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.
Comments: NULL
Verified Sightings
Displaying 25 - 48 of 77 verified sightings
Observation date: Jun 28, 1995
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (F/P)
Region: Northwest Arctic, Alaska, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier (Lepidopterists' Society Season Summary)
Verified date: Jan 23, 2008
Observation date: Jul 07, 1996
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (KWP)
Region: Denali, Alaska, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier (Lepidopterists' Society Season Summary)
Verified date: Jan 23, 2008
Observation date: Jun 24, 1999
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (JLH)
Region: North Slope, Alaska, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier (Lepidopterists' Society Season Summary)
Verified date: Jan 23, 2008
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Clear Creek County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Whatcom County, Washington, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Teller County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: San Juan County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Alamosa County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Taos County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Sublette County, Wyoming, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Adams County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Chaffee County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Rio Grande County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Glacier County, Montana, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Daggett County, Utah, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Larimer County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Lake County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Saguache County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Las Animas County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Coos County, New Hampshire, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Park County, Wyoming, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Gilpin County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Okanogan County, Washington, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: El Paso County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
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