Applegater Spring 2017
Two butterflies of the
Nymphalidae family
BY LINDA KAPPEN
Mylitta Crescent
The Mylitta Crescent butterfly
(Phyciodes mylitta) belongs to the
Nymphalidae family.
Its wingspread can be up to one and
a half inches. The upper side of its wings
ranges in color from bright orange to
yellow and features thin black markings
and spots. The underside is a blurry
rusty-orange with yellow and orange
markings.
It lays its eggs on the undersides
of host-plant thistles: native Cirsium,
milk (Silybum marianum), or European.
Through naturalization of other thistle
species and their relatives, the mylitta
has become widespread. Larvae feed
on host plants living inside a web nest.
Later, half-grown larvae will overwinter
or hibernate on host plants.
Adults nectar on host-plant flowers
of thistle, asters, rabbitbrush, pearly
everlasting, and many others. Two or
more broods occur from March to
mid-October, and they can be seen
throughout spring, summer, and fall
from sea level to elevations up to 8,000
feet. Some habitats are fields, roadsides,
parks, and meadows.
The range of the Mylitta Crescent
is from southern British Columbia
south through California, Mexico, and
the Rocky Mountains. It is a common
butterfly throughout its range.
My l i t t a C r e s c e n t i s e a s i l y
recognizable after you get to know it in
the field. Sometimes just when you think
you aren’t going to see many butterflies, a
mylitta will show up and warm your day!
Western Meadow Fritillary
T h e We s t e r n
Meadow Fritillary (Boloria
epithore), also known as
the Pacific Fritillary, is
another member of the
Nymphalidae family.
This butterfly can have a
wingspread of up to one
and three-quarter inches.
Mostly bright orange,
this butterfly has black
lines, triangle-tipped
arrowhead markings, and
black spots on the upper
side of its wings. The
underside has beautiful
Mating Mylitta Crescent on Oregon sunshine
purple-brown markings
■ APPLEGATE INNS
Continued from page 12
Magnolia Inn
The Magnolia Inn is located near
the shops, restaurants, and attractions of
Jacksonville. The unique vintage style of
each room reflects the warm hospitality
of innkeepers Robert and Susan Roos,
who have loved the inn since their first
stay there, on vacation. In 2007 they left
their corporate jobs in the hospitality
industry in Orange County, California,
to become its owners. With a southern,
old-fashioned appeal, the Magnolia Inn
even has a pet-friendly room downstairs.
Susan says the upscale continental
breakfast is amazing, with pastries from
local bakeries. The chocolate mint
cookies deserve a paragraph of their own.
• • • • •
TouVelle House
TouVelle House bed-and-breakfast
is an authentic 1916 craftsman house
with six guest rooms. In 2013, after
years in law enforcement in Los Angeles,
Jamie Kerr, a Medford native, convinced
her husband, Sean, that they should
follow their dream of owning a bed-
and-breakfast. They bought the TouVelle
House, and Jamie went to culinary
13
and a row of dark circles
on the hindwing.
Males patrol
frequently, flying low
in their search for
females. Single eggs
are laid on species of
violets, mostly redwood
and evergreen (viola
sempervirens), western
dog and hookedspur
(viola adunca), and
stream and pioneer
(viola glabella). Larvae
will eat the edges of
Western Meadow Fritillary on American bistort
leaves and sometimes the
flowers. They diapause
(hibernate) in the third
or fourth instar. (“Instar”
is a term used for a stage
in the development of a
caterpillar.) Feeding in
spring, the larvae turn
to chrysalis, producing
a single flight in early
summer to early fall.
Adults will nectar
on pearly everlasting,
thistles, blackberr y,
strawberry, cinquefoil,
and other plants.
Western Meadow Fritillary on blue-headed gilia
Habitats for the Western
Meadow Fritillary are wet meadows, elusive. Sometimes it will get busy
streamsides, and healthy green open enough on flowers to allow for a closer
places from valleys to mid- and higher- encounter for you to enjoy its light
beauty and, if lucky, catch a photo. This
elevation mountains.
Their range in the Pacific Northwest butterfly is one of my favorites when
is from western Alberta, British Columbia, visiting mid-elevation meadows, which
and from the coast throughout the it frequents throughout the warm days
of early to late summer.
western United States.
Linda Kappen
The Western Meadow Fritillary
humbugkapps@hotmail.com
flies slow and low, stopping on flowers
Butterfly photos by Linda Kappen.
to nectar, but can still remain somewhat
Inns around the Applegate
Contact information
school. The gardens of the B&B allow
Jamie a farm-to-table approach with the
breakfasts she makes daily for guests.
Jamie takes great pride in keeping
TouVelle House up to her particularly
high standards, while Sean, who takes
care of the gardens, grounds, swimming
pool, and bees, covers everything else,
from entertaining guests in the morning
to doing maintenance. Each room has
feather beds and fancy sheets and a glass
water bottle to fill from the water coolers
on each floor.
• • • • •
Wine Country Inn,
McCully House, Wine Cottages
Wine Country Inn is one of
three properties offered by hotel group
Country House Inn in Jacksonville.
• Applegate River Lodge, 15100
Highway 238, Applegate; 541-846-
6690; applegateriverlodge.com. Rates:
$130 - 165.
• Bybee’s Historic Inn, 883 Old Stage
Road, Jacksonville; 541-899-0106;
bybeeshistoricinn.com. Rates: $145 - 199.
• Elan Guest Suites, 245 West Main
Street, Jacksonville; 541-899-8000;
elanguestsuites.com. Rates: $190 - 260.
• Horsefeather Farms Ranchette,
13291 Highway 238, Applegate; 541-
941-0000; horsefeather-farms-ranchette.
com. Rates: $100 - 235.
• Jacksonville Inn, 175 East California
Street, Jacksonville; 541-899-1900;
jacksonvilleinn.com. Rates: $159 – 465.
• Magnolia Inn, 245 North 5th Street,
Jacksonville; 541-899-0255; magnolia-
inn.com. Rates: $124 - 179.
• McCully House (240 E. California
Street, Jacksonville) and Wine Cottages
(220 E. C Street, Jacksonville); 541-899-
3953; countryhouseinnsjacksonville.
com. Rates: $209 - 299.
• TouVelle House, 455 North Oregon
Street, Jacksonville; 541-899-8938;
touvellehouse.com. Rates: $135 - 199.
• Wine Country Inn, 830 North 5th
Street, Jacksonville; 541-899-3953;
countryhouseinnsjacksonville.com.
Rates: $139 - 209.
Wine Country Inn, the most economical
of the three, has 27 comfortable and
tidy rooms, two with Jacuzzi tubs. Wine
Country Inn is pet friendly and treats its
guests to a Continental breakfast. It also
provides check-in and other services for
guests of Country House Inn’s two more
luxurious properties: McCully House
and the Wine Cottages. McCully House,
on California Street, offers five deluxe
rooms and two luxury suites. The Wine
Cottages are on C Street and feature
private entrances, outdoor sitting areas,
king-sized pillow-top beds, flat-screen
televisions, and other amenities. Guests
of McCully House and Wine Cottages
are given vouchers for breakfast at six of
Jacksonville’s eateries.
No matter which accommodations
you choose (try them all), you are bound
to have an exciting new experience as a
“local tourist.”
Shelley Manning
manningshelley@icloud.com