Another Bay Area endangered butterfly is the callippe silverspot. The reason for its decline is clear. Its habitat is grasslands in San Francisco and other cities surrounding San Francisco Bay.
In the Livermore Hills we find a variety of callippe butterfly that is similar. As with the callippe silverspot, this callippe butterfly is associated with violets and we have plenty of them on our ranch.
Here’s a photo of a callippe taken by my brother, Rob. The butterflies commonly utilize the nectar of the buckeye trees in spring. This one is perched on a buckeye blossom.
