Subject: Butterfly – Ashland, OR
Location: Siskiyou Mtns. – Ashland
July 28, 2014 9:49 pm
My friend has claimed this as a Lorquin’s admiral. Is it?
Signature: TerryDarc
Dear TerryDarc,
We wish you had access to a dorsal view as the orange-brown wingtips on the Lorquin’s Admiral are absent in other Admirals. This is most definitely an Admiral in the genus Limenitis, and there is a good chance that it is a Lorquin’s Admiral, but we have some other possibilities. There is a strong resemblance to the Lorquin’s Admiral posted to BugGuide, but there is also a resemblance to this Weidemeyer’s Admiral posted to BugGuide. It might also be an interspecies hybrid or other aberration as the genus has many examples represented on BugGuide. According to BugGuide: “Lorquin’s Admiral has brown wing tips, above and is much more brown on the underside. Its range encompasses the west coast.” If we limit our response to our top choice, based on your location and the brownish coloration, we have to go with Lorquin’s Admiral.
Thanks, Daniel!
It didn’t look quite right for a Lorquin’s. Hybrid is a good possibility. Sorry but that’s the only pic we’ve got.
-Terry