BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Oeneis philipi
Philip's Arctic
| Scientific Name: | Oeneis philipi Troubridge, 1988 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name Synonyms: |
Oeneis rosovi
|
||||||||||
| English Name: | Philip's Arctic | ||||||||||
| 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 | ||||||||||
| Taxonomy Comments: | SName changed from O. rosovi to O. philipi to align with NatureServe (Feb 22, 2005 - DW). | ||||||||||
| Species Group: | Invertebrate Animal | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | LE-OENPHI | ||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G5? (Jul 2020) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | S1S3 (Feb 2020) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Red | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | |||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | |||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | 6 - Not Assessed (2000) | ||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | |||||||||||
| Migration Characteristics: (Global / Provincial) | |||||||||||
|
Nonmigrant: Local Migrant: Distant Migrant: Within Borders Migrant: |
N / N / N / na / |
||||||||||
| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
Forest / Conifer Forest - Dry / Facultative - occasional use
Wetland / Bog / Facultative - frequent use |
||||||||||
| Global Habitat Comments: | Open spruce bogs, tundra, and talus (Layberry et al. 1998, Opler 1998, Pohl et al. 2015, SCAN 2020). | ||||||||||
| Food Habits: |
Herbivore:Immature
Nectarivore: Adult |
||||||||||
| Global Food Habits Comments: | Caterpillars eat Cotton-grass (Eriophorum) (Layberry et al. 1998). Adults are presumed to feed on flower nectar. | ||||||||||
| Global Phenology: | |||||||||||
| Global Phenology Comments: | Adults have a single flight from mid-June to mid-July (Layberry et al. 1998). Based on our knowledge of related species, eggs are laid on host plant and probably hatch in a week or slightly more. Larvae feed until a few weeks before the adult flight when they pupate. It is possible that the species require two years to complete the life cycle. | ||||||||||
| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
|||||||||||
| Colonial Breeder: | N | ||||||||||
| Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): | / / | ||||||||||
| Elevation (m) (min / max): |
Global:
Provincial: |
||||||||||
| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | N | ||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | This species occurs in Alaska, USA, and northwestern Canada (SCAN 2020). | ||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
| Global Information Author: | Opler, P.A. (2000), rev. B. Young (2020) | ||||||||||
| Last Updated: | Jul 13, 2020 | ||||||||||
| Provincial Information Author: | |||||||||||
| Last Updated: | |||||||||||
| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
Guppy, C.S., and J.H. Shepard. 2001. Butterflies of British Columbia. UBC Press in collaboration with Royal B.C. Mus. 414pp. |
|||||||||||
Layberry, R.A., P.W. Hall, and J.D. LaFontaine. 1998. The Butterflies of Canada. University of Toronto Press: Toronto, Canada. 280 pp. + color plates. |
|||||||||||
Opler, P. A., and A. B. Wright. 1999. A field guide to western butterflies. Second edition. Peterson Field Guides. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 540 pp. |
|||||||||||
Opler, P. A., and A. D. Warren. 2002. Butterflies of North America. 2. 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. 79 pp. |
|||||||||||
Pohl, G.R., R.A. Cannings, J.F. Landry, D.G. Holden, and G.G.E Scudder. 2015. Checklist of the Lepidoptera of British Columbia, Canada. Entomological Society of British Columbia. Occasional Paper, 3. |
|||||||||||
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. 2020. Species Summary: Oeneis philipi. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 13, 2026).