Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Incisalia augustinus
Explanation of Names
Named after a Canadian Inuit who was called Augustus by the members of the nineteenth-century John Franklin expedition. John Richardson, the naturalist on the Franklin Arctic Expedition, honoured Augustus for his devoted duty to the expedition members.
Numbers
locally common; the most often encountered elfin in most of its range
Identification
Adult: Has no tails. Upperside of male grayish-brown; female more reddish-brown. Underside of forewing chestnut brown with dark irregular postmedian line. Underside of hindwing sharply divided between dark brown basal half and light chestnut brown distal half.
Larva: olive green to yellow green, with a yellow line down the back, and oblique lines on the sides.
Range
Much of North America, north to Alaska and Newfoundland. Absent from Great Plains, midwest.
Habitat
Varied: barrens, bogs, mixed coniferous/deciduous woodlands; almost any place where acidic soils predominate and the larval foodplants occur.
Season
Adults from May-July (north); March-April (south)
Food
Larvae feed on flowers, fruits, and leaves of wide variety of plants, mainly Ericaceae, including blueberry (Vaccinium spp.), Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), Leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata), and Labrador Tea (Ledum groenlandicum).
Adults take nectar.
Remarks
Often flies in company with other elfms, and likes to sip moisture from wet sand and earth.
Guide TBA--PC (print references, etc.)
See Also
Moss's Elfin and
Hoary Elfin have some hoary gray shading in the pale outer half of the hindwing below.
Internet References
Butterflies of Canada pinned adult image, subspecies, description, origin of specific epithet, flight season, biology, distribution, similar species, remarks
Contributed by
Cotinis on 29 March, 2004 - 11:14am
Additional contributions by
Robin McLeodLast updated 15 April, 2006 - 10:40pm
