LB 10-101 - White Mountain Arctic Butterfly Habitat Preference

The White Mountain arctic butterfly (WMA; Oeneis melissa semidea) is a narrowly endemic subspecies that lives in alpine sedge meadows around the cone of Mount Washington and Jefferson in the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire. WMA is an arctic species adapted to cold, snowy conditions and existing only in meadows with its singular host plant, Bigelow’s sedge (Carex bigelowii). This range restriction due to climate and host plant availability makes the WMA extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change and human disturbance. Female WMAs can be found in areas dominated by sedges and lay their eggs at the base of the sedge clusters and surrounding leaf litter, while males patrol for females from rocky outcrops in surrounding fellfields. Previous researchers noted that WMA males utilized the fellfield for basking as well as looking for mates. We aimed to examine the number of adult WMA utilizing the surrounding fellfields in order to gain a better understanding of the habitat requirements for the species as adults. Based on detections recorded in 2011-2012 (Gradish) and 2022 (New Hampshire Fish and Game), we used unpaired two-sample Wilcoxon tests to determine if WMA preferred sedge meadow habitat or fellfields. WMA greatly preferred fellfields (p < 0.0001). This information could help New Hampshire Fish and Game biologists determine which areas are most important for the species’ persistence and actions that can be taken to protect them from the threats of climate change and recreation. This research also provides a better understanding of the habitat use by the adult life stage of this high-elevation butterfly species.