What do checkerspots eat
Several species of flowering plants provide nectar for adult Baltimore checkerspots. Plants must be blooming during the flight period of the adult butterfly in order to serve as a nectar source. In Maryland, Baltimore checkerspots may obtain nectar from milkweeds Asclepias spp. Baltimore checkerspot caterpillars larvae feed almost exclusively on white turtlehead Chelone glabra L. Later in their development when they are much larger, Baltimore checkerspot caterpillars may use a variety of other host plants in addition to turtlehead, including arrowwood viburnum Viburnum recognitum Fernald , narrow-leaved plantain Plantago lanceolata L.
Schmidel and honeysuckle Lonicera spp. Baltimore checkerspot butterflies have one generation per year. The timing of the Baltimore checkerspot flight period varies regionally, but in Maryland, the flight period generally occurs in June into early July.
After mating, female butterflies can lay several hundred eggs on the larval host plant, white turtlehead. Eggs develop over a period of about 20 days and change color from yellow to red. The eggs then hatch into tiny caterpillars first instar larvae that begin feeding on white turtlehead. They build a communal web, often at the end of a turtlehead leaf, where they can seek protection from predators and parasitic wasps.
As the summer progresses the caterpillars will continue to eat, grow, and molt, developing into second and third instar larvae, which are larger and more conspicuous. Third instar larvae caterpillars will usually stop feeding in mid-August. At this time, they will thicken and compact a section of their web, where they will eventually molt again into fourth instar larvae. Adults often gather in numbers at moist spots, such as damp sand along a stream bank, to obtain water and minerals.
There are two distinct broods in our state: mid-May through June, and mid-July to September. Males perch and patrol near host plants in search of females. The male flies in a circular pattern just behind and above females, which rapidly flutter their wings to signal disinterest. Females deposit eggs in clusters of approximately on the undersides of leaves.
When they are young, the larvae are gregarious tend to be in groups and skeletonize leaves eating all but the leaf veins. You might find 50 of them on a single leaf. Third-instar third-stage larvae hibernate during winter. In many species, the small forelegs have hairs that look like a brush hence the other name. This is the largest family of butterflies in the world, including monarchs, fritillaries, crescents, anglewings, ladies, admirals, emperors, satyrs, and more.
Apparently, though they are fairly useless for walking, the forelegs of nymphalid butterflies serve an important function to help them survive and reproduce: the hairs on them are very sensitive to taste and touch.
A butterfly lands on a leaf and can taste it with her leg hairs! This method allows females to identify plants well enough to tell which are suitable hosts for egg-laying. A mistaken plant ID for a female could cause all her young to starve, so this is a critical matter. The upper side of this medium-sized butterfly is black at the bases of the wings, with several rows of white spots in the middle of the wings, and a band of orange spots along the wing margins.
Viewed from below, the wings have a black and white checkered pattern with basal orange spots and orange spot bands at the margins. The Baltimore checkerspots that live in our region tend to be darker than ones to the north and east of our state. Other Missouri butterflies that look rather checkered include the gorgone checkerspot, silvery checkerspot, pearl crescent and other crescents, and fritillaries — but these look very different. Mostly in the Ozarks; rare in other parts of the state.
We represent a southwestern edge of their total territory; most of their North American range is north and east of Missouri. Populations fluctuate greatly from year to year. In Missouri, this species is most frequently observed on dry hills and ridges in Ozark woodlands. Elsewhere, they prefer damp grassy areas. In some areas of its overall range, it may be declining.
If you are wanting to find a colony, go to the Ozarks, find, its principal Missouri food plants gerardias or false foxgloves , and look for eggs or larvae. In many places, Baltimore checkerspots reportedly lay their eggs on turtlehead plants Chelone spp. Apparently, Missouri populations prefer gerardias and false foxgloves formerly in genus Gerardia. Taxonomists have reclassified and named these plants.
Missouri species include combleaf yellow false foxglove Aureolaria pedicularia , also called A. Adults visit flowers, carrion, and animal droppings, and they also frequently visit mud puddles and moist spots on the ground.
Such findings emphasize that scientists need to consider the ecological characteristics of populations within each species. This is an important concept in conserving species and is one reason why biologists have focused increasingly on protecting distinctly different populations or subspecies.
Scientists have also shown that some checkerspot populations live in isolated patches of habitat where food and nectar resources are located, with occasional movement of individuals between the patches. If the butterflies within a particular patch become extinct, the empty patch will be recolonized after a period of time by butterflies moving from nearby patches. Although not all patches of habitat are always occupied by the butterflies, the butterfly population in the region as a whole persists as a result of this pattern of extinction and recolonization of local patches.
A regional population may decline if occasional movement between the patches is prevented by disturbances such as land development. A population may also be in jeopardy if patches of habitats in a region are destroyed, even if that species does not currently occupy some of the habitat patches. Loss of critical habitat patches is now threatening the existence of many butterfly populations, including some checkerspots. Scientific classification: Checkerspots are included in the genera Euphedryas and Chlosyne in the butterfly family Nymphalidae.