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The Sagebrush Checkerspot is a medium-sized butterfly with a wingspan of about 39 to 51 mm. The upperside is checkered black, orange-brown, and orange, and the hindwing has a dark base and a light band across the middle. On the underside, the hindwing is banded with red-orange and has large pearly white spots edged in black. Like all brush-footed butterflies, it walks on only 4 legs, because the front pair is small and held against the body.
This butterfly lives in dry, open country across the western United States and southern Canada, from North Dakota and eastern Washington south to New Mexico, Arizona, and eastern California. It is found in sagebrush scrub, pinyon-juniper woodland, dry gulches, and desert washes. The population in the Mojave Desert and nearby areas is often called the Desert Checkerspot (subspecies neumoegeni). Some of our specimens were collected near Barstow, California.
Males perch or patrol along gulches and washes looking for females. Adults fly in spring in the southern deserts, with a partial second flight later in the year in some places, and in late spring and summer farther north. Adults feed on flower nectar.
Complete metamorphosis. The female lays batches of eggs on the underside of leaves of the host plant, and the young caterpillars feed together in groups. Across the species, hosts include rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus) and wild asters in the sunflower family. In the Mojave Desert, the Desert Checkerspot uses Mojave aster (Xylorhiza tortifolia) and rayless goldenhead (Acamptopappus sphaerocephalus). Half-grown caterpillars rest through unfavorable weather, hiding under rocks, and resume feeding when conditions improve.
Harmless. The caterpillars feed on wild plants in the sunflower family, and the butterfly is not a pest of crops or gardens.
BugGuide treats the Desert Checkerspot as part of the Sagebrush Checkerspot, Chlosyne acastus. It is listed as the subspecies Chlosyne acastus neumoegeni, and it was formerly called Charidryas neumoegeni.
This preserved specimen educates on butterfly diversity and desert insects, suitable for displays or studies. Check it out on BugGuide! https://bugguide.net/node/view/224867
The Sagebrush Checkerspot is a medium-sized butterfly with a wingspan of about 39 to 51 mm. The upperside is checkered black, orange-brown, and orange, and the hindwing has a dark base and a light band across the middle. On the underside, the hindwing is banded with red-orange and has large pearly white spots edged in black. Like all brush-footed butterflies, it walks on only 4 legs, because the front pair is small and held against the body.
This butterfly lives in dry, open country across the western United States and southern Canada, from North Dakota and eastern Washington south to New Mexico, Arizona, and eastern California. It is found in sagebrush scrub, pinyon-juniper woodland, dry gulches, and desert washes. The population in the Mojave Desert and nearby areas is often called the Desert Checkerspot (subspecies neumoegeni). Some of our specimens were collected near Barstow, California.
Males perch or patrol along gulches and washes looking for females. Adults fly in spring in the southern deserts, with a partial second flight later in the year in some places, and in late spring and summer farther north. Adults feed on flower nectar.
Complete metamorphosis. The female lays batches of eggs on the underside of leaves of the host plant, and the young caterpillars feed together in groups. Across the species, hosts include rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus) and wild asters in the sunflower family. In the Mojave Desert, the Desert Checkerspot uses Mojave aster (Xylorhiza tortifolia) and rayless goldenhead (Acamptopappus sphaerocephalus). Half-grown caterpillars rest through unfavorable weather, hiding under rocks, and resume feeding when conditions improve.
Harmless. The caterpillars feed on wild plants in the sunflower family, and the butterfly is not a pest of crops or gardens.
BugGuide treats the Desert Checkerspot as part of the Sagebrush Checkerspot, Chlosyne acastus. It is listed as the subspecies Chlosyne acastus neumoegeni, and it was formerly called Charidryas neumoegeni.
This preserved specimen educates on butterfly diversity and desert insects, suitable for displays or studies. Check it out on BugGuide! https://bugguide.net/node/view/224867
