Baltimore Checkerspot
Euphydryas phaeton (Drury, 1773)
Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Nymphalinae
Identification: Geographically variable. Upperside is black with red-orange crescents on outer margins of both wings and rows of creamy white spots inward.
Wing Span: 1 3/4 - 2 3/4 inches (4.5 - 7 cm).
Life History: Males perch near the ground to find females. Eggs are laid in groups of 100-700 under host plant leaves. Newly-hatched caterpillars move to the tip of the plant and feed together in a web which is enlarged downward as the caterpillars consume more of the plant. These caterpillars suffer high mortality from falling off the plant and from parasitism by wasps. Fourth-stage caterpillars hibernate in rolled leaves on the ground.
Flight: One brood; from May-June in the south, June-August in the north.
Caterpillar Hosts: Plants where eggs are laid and that caterpillars eat before hibernating are turtlehead (Chelone glabra), hairy beardtongue (Penstemon hirsutus), English plantain (Plantago lanceolata), and false foxglove (Aureolaria). After overwintering, caterpillars may continue to use these plants, but may also wander and feed on unrelated plants including arrowwood (Viburnum recognitum), common lousewort (Pedicularis canadensis), Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), and white ash (Fraxinus americana).
Adult Food: Nectar from flowers of milkweed, viburnum, and wild rose.
Habitat: Wet meadows, bogs, and marshes in the northeast part of the range; dry open or wooded hillsides in the southwest.
Range: Very local. Nova Scotia west across the Great Lakes region to southeast Manitoba; south through the eastern United States to northern Georgia, northern Mississippi, and northeast Oklahoma. Isolated records in northeast Texas and Nebraska.
Conservation: Some regional populations may be declining.
NCGR: G4 - Apparently secure globally, though it might be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported.
Comments: NULL
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 1 - 24 of 1814 verified sightings
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/baltimore_checkerspot_12.jpg?itok=HM617WJC)
Observation date: Jul 14, 2023
Submitted by: Ed Rothwell
Region: New Brunswick, Canada
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jan 16, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/20230602_cranewma_barnco_baltch_cat2b.jpg?itok=mzdAk03H)
Observation date: Jun 02, 2023
Submitted by: Sheryl Johnson
Region: Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jul 16, 2023
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/20230602_cranewma_barnco_baltch_1a.jpg?itok=GBHgrEhE)
Observation date: Jun 02, 2023
Submitted by: Sheryl Johnson
Region: Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jul 16, 2023
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/20230705_cranewma_barnco_baltchcksp_b.jpg?itok=SYnkb_yj)
Observation date: Jul 05, 2023
Submitted by: Sheryl Johnson
Region: Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jul 16, 2023
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/dsc_3012.jpg?itok=r_L_huIp)
Observation date: Jul 10, 2023
Submitted by: hockeybruce7
Region: Monroe County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jul 12, 2023
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/pxl_20230712_000643345.jpg?itok=U9J4nKPT)
Observation date: Jul 11, 2023
Submitted by: Krysdouble
Region: Ingham County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jul 12, 2023
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/dsc_0525_2_0.jpg?itok=Mf9jSNei)
Observation date: Jul 03, 2023
Submitted by: dlister
Region: Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jul 04, 2023
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/euphydryas_phaeton_230630_dft_iat_img_7023.jpg?itok=ZRCmAAKA)
Observation date: Jun 30, 2023
Submitted by: Bob Jacobson
Region: Chippewa County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jun 30, 2023
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/pxl_20230606_000041889.jpg?itok=wW9yF8qB)
Observation date: Jun 05, 2023
Submitted by: Leannema
Region: Oakland County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: elsner
Verified date: Jun 26, 2023
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/euphydryas_phaeton_baltimore_checkerspot_wmmp_6-17-23.jpg?itok=mZPZehnl)
Observation date: Jun 17, 2023
Submitted by: G215
Region: Macomb County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: elsner
Verified date: Jun 26, 2023
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/20230623_091729.jpg?itok=pIXcd--1)
Observation date: Jun 23, 2023
Submitted by: Kyle Jones
Region: Windsor County, Vermont, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jun 23, 2023
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/20230616_101357.jpg?itok=DOvxPo6Z)
Observation date: Jun 16, 2023
Submitted by: laud731
Region: Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jun 20, 2023
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/baltimore_chcekerspot.jpg?itok=xbz2LJE9)
Observation date: Jun 18, 2023
Submitted by: Col
Region: Bradford County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Jun 19, 2023
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/baltimore_checkerspot_euphydryas_phaeton2.jpg?itok=emK3nvw6)
Observation date: Jun 09, 2023
Submitted by: Keith Myrom
Region: Rice County, Minnesota, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jun 12, 2023
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/chlosyne_harrisii_20230524_a.jpg?itok=WYHxSai7)
Observation date: May 24, 2023
Submitted by: jwileyrains
Region: Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: May 24, 2023
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/20220604_095312.jpg?itok=3uyXOKre)
Observation date: Jun 04, 2022
Submitted by: Jasper
Region: Genesee County, New York, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Aug 17, 2022
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/baltimore_checkerspot-213.jpg?itok=Z3UUXXKi)
Observation date: Jul 25, 2022
Submitted by: dave mcelveen
Region: Koochiching County, Minnesota, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Aug 01, 2022
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/dscn7862_-_copy_4.jpg?itok=SoTuWvuX)
Observation date: Jul 20, 2022
Submitted by: Allison Barta
Region: Pepin County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 23, 2022
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/4621fae0-0cf6-486a-9d4a-60de3ae5b26f.jpeg?itok=ncym_w7f)
Observation date: Jul 12, 2022
Submitted by: Amaltzan
Region: Tompkins County, New York, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 13, 2022
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/c3f5db00-99d0-4218-8ae9-8e6f69c70362.jpeg?itok=TFwJYrj7)
Observation date: Jul 11, 2022
Submitted by: Amaltzan
Region: Tompkins County, New York, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 11, 2022
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/e94ccb19-f257-4294-aedf-fc5889e27833.jpeg?itok=s2WLPi4n)
Observation date: Jul 09, 2022
Submitted by: Pablo-and-Izzy
Region: Monroe County, New York, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 10, 2022
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/1x2a3082_3.jpg?itok=2l8RN9Q2)
Observation date: Jun 28, 2021
Submitted by: Bob Crowley
Region: Coos County, New Hampshire, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jul 05, 2022
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/baltimorecheckerspot11.jpg?itok=CANM-NXE)
Observation date: Jul 02, 2022
Submitted by: gjkoppel
Region: Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jul 05, 2022
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/20220702_113829.jpg?itok=X3nKj8wT)
Observation date: Jul 02, 2022
Submitted by: Trants
Region: Monroe County, New York, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 02, 2022
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