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Utah Habitats for Butterflies and Moths
Utah's Dixie--Leeds Canyon
9. Utah's Dixie |
One of the more picturesque canyons in Utah's Dixie that demonstrates a subtle transition from Dixie Corridor to Montane is Leeds Creek or Leeds Canyon.
The mouth of Leeds Canyon (3900') contains navajo sandstone ridges with a desert community of common trees and shrubs such as Larrea tridenta (creosote bush), Juniperus osteosperma (utah juniper), Quercus turbinella (permanent oak), Populus fremontii (cottonwood), and Prunus fasciculata (desert almond). Some of the butterflies that you might find at the lower area of Leeds Creek include Callophrys siva siva (juniper hairstreak), Nymphalis antiopa (mourning cloak), Anthocharis cethura pima (desert orangetip), Anthocharis sara thoosa (southwestern orangetip), Adelpha eulalia (arizona sister), Brephidium exilis (pygmy blue), Euphydryas anicia hermosa (anicia checkerspot), Cyllopsis pertepida dorothea (canyonlands satyr), and Erynnis meridianus (meridian duskywing).
As you proceed up the canyon heading east towards Oak Grove Campground; approaching the Pine Valley Mountains, the desert community transitions from creosote shadscale scrub to pinyon juniper. At the same time, as you proceed up the canyon, Quercus turbinella is replaced by Quercus gambellii; Penstemon palmeri is replaced by Penstemon eatonii; and Lomatium parryi (parry lomatium) is replaced by a small population of Lomatium scabrum tripinnatum (cliff lomatium).
One of the species of butterflies that is found more commonly in the higher portion of Leeds Canyon at Oak Grove Campground is Papilio bairdi (baird's swallowtail) as well as Phyciodes pallida barnesi (pale crescent.)
Breathtaking vista from lower Leeds Canyon looking back towards the southeast where you can see plateau habitat in the background including West Temple from Zion National Park.
Butterfly Species Checklist For this Habitat:
Swallowtails and Parnassians (Family Papilionidae)
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Brush-footed Butterflies (Family Nymphalidae)
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Gossamer-wing Butterflies (Family Lycaenidae)
Metalmarks (Family Riodinidae)
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Skippers (Family Hesperiidae)
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Whites, Orange-Tips and Sulphurs (Family Pieridae)
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All images of Limenitis weidemeyeri on the ULS Info Bar courtesy Jay Cossey
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