''Chlosyne palla'', the northern checkerspot, is a
butterfly
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...
of the family
Nymphalidae
The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species have a red ...
that is found in North America. They range from southern
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
to
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
, south to
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
,
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
, and
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
, excluding
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
.
[Jim P. Brock, Kenn Kaufman (2003) ''Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America''. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. .]
Description
The adult may be often confused with the others of the ''palla'' group, sagebrush checkerspot (''C. acastus'') and Hoffmann's checkerspot (''C. hoffmanni'').[ The adult's wingspan is .][Northern Checkerspot]
Butterflies of Canada The upperside of the wing has a pattern of dark brown, light orange and tan. The underside of the wing has alternating red and yellow cells.[
]
Life cycle
There is one flight that occurs between April and May or to July in mountainous or northerly areas.[ The caterpillar of this species feeds on goldenrod (''''), rabbitbrush ('']Chrysothamnus
''Chrysothamnus'', known as rabbitbrush, rabbitbush, and chamisa, are a genus of shrubs in the family Asteraceae. The native distribution is in the arid western United States, Canada, and northern Mexico. It is known for its bright white or yell ...
''), and asters.[
]
References
External links
Northern Checkerspot
BugGuide
Butterflies of North America
palla Palla may refer to:
* Palla (garment), a women's headcloth or shawl from ancient Rome
* ''Palla'' (butterfly), a brush-footed butterfly genus described by Jacob Hübner in 1819
* Palla (troubadour), a twelfth-century minstrel from Galicia
* Pal ...
Taxa named by Jean Baptiste Boisduval
Butterflies described in 1852
{{Nymphalinae-stub