BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Carterocephalus mandan
Arctic Skipper
| Scientific Name: | Carterocephalus mandan (Edwards, 1863) | ||||||||||
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| English Name: | Arctic Skipper | ||||||||||
| 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-CARPAL-MA | ||||||||||
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| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G5 (Mar 2024) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | S2? (Mar 2021) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Red | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | |||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | |||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | |||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | |||||||||||
| Subspecies Comments: | The taxonomy of this species group is in flux. Layberry et al. (1998) state the only subspecies in North America is mandan, and the nominate subspecies is Palaearctic. Guppy and Shepard (2001) state subspecies mandan only occurs in the Peace River canyon, other northern populations of C. palaemon subspecies are C.p.skada and have a darker ground colour on the venral hindwing. Guppy and Shepard (2001) further state that the newly described subspecies C.p.magnus Mattoon and Tilden 1998, is the subspecies that ranges from north to central BC, through to northern California. | ||||||||||
| Identification Comments: | Adults have a distinct checkered wing pattern that is dark brown with rectangular orange spots (Layberry et al. 1998). The wingspan is 19-32mm. For photographs refer to Guppy and Shepard (2001) and the Butterflies of North America website (Opler, P.A. et al. 2006). The larvae are pale green with white lateral stripes on the abdomen; eggs are round and pale green; prothorax is not heavily sclerotized (Guppy and Shepard 2001; Layberry et al. 1998). Fletcher (1889 as read in Guppy and Shepard 2001) reared the species to mature larvae. | ||||||||||
| Provincial Reproduction Comments: | There is no information on the number of eggs laid, whether the eggs are laid singly or in groups, or how many eggs a female produces in her lifetime. | ||||||||||
| Provincial Ecology Comments: | There is no information on the rearing of the species from the Peace River area. | ||||||||||
| Migration Characteristics: (Global / Provincial) | |||||||||||
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Nonmigrant: Local Migrant: Distant Migrant: Within Borders Migrant: |
N / N N / N N / N na / N |
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| Provincial Mobility & Migration Comments: | C.p.mandan is known from the Peace River region of BC. The species, in general, is not usually an abundant species (Guppy and Shepard 2001). | ||||||||||
| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
Forest / Conifer Forest - Moist/wet / Facultative - frequent use
Forest / Deciduous/Broadleaf Forest / Facultative - frequent use Grassland/Shrub / Grassland / Unknown Grassland/Shrub / Meadow / Facultative - frequent use |
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| Global Habitat Comments: | This species is found in glades, along roadsides, moist meadows, and forest openings and edges, sometimes in bogs or fens (Pyle and LaBar 2018; Lotts and Naberhaus 2024). | ||||||||||
| Provincial Habitat Comments: | The species is found in open grassy areas, usually in slightly damp habitats although not typically in marshes, bogs or places with open water; forest trails, clearings and edges; as well as the margins of deciduous forests (Layberry et al. 1998; Guppy and Shepard 2001; Opler et al. 2006). | ||||||||||
| Food Habits: |
Herbivore:Immature
Nectarivore: Adult |
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| Global Food Habits Comments: | Adults of this species consume flower nectar and larval hosts are grasses including purple reedgrass (Calamagrostis purpurascens) in California, and bromes (Bromus) (Pyle and LaBar 2018; Lotts and Naberhaus 2024). | ||||||||||
| Provincial Food Habits Comments: | Larvae are known to feed on grasses, although the specific grass species in BC are unknown. Larvae are known to eat a variety of grass species when raised in captivity (Layberry et al. 1998). Purple reed grass (Calamagrostis purpurascens) has been reported as the foodplant elsewhere within the species' range (Garth and Tilden 1986). In Europe it has been reared on Bromus species (Higgins and Riley 1970 as read in Guppy and Shepard 2001). | ||||||||||
| 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: Active / Eggs present outside adult June: Active / Eggs present outside adult July: Active / Eggs present outside adult Aug: / Larvae present and active Sept: / Larvae present and active Oct: / Larvae present and active Nov: / Larvae present and active Dec: / Larvae present and active |
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| Provincial Phenology Comments: | The flight season is from early May to mid July, although records may be for later in the Peace region (Guppy and Shepard 2001; Conservation Data Centre database 2006). Only one flight period is known. Eggs hatch within two weeks of being laid and larvae are mature by fall. It is assumed that the larvae overwinter, although this is still unknown (Guppy and Shepard 2001). | ||||||||||
| 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 is found in Canada from Yukon to Newfoundland and in the United States in Alaska and along the Canadian border from Washington to Maine, in the west south to California and Wyoming and in the northeast south to Pennsylvania (Pyle and LaBar 2018; GBIF 2024; SCAN 2024; iNaturalist 2024). | ||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
| Global Information Author: | T. Cornelisse | ||||||||||
| Last Updated: | Mar 21, 2024 | ||||||||||
| Provincial Information Author: | Heron, J. | ||||||||||
| Last Updated: | Feb 06, 2008 | ||||||||||
| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
British Columbia Conservation Data Centre. 2021. Element Subnational Ranking Form in Biotics 5 database. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia (accessed 2024). |
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BugGuide. 2024. BugGuide.net: identification, images, and information for insects, spiders and their kin for the United States and Canada. Iowa State University Entomology. Online. Available: http://bugguide.net |
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Conservation Data Centre. 2006. CDC butterfly records database containing records from multiple observers. |
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Garth, J.S. and J.W. Tilden. 1986. California Butterflies. University of California Press. |
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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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Keystone Wildlife Research Ltd. 2012. Electronic database containing baseline inventory data for flora and fauna within the Site C dam footprint. Data collected and prepared for B.C. Hydro. |
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Layberry, R. A., P. W. Hall, and J. D. LaFontaine. 1998. The butterflies of Canada. University of Toronto Press. 280pp. + color plates. |
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Lotts, K. and T. Naberhaus, coordinators. 2024. Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA). Bozeman, MT: Big Sky Institute. Online. Available: http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/ |
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Opler, P. A., and A. D. Warren. 2004. Lepidoptera of North America. 4. Scientific Names List for Butterfly Species of North America, north of Mexico. C.P Gillette Museum of Arthropod Diversity, Department of Bioagricultural Sciences and Pest Management, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado. 81 pp. |
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Opler, P.A. et al. 2006. Butterflies and Moths of North America. Bozeman, MT: Mountain Prairie Information Node. Available: http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/ (accessed January 2007). |
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Pyle, R.M. and C.C. LaBar. 2018. Butterflies of the Pacific Northwest. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon. 462 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. 2024. Species Summary: Carterocephalus mandan. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 5, 2026).