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Gorgone Checkerspot - Chlosyne gorgone
Native Species
Global Rank:
G5
State Rank:
S5
Agency Status
USFWS:
USFS:
BLM:
External Links
General Description
[From Ferris and Brown 1981; Scott 1986; Glassberg 2001; Pyle 2002] Forewing 1.5-2.0 cm. Upperwing surface a mixture of orange and black patches and spots, with wide black forewing borders and pronounced white chevrons in hindwing black border; underwing surface of hindwing with median band of whitish arrowheads (scallops) and alternating zigzag brownish-gray and white bands.
Phenology
Variable. One flight, mid-May to early July in Colorado mountains and Canada; two flights, June-August in North Dakota and Wisconsin; several flights late April to mid-September across the plains and southward (Scott 1986). May to early July in one-flight areas, May to August in two-flight areas, April to October in three-flight areas (Glassberg 2001).
Diagnostic Characteristics
Best determined by the underwing surface of hindwings with median band of whitish arrowheads (scallops) and alternating zigzag brownish-gray and white bands.
Species Range
Montana Range
Range Descriptions
Native
Range Comments
Central Alberta east to southwestern Manitoba and southern Ontario, south through most of the central US, and south in the west to central New Mexico and Texas, with isolated populations in central Idaho and northern Utah (Scott 1986; Glassberg 2001); to 3048 m elevation (Brown 1957). In Montana, predominantly east of the mountains (Kohler 1980; Stanford and Opler 1993). Common (Glassberg 2001).
Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 5
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Relative Density
Recency
(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)
Migration
Non-migratory.
Habitat
Prairie, grasslands, old fields, railroad tracks and roadsides, ponderosa pine woodlands, hardwood forests (Scott 1986; Glassberg 2001). In Colorado and other Rocky Mountain states, plains, chaparral, foothills, moist montane meadows, often along streams (Emmel 1964; Scott and Scott 1978; Ferris and Brown 1981).
Food Habits
Larval food plants include Ambrosia, Helianthus (several species), Iva, Viguiera, and Xanthium (Scott 1986, 1992). Adults feed on flower nectar (including Allium, Antennaria, Apocynum, Arnica, Aster, Barbarea, Bidens, Buddleja, Ceanothus, Cerastium, Chrysanthemum, Cirsium, Cleome, Crepis, Erigeron, Erysimum, Gaillardia, Helianthus, Heracleum, Heterotheca, Jamesia, Lesquerella, Malva, Medicago, Monarda, Phacelia, Physocarpus, Polygonum, Potentilla, Prunus, Ranunculus, Rhus, Rubus, Rudbeckia, Sedum, Senecio, Solidago, Taraxacum, Thalictrum, Thlaspi, Verbesina), dung, and mud (Scott 2014).
Reproductive Characteristics
Females lay eggs in clusters on the undersides of host plant leaves, up to 210 eggs per cluster. Larvae migrate to tops of leaves where they remain in clusters but build no nests. Diapause (overwinter) as L3 instar (Scott 1986, 1992; Pyle 2002). Males perch (infrequently patrol) throughout the day on hilltops near host plants while awaiting females; on hillsides males patrol (infrequently perch) (Scott 1975b, 1986).
References
- Literature Cited AboveLegend:
View Online Publication
Brown, F.M. 1957. Colorado Butterflies. Proceedings; Numbers Three through Seven. Denver Museum of Natural History, Denver, Co.- Emmel, T.C. 1964. The ecology and distribution of butterflies in a montane community near Florissant, Colorado. American Midland Naturalist 72(2): 358-373.
- Ferris, C.D. and F.M. Brown (eds). 1981. Butterflies of the Rocky Mountains. Univ. of Oklahoma Press. Norman. 442 pp.
- Glassberg, J. 2001. Butterflies through Binoculars: A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Western North America. Oxford University Press.
- Kohler, S. 1980. Checklist of Montana Butterflies (Rhopalocera). Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 34(1): 1-19.
- Pyle, R.M. 2002. The butterflies of Cascadia: a field guide to all the species of Washington, Oregon, and surrounding territories. Seattle Audubon Society, Seattle, Washington. 420 pp.
- Scott, J.A. 1975b. Mate-locating behavior of western North American butterflies. Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 14:1-40.
- Scott, J.A. 1986. The butterflies of North America: a natural history and field guide. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California.
- Scott, J.A. 1992. Hostplant records for butterflies and skippers (mostly from Colorado) 1959-1992, with new life histories and notes on oviposition, immatures, and ecology. Papilio new series #6. 185 p.
- Scott, J.A. 2014. Lepidoptera of North America 13. Flower visitation by Colorado butterflies (40,615 records) with a review of the literature on pollination of Colorado plants and butterfly attraction (Lepidoptera: Hersperioidea and Papilionoidea). Contributions of the C.P. Gillette Museum of Arthopod Diversity. Fort Collins, CO: Colorado State University. 190 p.
- Scott, J.A. and G.R. Scott. 1978. Ecology and distribution of the butterflies of southern central Colorado. Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 17(2): 73-128.
- Stanford, R.E. and P.A. Opler. 1993. Atlas of western USA butterflies: including adjacent parts of Canada and Mexico. Unpubl. Report. Denver and Fort Collins, Colorado 275 pp.
- Additional ReferencesLegend: View Online Publication
Do you know of a citation we're missing?- Allen, T.J., J.P. Brock, and J. Glassberg. 2005. Caterpillars in the field and garden: a field guide to the butterfly caterpillars of North America. Oxford University Press.
- Brock, J.P. and K. Kaufman. 2003. Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, NY 284 pp.
- Forister, M.L., C.A. Halsch, C.C. Nice, J.A. Fordyce, T.E. Dilts, J.C. Oliver, K.L. Prudic, A.M. Shapiro, J.K. Wilson, J. Glassberg. 2021. Fewer butterflies seen by community scientists across the warming and drying landscapes of the American West. Science 371:1042-1045.
- Forister, M.L., E.M. Grames, C.A. Halsch, K.J. Burls, C.F. Carroll, K.L. Bell, J.P. Jahner, et al. 2023. Assessing risk for butterflies in the context of climate change, demographic uncertainty, and heterogeneous data sources. Ecological Monographs 93(3):e1584. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecm.1584
- Layberry, R.A., P.W. Hall, and J.D. LaFontaine. 1998. The Butterflies of Canada. University of Toronto Press. 280 pp. + color plates.
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