of livestock grazing and invasive exotic vegetation. Off-road vehicles and trampling by horses and hikers could also crush the food plants of the larvae or the adult nectar sources.
Although the majority of the natural areas on San Bruno Mountain have been preserved and will remain undeveloped in perpetuity, collection of specimens by amateur lepidopterists poses a threat. Use of insecticides may also be a problem.
REFERENCES FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
U.C. Berkeley, Essig Museum of Entomology. California's Endangered Insects.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2003. Draft Recovery Plan for the Callippe Silverspot Butterfly (Speyeria callippe callippe). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 1, Portland, Oregon.
Photo Credit: Andrew Sanchez © California Academy of Sciences, CalPhoto ID: 9092 3191 3541 0067
