BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Apodemia mormo
Mormon Metalmark
| Scientific Name: | Apodemia mormo (C. Felder and R. Felder, 1859) | ||||||||||
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| English Name: | Mormon Metalmark | ||||||||||
| Classification / Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Scientific Name - Concept Reference: | Pelham, J. P. 2008. A catalogue of the butterflies of the United States and Canada with a complete bibliography of the descriptive and systematic literature. The Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera. Volume 40. 658 pp. Revised 14 February, 2012. | ||||||||||
| Classification Level: | Species | ||||||||||
| Species Group: | Invertebrate Animal | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | LE-APOMOR | ||||||||||
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| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G5 (Jun 2022) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | S1S2 (Feb 2020) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Red | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | Endangered (May 2014) | ||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | 1 - Endangered (Jan 2005) | ||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | 6 - Not Assessed (2000) | ||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | |||||||||||
| Subspecies Comments: | In BC and in Canada there is only the one species of Apodemia mormo. This is the only species in the family Riodinidae that occurs in Canada (COSEWIC 2002c). There are two separate and disjunct populations of Apodemia mormo in Canada (BC and SK) and comparisons between the two populations suggest it is the same species although no formal comparison has been completed (COSEWIC 2002c). | ||||||||||
| Identification Comments: | Apodemia mormo is an attractive butterfly that has a wingspan of approximately 25 - 35 mm (COSEWIC 2002c). The dorsal wing surfaces are dark gray to black overall with patterned white dots in rows radiating from the central body. The basal area on the dorsal side has a small patch of orange. The wing undersides are an overall dusty white with black and white patterning on the hind wing surfaces and the outer edges of the forewing surfaces. The costal margin of the wing undersides is orange coloured with a few white blotches partially surrounded with black colouration. The Mormon Metalmark is considered a very distinctive species in BC as it is not similar in appearance to other butterflies in the province (Guppy and Shepard 2001). The mature larvae are an overall shiny black with yellow dots along the sides and sparse and single thin white hairs from the body. | ||||||||||
| Provincial Reproduction Comments: | In BC the Mormon Metalmark has been observed from August 11 (RBCM record) to October 1 (Guppy and Shepard 2001). | ||||||||||
| Provincial Ecology Comments: | There have been yearly surveys for the Mormon Metalmark since 1999, and each year the populations at the four known locations are confirmed. There have been no formal population estimates, dispersal, or ecological studies on this species in Canada. | ||||||||||
| Migration Characteristics: (Global / Provincial) | |||||||||||
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Nonmigrant: Local Migrant: Distant Migrant: Within Borders Migrant: |
N / Y N / N N / N na / N |
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| Provincial Mobility & Migration Comments: | The subspecies Apodemia mormo langei was studied in California (this subspecies does not occur in BC) and it was found that the maximum distance adult butterflies dispersed was 600 metres (Arnold and Powell 1983). This is the only study that has attempted to quantify dispersal and mobility of this genus. Observations of this butterfly in BC indicate that it is localized (St. John, pers comm., Dyer, pers. comm., Heron, pers. obs.). | ||||||||||
| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
Grassland/Shrub / Antelope-brush Steppe / Obligate
Grassland/Shrub / Grassland / Obligate Grassland/Shrub / Sagebrush Steppe / Obligate |
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| Global Habitat Comments: | From beach dunes to mountains; typically in dry areas and slopes. Larval host plants are in genus Eriogonum. | ||||||||||
| Provincial Habitat Comments: |
Mormon Metalmark habitat includes hillsides, slopes and embankments with sandy or gravelly soils and moderate to high densities of rabbitbrush (Erigoneum nauseosus) and snow buckwheat (Erigonium niveum). Larvae require buckwheat for feeding and may require buckwheat stems or leaf litter for hibernating. Adults require mature buckwheat for egg laying and flowering snow buckwheat and rabbitbrush for nectaring (St. John 2003). All known sites occur in the Bunchgrass Biogeoclimatic Zone at elevations below 520 meters ASL (BCMOE 2004). Twenty-two occupied habitat patches, totaling ~15 hectares in the Similkameen river valley are known (BCMOE 2004), constituting four locations for the species. An occupied habitat patch is an area of contiguous habitat (see section 6.1), generally > 0.1 hectare, with occurrences of adult Mormon Metalmarks between 1995 and 2004. Additional occupied habitat likely exists but is not known due to incomplete knowledge of the species distribution. |
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| Food Habits: |
Herbivore:Immature
Nectarivore: Adult |
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| Global Food Habits Comments: | Caterpillar Hosts: Various wild buckwheats (Eriogonum). Adult Food: Nectar from flowers of Eriogonum and other plants, especially yellow-flowered composites such as Senecio and rabbitbrush (Lotts and Naberhaus 2017). | ||||||||||
| Provincial Food Habits Comments: | This species requires large and mature snow buckwheat (Eriogonum niveum Dougl.) as the larval food plant. The adult butterflies nectar on snow buckwheat as well as common rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosus Pall.). | ||||||||||
| Global Phenology: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
Jan: Larvae present and active /
Feb: Larvae present and active / Mar: Larvae present and active / Apr: Larvae present and active / May: Larvae present and active / June: Larvae present and active / July: Larvae present and active / Aug: Active / Eggs present outside adult Sept: Active / Eggs present outside adult Oct: / Larvae present and active Nov: / Larvae present and active Dec: / Larvae present and active |
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| Provincial Phenology Comments: | The Mormon Metalmark is known to have one generation/flight period per year year between August and September (Guppy and Shepard 2001). The eggs are laid during the flight season and it is thought that the species hibernates as either an egg or an early instar larvae (Guppy and Shepard 2001), and sometime around July the adults form a pupae and emerge in early August. | ||||||||||
| Colonial Breeder: | N | ||||||||||
| Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): | / / | ||||||||||
| Elevation (m) (min / max): |
Global:
Provincial: |
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| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | N | ||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | This species occurs in western North America from southern Canada (British Columbia and Saskatchewan) south through the western US to northwestern Mexico (principally Baja California and Sonora) (SCAN 2022). | ||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
| Global Information Author: | |||||||||||
| Last Updated: | Jun 24, 2022 | ||||||||||
| Provincial Information Author: | Heron, Jennifer | ||||||||||
| Last Updated: | Jun 01, 2005 | ||||||||||
| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
B.C. Ministry of Environment (BCMOE). 2004. Working files in Arcview, based on inventory. Penticton, BC. |
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B.C. Ministry of Environment. Recovery Planning in BC. B.C. Minist. Environ. Victoria, BC. |
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Cannings, S.G., and R. Cannings. 1995. Rare Invertebrates of the South Okanagan. B.C. Minist. Environ., Lands and Parks, Wildl. Branch. 6pp. |
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COSEWIC. 2002c. COSEWIC assessment and update status report on the mormon metalmark Apodemia mormo in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. vii + 22 pp. |
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Guppy, C.S., and J.H. Shepard. 2001. Butterflies of British Columbia. UBC Press in collaboration with Royal B.C. Mus. 414pp. |
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Southern Interior Invertebrates Recovery Team. 2008. Recovery Strategy for the Mormon Metalmark (Apodemia mormo), Southern Mountain Population in British Columbia. Prepared for the B.C. Ministry of Environment, Victoria, BC. 14 pp. |
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Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2022. Species Summary: Apodemia mormo. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 14, 2026).