Attributes of Oeneis melissa
Melissa Arctic
Oeneis melissa (Fabricius, 1775)
Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Satyrinae
Identification: Wings are translucent, wing fringes are often checkered. Upperside is gray-brown with faint or absent eyespots. Underside of hindwing is mottled black and gray; median band is lacking or faint with white outlines.
Wing Span: 1 5/8 - 2 inches (4.2 - 5.1 cm).
Life History: To find females, males perch and patrol rocky areas during the day. Females lay eggs on sedges or in litter around them. Caterpillars feed at night and pupate under mosses and rocks. Two years are required to complete development; the first winter is passed by first-stage caterpillars, the second winter by mature caterpillars.
Flight: One brood from mid-June to early August.
Caterpillar Hosts: Sedges including Carex bigelowii and C. rupestris.
Adult Food: Not reported.
Habitat: Tundra, talus slopes, rocky summits and saddles, frost-heaved clear-cuts.
Range: Holarctic. Siberia and the North American arctic from Alaska east to Baffin Island and Labrador. Isolated populations in the Rocky Mountains south to northern New Mexico and in the White Mountains of New Hampshire (O. m. semidea).
Conservation: Necessary only for subspecies semidea.
NCGR: Oeneis melissa semidea of New Hampshire has The Nature Conservancy Global Rank of G2 - Imperiled globally because of rarity (6 to 20 occurrences), or because of other factors demonstrably making it very vulnerable to extinction throughout its range. (Endangered throughout its range).
Management Needs: Prevent development or trampling of habitat in New Hampshire.
Taxonomy Notes:
Images of Oeneis melissa
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The map below displays all verified sighting records in the BAMONA database for this species. Each record is indicated with a yellow dot. The orange dots on the map provide access to information about the 400 most recently verified sightings of this species. In some instances, there are several records at the same location. Use the table view to access these records.
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The fifty most recently verified sightings are below. See more recently verified sightings of all species.
| Observation Date | Submitter | Region |
Verified Date |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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August 11, 2012 | plex1ppus | Okanogan County, Washington, United States | August 28, 2012 | Details |
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July 10, 2010 | stevecary | Taos County, New Mexico, United States | January 25, 2011 | Details |
| June 30, 2002 | legacy.reporter (PR) | Yukon-Koyukuk Borough, Alaska, United States | January 23, 2008 | Details | |
| June 28, 1995 | legacy.reporter (F/P) | Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska, United States | January 23, 2008 | Details | |
| June 30, 1998 | legacy.reporter (ALS) | Yukon-Koyukuk Borough, Alaska, United States | January 23, 2008 | Details | |
| July 07, 1996 | legacy.reporter (KWP) | Denali Borough, Alaska, United States | January 23, 2008 | Details | |
| June 24, 1999 | legacy.reporter (JLH) | North Slope Borough, Alaska, United States | January 23, 2008 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Coos County, New Hampshire, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Alaska, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Jackson County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Larimer County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Grand County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Clear Creek County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Gilpin County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Boulder County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Adams County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Mineral County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Pitkin County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Lake County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Park County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Teller County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | El Paso County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Gunnison County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Chaffee County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Fremont County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Custer County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Saguache County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Ouray County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | San Juan County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | San Miguel County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | La Plata County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Rio Grande County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Costilla County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Huerfano County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Las Animas County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Dolores County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Alamosa County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Routt County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Summit County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Glacier County, Montana, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Stillwater County, Montana, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Carbon County, Montana, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Taos County, New Mexico, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Mora County, New Mexico, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Summit County, Utah, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Daggett County, Utah, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Uintah County, Utah, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Duchesne County, Utah, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Park County, Wyoming, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details |
