CA sister ~ 05/14/13 ~ Washington

California sister
Adelpha californica (formerly Adelpha bredowii)

more information

Dr. Shapiro and his wife joked that this butterfly truly wanted its picture taken since it kept landing right in front of me to mud-puddle. I'm glad I did, since I'm not sure if I have another top view of a CA sister in my photo archives. I consider it fairly common at several of the places I hike closer to home. It's such a stunning butterfly, even viewed from the underside. Art mentioned that both male and female CA sisters mud-puddle, which is unusual considering often only male butterflies do this mysterious behavior. What got me with this post is just now noticing the name change. Erg. A. bredowii is now reserved for the Mexican sister, which per its name is found in Mexico. It does seem like common names are becoming more reliable.

CA sister ~ 05/06/10 ~ Pinnacles

California sister perched on buck brush
Adelpha californica (formerly Adelpha bredowii) perched on Ceanothus cuneatus var. cuneatus
Rhamnaceae

Didn't I say I hope my pictures will improve in a year? And, yes, I'm using the same ol' Konica Minolta DiMAGE X50. I'm just pausing a little longer and being patient.

I often get California sisters confused with Lorquin's admiral (Limenitis lorquini) from the top view and on the wing. The way I remember it now is "Lorquin's lacks the black" margin around the orange tips. From the underside, each is very different.

Notice it appears like there are only 4 legs? There really are 6, the front two are tucked in, which is typical of the Nymphalidae family, also known as brushfoots. What I don't understand is Glassberg, p.134 says the forelegs are reduced in males. Does this mean they are not reduced in females? I can't find anything online confirming this, but I do find it interesting that most pictures online are of males.

To see a fantastic picture of the California sister caterpillar, see Butterflies of America's site.

ps 07/02/11 - I should note that buck brush is not the host plant of CA sister. This butterfly's caterpillars reportedly eat oaks. As I watched the individual above, it seemed to be territorial of a particular open air space created by the nearby stream; it repeatedly perched on the same branch of buck brush, after chasing other butterflies.

ps - 06/01/13 - I've updated the butterfly name change and embedded links.