Northern Marble
Euchloe creusa (Doubleday, [1847])

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Diagnosis: This small- to medium-sized marble (wingspan: 24 to 36 mm) is closely related to the Desert Marble (E. lotta). The Northern Marble differs from the other marbles in having the white shading on the hindwing underside forming elongate streaks rather than rounded blotches, giving the wing a banded pattern. The dark discal spot is like that of the Desert Marble, but tends to be narrower and have a few white specks on it.

Range: The Northern Marble lives up to its name, being found from the Arctic Ocean south mainly in the mountains to Waterton Lakes National Park on the U.S. border. There are a few records from central Saskatchewan.

Similar Species: All other Euchloe; see Large Marble (E. ausonides). [compare images]

Early Stages: There appears to be little written on the early stages of this species, but they are recorded as feeding on several mustards, including Draba lanceolata; they likely eat the flowers and fruits.

Abundance: The Northern Marble tends to be uncommon and local.

Flight Season: The butterfly is on the wing from late May into mid-July.

Habits: Dry tundra habitats are the home of the Northern Marble. In mountainous areas it flies around rocky outcrops and moraines and in forest clearings.

© 2002. This material is reproduced with permission from The Butterflies of Canada by Ross A. Layberry, Peter W. Hall, and J. Donald Lafontaine. University of Toronto Press; 1998. Specimen photos courtesy of John T. Fowler.

The Toronto Entomologists' Association thanks Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada for providing the content and computer code for this web page.