California Tortoiseshell
(Nymphalis californica)
The California Tortoiseshell is a very rare migrant from the west. The USGS web site currently does not list this species as being found in Wisconsin, but instead list the California Patch, a species that isn’t known for long migrations and which has been recorded only from California, Arizona, and Nevada. The California Tortoiseshell, on the other hand, has been recorded from Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont in the east as well as most of the western states. The California Tortoiseshell is listed in Ebner’s book on the butterflies of Wisconsin and it appears that the USGS web sites listing of the California Patch is actually this species.
Identifying characteristics: An orange butterfly with wide black margins, and a few small black spots on the forewings. Below, this species is brownish/gray and is similar to many of the commas, but lacks the silvery spot in the middle of the hindwing that characterizes those species.
Similar species: The Compton Tortoiseshell is somewhat similar, but is larger, does not have a wide dark margin on all four wings, and has larger dark spots in the forewing. The small dark spots in the California Tortoiseshell make this species appear to have a more open appearance to the upper wings. Below, the California Tortoiseshell does not have a silvery comma-like mark like the Compton Tortoiseshell.
Habitat: Woodland clearings and trails.
Flight: A very rare migrant from the west.
Abundance: In the west, this species has large migrations and thousands of these butterflies may be seen in a single day. In Wisconsin, it is not likely that you will ever see this species.
Submit a California Tortoiseshell sighting »
California Tortoiseshell
Nymphalis californica