Baltimore checkerspot
{{Short description|Species of butterfly}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Baltimore checkerspot
| image = BaltimoreDS.jpg
| image_caption = E. phaeton on Argyranthemum
| status = G4
| status_system = TNC
| genus = Euphydryas
| species = phaeton
| authority = (Drury, 1773)
}}
The Baltimore checkerspot (Euphydryas phaeton) is a North American butterfly of the family Nymphalidae.
It has been the official state insect of the U.S. State of Maryland since 1973.{{cite web |url=http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/html/symbols/insect.html |title=Maryland State Insect — Baltimore Checkerspot Butterfly |date=2004-06-17 |publisher=Maryland State Archives}} The Baltimore checkerspot was named for the first Lord Baltimore due to its similarity of colors in the family crest.{{Cite web|url=http://dnr.maryland.gov/wildlife/pages/plants_wildlife/rte/rteanimalfacts.aspx?AID=Baltimore%20Checkerspot|title=Rare, Threatened and Endangered Animal Fact Sheets|website=dnr.maryland.gov|access-date=2019-05-06}} Despite the species status as Maryland state insect, the population in Maryland has faced significant decline and is currently listed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources as "rare, threatened, and endangered" animal list.{{Cite web|url=http://dnr.maryland.gov/wildlife/pages/plants_wildlife/rte/rteanimalfacts.aspx?AID=Baltimore%20Checkerspot|title=Rare, Threatened and Endangered Animal Fact Sheets|website=dnr.maryland.gov|language=en-us|access-date=2019-05-06}}
Life cycle
During its period of growth, the checkerspot butterfly will search for a host plant for nourishment. Its native larval host is the white turtle head (Chelone glabra), but it has also to some extent made use of the introduced lawn weed English plantain (Plantago lanceolata){{citation | title = Early Stage of Host Range Expansion by a Specialist Herbivore, Euphydryas Phaeton (Nymphalidae) | author = M. Deane Bowers, Nancy E. Stamp and Sharon K. Collinge | journal = Ecology | volume = 73 | issue = 2 | date = Apr 1992 | pages = 526–536 | doi = 10.2307/1940758 | jstor = 1940758 | bibcode = 1992Ecol...73..526B }} and other plants.[http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1753 Euphydryas phaeton (Drury, 1773)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100906132330/http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1753 |date=2010-09-06 }}, Butterflies and Moths of North America
Unlike most butterflies and moths, which overwinter as eggs, pupae, or sometimes adults, the Baltimore checkerspot overwinters as larvae. In late summer (sometime in July through September depending on latitude, weather, and other factors) the larvae spin a pre-hibernation web on a plant, stop feeding, and remain in the web. Several months later they leave this web and enter the litter (dead grass and leaves and so on) on the ground, where they spend the winter.{{citation | url = http://research.yale.edu/peabody/jls/pdfs/1970s/1978/1978-32(4)282-Bowers.pdf | title = Over-wintering behavior in Euphydryas phaeton (Nymphalidae) | journal = Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society | volume = 32 | issue = 4 | year = 1978 | pages = 282–288 | author = M. Deane Bowers }}{{Dead link|date=June 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
File:Euphydryas phaeton larva.jpg|Caterpillar
File:Baltimore Checkerspot, Shirleys Bay.jpg|Adult, Ottawa, Ontario
File:Euphydryas phaeton.jpg|Museum specimen
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons}}
- [http://www.jeffpippen.com/butterflies/baltimorecheckerspot.htm Baltimore Checkerspot], photos and information on Jeff's Nature Pages
- [http://www.cbif.gc.ca/spp_pages/butterflies/species/BaltimoreCheckerspot_e.php Baltimore Checkerspot], Butterflies of Canada
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2700425}}
Category:Butterflies of North America