- Chlosyne nycteis
-
Silvery Checkerspot 
Dorsal view 
Underside Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Lepidoptera Family: Nymphalidae Genus: Chlosyne Species: C. nycteis Binomial name Chlosyne nycteis
(Doubleday, 1847))Subspecies - Chlosyne nycteis drusius (Edwards, 1884)
- Chlosyne nycteis reversa (F. & R. Chermock, 1940)
Synonyms - Melitaea nycteis
- Charidryas harrisii
- Common names
- Silvery Checkerspot
The Silvery Checkerspot (Chlosyne nycteis) is a species of Nymphalinae that occurs in North America.
Contents
Description
- Adult
The dorsal view is pale yellow-orange with dark borders and markings. The hindwing has a white centered submarginal spots on both sides, dorsal and ventral. The hindwing is pale and has a white crescent at the margin.
- Caterpillar
The caterpillar is almost all black with dusted white spots. Sometimes they have a yellow-orange stripe or two smaller stripes along the side. The Nymphalidae family is known for its branched spines.
Range & Habitat
Their range consist of southern Canada south to Georgia and Texas, but does not occur in the Costal Plains. Silvery Checkerspots enjoy moist areas such as streamsides, they can also be seen in meadows and forest openings.
Life cycle
In the northern portion of its habitat there is one brood between June and July, for the remainder of its range there are two broods from May to September. There have often been recorded three broods in the deep southern part of Texas. Females lay eggs in batches which there can be up to 100 individuals. Early instar caterpillars stay in groups as they skeletonize leaves while the third-instar hibernates.
Larval foods
- Rudbeckia
- Helianthus
- Actinomeris alternifolia
Adult foods
References
- "Species Chlosyne nycteis - Silvery Checkerspot - BugGuide.net". http://bugguide.net/node/view/429. Retrieved 2008-11-19.
- "Chlosyne". http://www.nic.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/papilionoidea/nymphalidae/nymphalinae/chlosyne/index.html#nycteis. Retrieved 2008-11-19.
- "Species Detail Butterflies and Moths of North America". http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1721. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
- Silvery Checkerspot, Butterflies of Ontario
Categories:- Chlosyne
- Butterflies and moths of North America
- Butterflies of Canada
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