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[From Ferris and Brown 1981; Scott 1986; Opler and Wright 1999; Glassberg 2001] Forewing 1.7-2.0 cm. Antennae all white; wings white. Uppersurface with limited black on forewing tip (giving a diffuse grayish appearance), narrow black forewing bar in cell; undersurface with a rose flush along wing bases when fresh, no marbling on forewing, hindwing with yellow along veins and limited marbling (none on anal angle).
One flight, mid-April to mid-May in Virginia; late April to early June in southern Ontario and Colorado (Scott 1986). Mainly April through June (Glassberg 2001). April through early July in the Rocky Mountain states (Ferris and Brown 1981). Probably late February to early July, one flight of 3-4 weeks at any particular locality (Clench and Opler 1983). Mid-April to mid-July in Colorado (Scott and Scott 1978; Clench and Opler 1983; Scott and Epstein 1987).
Determined by a combination of pure white antennae; uppersurface with little black (a narrow bar in forewing cell) and only a diffuse grayish appearance on forewing tip, undersurface with a rose flush along wing bases when fresh, no marbling on forewing, hindwing with yellow along veins and limited marbling (none on anal angle).
In southern Canada from Alberta to southwestern Quebec, south through the Great Plains east of the Rocky Mountains to central Texas, widespread in the Midwest with isolated population in the Appalachian Mountains (Clench and Opler 1983; Scott 1986; Opler and Wright 1999; Glassberg 2001); 1463 m to 2438 m elevation (always below 2743 m elevation) in Colorado (Brown 1957; Scott and Scott 1978, Clench and Opler 1983). In Montana, reported from at least 37 counties east of the continental divide (Kohler 1980; Stanford and Opler 1993; FLMNH Lepidopterists' Society database), to at least 2377 m elevation (Pryor Mountains in Carbon County). Uncommon in the west (Glassberg 2001).
Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
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(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)
Lower elevation dry open areas, prairie hills, foothills, badlands, chaparral, dunes, rocky ridges, shale and limestone barrens, open woodlands (Arnhold 1952; Ferris and Brown 1981; Clench and Opler 1983; Scott 1986; Opler and Wright 1999; Glassberg 2001). Habitat in Montana not described but probably similar; in the Great Yellowstone Ecosystem, reported from open woodland meadows, riverbanks, open hills (Debinski and Pritchard 2002).
Larval food plants include the mustards Arabis (several species), Descurainia, Lepidium, and Sisymbrium (Opler 1974; Ferris and Brown 1981; Clench and Opler 1983; Scott 1986, 1992, 2006). Adults feed on flower nectar, including Anaphalis, Arabis, Barbarea, Cerastium, Chorispora, Draba, Erysimum, Lathyrus, Lepidium, Lesquerella, Linum, Mertensia, Penstemon, Phlox, Physaria, Sedum, Thlaspi, and Viola (Clench and Opler 1983; Scott 1992, 2006, 2014).
Females lay eggs singly on host plant leaflets and flower buds. Larvae feed on host flowers, fruits, and leaves when young, host plant leaves and stems when older, build no nests, hibernate as pupae, presumably after developing to L5 instar as with other Euchloe, usually pupate on stalk of host plant, sometimes non-host plant such as Andropogon (Arnhold 1952; Opler 1974; Scott 1979, 1986, 1992, 2006; Clench and Opler 1983; James and Nunnallee 2011). Males patrol throughout the day on hilltops and slopes of ridges in search of females (Arnhold 1952; Scott 1975b, 1986).
Literature Cited AboveLegend:    View Online Publication
Arnhold, F.R. 1952. Notes on collecting Anthocarus midea and Euchloe olympia. Lepidopterists' News. 6: 99-100.
Brown, F.M. 1957. Colorado Butterflies. Proceedings; Numbers Three through Seven. Denver Museum of Natural History, Denver, Co.
Clench, H.K. and P.A. Opler. 1983. Studies on Nearctic Euchloe. Part 8. Distribution, ecology, and variation of Euchloe olympia (Pieridae) populations. Annals of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History 52: 41-54.
Debinski, D.M. and J.A. Pritchard. 2002. A field guide to the butterflies of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Lanham, MD: Roberts Rinehart Publishers. 107 p.
Ferris, C.D. and F.M. Brown (eds). 1981. Butterflies of the Rocky Mountains. Univ. of Oklahoma Press. Norman. 442 pp.
Glassberg, J. 2001. Butterflies through Binoculars: A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Western North America. Oxford University Press.
James, D.G. and D. Nunnallee. 2011. Life histories of Cascadia butterflies. Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University Press. 447 p.
Kohler, S. 1980. Checklist of Montana Butterflies (Rhopalocera). Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 34(1): 1-19.
Opler, P.A. 1974. Studies of Nearctic Euchloe. Part 7. Comparative life histories, hosts, and the morphology of immature stages. Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 13: 1-20.
Opler, P.A. and A.B. Wright. 1999. A field guide to western butterflies. Second edition. Peterson Field Guides. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 540 pp.
Scott, J.A. 1975b. Mate-locating behavior of western North American butterflies. Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 14:1-40.
Scott, J.A. 1979. Hibernal diapause of North American Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea. Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 18(3): 171-200.
Scott, J.A. 1986. The butterflies of North America: a natural history and field guide. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California.
Scott, J.A. 1992. Hostplant records for butterflies and skippers (mostly from Colorado) 1959-1992, with new life histories and notes on oviposition, immatures, and ecology. Papilio new series #6. 185 p.
Scott, J.A. 2006. Butterfly hostplant records, 1992-2005, with a treatise on the evolution of Erynnis, and a note on new terminology for mate-locating behavior. Papilio new series #14. 74 p.
Scott, J.A. 2014. Lepidoptera of North America 13. Flower visitation by Colorado butterflies (40,615 records) with a review of the literature on pollination of Colorado plants and butterfly attraction (Lepidoptera: Hersperioidea and Papilionoidea). Contributions of the C.P. Gillette Museum of Arthopod Diversity. Fort Collins, CO: Colorado State University. 190 p.
Scott, J.A. and G.R. Scott. 1978. Ecology and distribution of the butterflies of southern central Colorado. Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 17(2): 73-128.
Scott, J.A. and M.E. Epstein. 1987. Factors affecting phenology in a temperate insect community. American Midland Naturalist 117(1): 103-118.
Stanford, R.E. and P.A. Opler. 1993. Atlas of western USA butterflies: including adjacent parts of Canada and Mexico. Unpubl. Report. Denver and Fort Collins, Colorado 275 pp.
Additional ReferencesLegend:    View Online Publication
Do you know of a citation we're missing?
Allen, T.J., J.P. Brock, and J. Glassberg. 2005. Caterpillars in the field and garden: a field guide to the butterfly caterpillars of North America. Oxford University Press.
Brock, J.P. and K. Kaufman. 2003. Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, NY 284 pp.
Layberry, R.A., P.W. Hall, and J.D. LaFontaine. 1998. The Butterflies of Canada. University of Toronto Press. 280 pp. + color plates.
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Olympia Marble — Euchloe olympia.  Montana Field Guide.  Montana Natural Heritage Program.  Retrieved on September 27, 2022, from https://FieldGuide.mt.gov/speciesDetail.aspx?elcode=IILEPA5040