2014 guide to species at risk in the prairie provinces: chapter 4
Insects
Dakota Skipper
Hesperia dacotae
Threatened
Male Dakota skippers are tawny orange with a brownish border on the upper side of the wings and an elongated dark mark on the front wings. The undersides are yellowish orange with paler spots forming a semicircle. Females are similar but have less distinctive buff colouring and faint markings. They occur only in native tallgrass and mixed grass prairie.
Did you know?
- Only 4 isolated populations are known to occur in Canada.
- Conversion of native prairie to cultivated land is one of the biggest threats to Dakota skippers. Since European settlement, 99.9% of the native mixed and tall-grass Prairie in Manitoba and 81% of the mixed-grass prairie in Saskatchewan has been lost.
Dusky Dune Moth
Copablepharon longipenne
Endangered
The dusky dune moth is a mediumsized, light brown moth with a distinctive line of black dots on the forewing. A pale streak is often present along the edge of the forewing. Males and females are similar in appearance but females are generally larger in size.
Did you know?
- Dusky dune moths inhabit sparsely vegetated active sand dunes; a rare type of habitat that has been declining in Canada for over a century.
- Very little is known about dusky dune moth adult and larval host plants.
Gold-edged Gem
Schinia avemensis
Endangered
The gold-edged gem is a small day-flying moth with specialized habitat requirements. The moth inhabits remnant patches of active sand dunes or blowouts where colonies of Prairie sunflowers (its only known larval host plant) exist. Upper wings of the gold-edged gem are brownish-maroon marked with two yellow bands. Its name comes from the distinctive pale yellow band along the margin of its wings.
Did you know?
- The gold-edged gem can remain in the pupal stage for more than a year, but once they emerge as adults, they live for only a week.
- The gradual stabilization of active sand dunes by native or introduced vegetation such as sweet clover and spurge threaten this moth's habitat.
Ottoe Skipper
Hesperia ottoe
Endangered
The ottoe skipper is a rare butterfly found in localized areas of Manitoba's dry mixed-grass and sand-prairie habitats. The male has yellowish-orange wings with a diffused brown border and an elongated mark on the forewing. The female is dull brown with pale buff markings and one or two whitish spots on the forewing. Males and females both have pale yellowish-orange undersides.
Did you know?
- Ottoe skipper cannot survive in altered or disturbed habitats and much of this species' preferred grassland habitat has been converted to farmland.
- This species was last seen in Spruce Woods Provincial Park in the late 1980s.
Poweshiek Skipperling
Oarisma poweshiek
Threatened
The Poweshiek skipperling, like all skippers, has a hooked antennae and characteristic skipping flight pattern. This butterfly has an orange head and dark brown upper wings with orange lines along the wing margin. The undersides of wings are dark grey with distinctive silvery-outlined veins. In Canada, they only occur in wet to mesic native tall-grass prairies.
Did you know?
- In Canada, the Powershiek skipperling is found within a 2300-ha area of Southeast Manitoba.
- This butterfly was first discovered in Iowa and is named after the county it was found in: Poweshiek County.
Verna's Flower Moth
Schinia verna
Threatened
The forewings of the Verna's flower moth are contrastingly marked with olive-brown and maroon on a white background. The hindwings are black and white, giving the moth an overall checkered appearance. The known global range of Verna's flower moth is restricted to the Canadian Prairie grassland and parkland region. It is a day-flying moth, whose flight period is closely synchronized with the blooming of pussytoes, the larval food plant.
Did you know?
- Only one population of Verna's flower moth has been observed in Canada since 2000, north of Jenner, Alberta. It is unknown if other populations still exist.
- The larvae of Verna's flower moth are cannibalistic!
White Flower Moth
Schinia bimatris
Endangered
The white flower moth is a relatively small moth with an orange head and wings of pure glossy white – it is distinctive from all other species of moths in Canada. Only one population is known to occur in Canada, in the Spruce Woods Provincial Park region of southwest Manitoba.
Did you know?
- Little is known about this nocturnal moth, but it is thought to live in association with the white evening primrose (Oenothera speciosa).
- This moth appears to be restricted to active sand dunes, and thus vegetation growth on sand dunes may pose a threat to this species.
Yucca Moth, Non-pollinating Yucca Moth & Five-spotted Bogus Yucca Moth
Tegeticula yuccasella, Tegeticula corruptrix & Prodoxus quinquepunctellus
Endangered
The yucca moth is a small whitish moth that, like the non-pollinating yucca moth and the five-spotted bogus yucca moth, can be found within the flowers of the soapweed (yucca) plant. These three highly specialized moths are dependent on the soapweed plant and are only found in the localized parts of southern Alberta where soapweed occurs. All three moth species are in decline due to grazing by deer and antelope, agriculture, off-road traffic and the horticultural and medicinal collection of soapweed.
Did you know?
- The yucca moth's mouth is specially evolved to pollinate the soapweed plant whereas the other two moths simply cohabit the host.
- The survival of two other endangered moth species depends on the pollination of the soapweed.
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