brianahern's Identifications

Butterfly nectaring on Lupine blossoms in a wooded/brushy mountain canyon in Toro County Park. Link to Lupine observation: (pending)

Gabb's Checkerspot (Chlosyne gabbii) is a small butterfly in the Checkerspots (Melitaeini) Tribe and the Brush-footed Butterflies (Nymphalidae) family. Wingspan is 1.25 - 1.5 inches. It has one flight March-June. Habitat is openings in wooded mountain canyons, often along trails. Favorite larval foodplants: Sunflower (Asteraceae) family. Adult nectar plants: Fiddlenecks, Golden Yarrow. It is a puddler (drinks minerals (salts etc.) from wet mud or sand).
Conservation Status: Vulnerable (N3N4) in United States (NatureServe).

Butterflies of Monterey County: A comprehensive guide to finding and identifying 91 species of butterflies in Monterey County, Chris Tenney and Jan Austin, August 2023, pp. 114-115. and companion website to Butterflies of Monterey County: https://www.montereybutterflies.online/

Butterflies Through Binoculars: The West: a field guide to the butterflies of western North America, by Jeffrey Glassberg, 2001, pp. 168-169.

Butterflies and Moths of North America: https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Chlosyne-gabbii

Bug photographs from the U.S/Canada for I.D: https://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Chlosyne+gabbii

Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America. Brock and Kaufman, 2003, p. 186-187.

Field Guide to California Insects, by Kip Will, J. Gross, D. Rubinoff , J. Powell, 2nd ed., 2020 (Lepidoptera, pp. 347-426)

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Butterfly and Caterpillar References in General:

BugGuide: Butterflies and Moths (U.S. and Canada) clickable categories or use search bar: https://bugguide.net/node/view/57

Glossary of Butterfly (and Moth) Terminology: https://butterfly.ucdavis.edu/resources/glossary

Butterflies and Moths of North America https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species_search

Butterflies of Central and Northern California, a laminated pamphlet (guide to common and notable species) by Jim Brock,, 2023

Caterpillar Anatomy diagram and Butterfly Basics: https://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/butterfly/activities/printouts/caterpillarprintout.shtml Life Cycle of a Butterfly: Egg --> Larva (the caterpillar) --> Pupa (the chrysalis or cocoon) --> Adult.

Caterpillars: INaturalist Project https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/california-caterpillars

Wagner's Caterpillars of Western North America (coming soon) "1450+ species accounts in progress" INat thebals 6/6/23.

Checkerspot butterfly nectaring on Common Fiddleneck flowers. Link to Fiddleneck observation: (pending)

Gabb's Checkerspot (Chlosyne gabbii) is a small butterfly in the Checkerspots (Melitaeini) Tribe and the Brush-footed Butterflies (Nymphalidae) family. Wingspan is 1.25 - 1.5 inches. It has one flight March-June. Habitat is openings in wooded mountain canyons, often along trails. Favorite larval foodplants: Sunflower (Asteraceae) family. Adult nectar plants: Fiddlenecks, Golden Yarrow. It is a puddler (drinks minerals (salts etc.) from wet mud or sand). It can be found in California in the western United States.
Conservation Status: Vulnerable (N3N4) in United States (NatureServe). It is threatened throughout its range by pesticide use.

Butterflies of Monterey County: A comprehensive guide to finding and identifying 91 species of butterflies in Monterey County, Chris Tenney and Jan Austin, August 2023, pp. 114-115.

eButterfly: https://www.e-butterfly.org/ebapp/en/species/profile/676

Butterflies Through Binoculars: The West: a field guide to the butterflies of western North America, by Jeffrey Glassberg, 2001, pp. 168-169.

Butterflies and Moths of North America: https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Chlosyne-gabbii

Bug photographs from the U.S/Canada for I.D: https://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Chlosyne+gabbii

Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America. Brock and Kaufman, 2003, p. 186-187.

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BUTTERFLY and CATERPILLAR (General references):

In California, there are about 240 species of butterflies. There are more than 3,000 species of moths, which represent 4 suborders in about 50 families. Butterflies have clubbed antennae, moths do not. Many moths are nocturnal, but not all.

Field Guide to California Insects, by Kip Will, J. Gross, D. Rubinoff , J. Powell, 2nd ed., 2020 (Lepidoptera, pp. 347-426)

Butterflies of Monterey County: A comprehensive guide to finding and identifying 91 species of butterflies in Monterey County, by Chris Tenney and photograher Jan Austin, August 2023, pp.xx and Butterflies of Monterey County (companion website to text): https://www.montereybutterflies.online/

BugGuide: Butterflies and Moths (U.S. and Canada) clickable categories or use search bar: https://bugguide.net/node/view/57

Glossary of Butterfly (and Moth) Terminology: https://butterfly.ucdavis.edu/resources/glossary

eButterfly: (2115+ species) https://www.e-butterfly.org/ebapp/en/observations/explore

Butterflies Through Binoculars: The West: a field guide to the butterflies of western North America, by Jeffrey Glassberg, 2001

Butterflies of Central and Northern California, a laminated pamphlet (guide to common and notable species) by Jim Brock, 2023

Caterpillar Anatomy diagram and Butterfly Basics: https://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/butterfly/activities/printouts/caterpillarprintout.shtml Life Cycle of a Butterfly: Egg --> Larva (the caterpillar) --> Pupa (the chrysalis or cocoon) --> Adult.

Caterpillars: INaturalist Project https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/california-caterpillars

Wagner's Caterpillars of Western North America (coming soon) "1450+ species accounts in progress" INat thebals 6/6/23.

The caterpillar that turned into this pupa is at https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/207276444.
Photos 4 and 5 show the adult that emerged from this pupa (also at https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/212809573).
Observation date and location refer to original caterpillar find.