''Chlosyne harrisii'', or Harris's checkerspot, is a member 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 ha ...

that is found in North America. They range from the Canadian

Atlantic provinces Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (), is the region of Eastern Canada comprising four provinces: New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. As of 2021, the landmass of the four Atlantic pr ...

, excluding

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...

, to

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

and

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

south to

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

and

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. They can often be seen in bogs, meadows and almost anywhere else its host plant occurs. The typical elevations for this species range from 0 to 1,742 feet (531 m). It is listed as a species of special concern and believed

extirpated Local extinction, also extirpation, is the termination of a species (or other taxon) in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinctions. Local extinctions mark a chan ...

in the US state of

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

Description

The adult is often confused with another member of the same genus, the silvery checkerspot (''

Chlosyne nycteis ''Chlosyne nycteis'', the silvery checkerspot, is a species of Nymphalinae butterfly that occurs in North America. It is listed as a species of special concern in Connecticut and Maine, and is believed extirpated in Connecticut, Massachusetts, an ...

''). The adult's wingspan is 3.6–5.1 cm. The upperside of the wing is orange with black markings. The underside of the wing has a single red-orange stripe and a reddish-orange, white and black marked pattern on the rest of the hindwing.

Life cycle

There is one flight which occurs between June and July. The caterpillar of this species feeds on the flat-topped white aster ('' Aster umbellatus'') while adults feed on flower

nectar Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...

. The female lays eggs in a cluster formation under the leaves of its host plants. The caterpillar overwinters during its third

instar An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'' 'form, likeness') is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, which occurs between each moult (''ecdysis'') until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to ...

References

*Jim P. Brock,

Kenn Kaufman Kenn Kaufman (born 1954) is an American author, artist, naturalist, and conservationist, known for his work on several popular field guides of birds and butterflies in North America. Born in South Bend, Indiana, Kaufman began birding at the age ...

(2003). ''Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America''. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. . Butterflies of North America harrisii Taxa named by Samuel Hubbard Scudder Butterflies described in 1864 Lepidoptera of the United States Lepidoptera of Canada {{Nymphalinae-stub