Need ID for Baltimore Checkerspot host plant--not a chelone

15 years ago

Hi everyone,

I hope someone can help me. Today I found a couple of Baltimore Checkerspot caterpillars on a particular plant in my "meadow." I have chelone glabra planted in a garden near where they were today.

Apparently, the females lay their eggs on the chelone, but later instars (stages) can eat other kinds of plants.

I'm wondering if someone could ID this plant from the foliage. I'm thrilled at finding these beautiful creatures here--never thought they'd my spot, and I've had the chelone planted for years in hopes they'd come.

I'm in NH, soil is acidic and moist.

Here are some pics:

Thanks in advance!

Comments (9)

pfmastin
15 years ago
Asclepias? :)
bernergrrl
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for the response--not sure if's a type of asclepias. I grow a lot of that (incarnata and tuberosa) for monarchs, and it's not one I recognize.

According to one of my butterfly books, they like false foxglove (Gerardia grandiflora, G. pedicularia), white ash (fraxinus americana)(it's not that), and english plantain (plantago lanceolata); and another source lists lousewort, but I looked at images on google, and they don't seem to match up.

I wonder if it could be the false foxglove; I'll have to try again and look for images of the foliage only. Or, I'll just have to wait till the stuff blooms.

I found another caterpillar eating a completely different plants.

These guys will eat lots of other kinds of plants as they get older.

Thanks!
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loris
15 years ago
bernergrrl,

It reminds me of Lobelia siphilitica (blue cardinal flower) a bit, but as far as I know that's not a host plant, and I haven't looked carefully to see how close a fit it is. On what I think is a more helpful note, in case you don't get an answer here, there are 2 other forums which might be good for this--Name that Plant, and the Butterfly Garden Forum. I think they both get more traffic too.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/butterfly/

-- Lori

Here is a link that might be useful: Name that Plant
bernergrrl
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks Lori! I posted on both those forums--no answers yet. Will just have to wait for the blooms. Thanks!
amelanchier
15 years ago
Are those whorled leaves or alternate? It's a bit hard for me to tell from the photos. If whorled, it would remind me of a Eupatorium species, except for the fact that the leaves don't appear to be serrated.
sam_md
15 years ago
Both the Checkerspot and False Foxglove are rare in my state. I'm guessing that you have False Foxglove AKA Aureolaria flava although I've never seen the plant. Are any of the lower leaves toothed?
Sam
sam_md
15 years ago
I linked this thread to Yahoo's NativePlantseast discussion list and so far got three responses:
1. Bog Goldenrod
2. NY Ironweed, look for last year's remains to confirm.
3. "The plant is reminiscent of what I've seen in mountainous Garrett County, Md. With the reddish stem, I think its Flat-topped White Aster, (Aster umbellatus), and in that case the butterfly caterpillar is almost certainly NOT the Baltimore Checkerspot (Euphydryas phaeton) but instead a related Nymphalid species, the Harris' Checkerspot (Chlosyne harrisii), which utilizes Aster umbellatus as its primary host plant in Western Maryland and all over the butterfly's range in northeastern U.S. and Canada. The Harris' Checkerspot caterpillar (see photo at http://www.pbase.com/mwalker427/image/61541197 is a dead ringer for the Baltimore Checkerspot caterpillar."
Dick Smith
bernergrrl
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank you all for all of your help!!! Lori, The leaves are alternate. Sam, I looked at the false foxglove, and I don't think the leaves quite match up?

Dick, Thank you for going that extra length--linking to the yahoo group! I'll have to look for those plants. I do have ironweed growing in a bed, so I can easily check against that. I'll look into the other two.

I was wondering if they could be Harris'. I do have turtlehead in the garden near the meadow. My understanding of BCs is that they feed on the chelone when new larvae, and overwinter as half-grown larvae. When spring comes, they continue their growing and become more liberal in what they will eat. They separate (in their early instars they are communal) and find different plants to eat.

The aster makes sense; I do have a lot of asters in that area.

I brought them in to raise and see what they will turn into. One has already pupated, and another is getting ready to pupate.

I contacted my extension agency, and the master gardner there thought is could be tufted loosestrife.

I can't wait to get this mystery figured out.

Thank you, thank you all of you!!
bernergrrl
Original Author
15 years ago
Hi, Just to update..the caterpillars are definitely Harris' (I linked to the discussion on the Butterfly Forum) after I cropped a photo and got a super-close-up of one of the caterpillars.

Anyway, from the description of the aster umbellatus, that's what I think one of the plants is. I did find another one on a different plant, and Harris' has another host plant.

I'm still happy with the Harris'. They are (like almost all other animals) are getting sqeezed out by habitat loss, and this just shows what can happen when people stop growing lawns.

Here is a link that might be useful: Discussion of IDing Harris' Checkerspot

Need ID for Baltimore Checkerspot host plant--not a chelone

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Need ID for Baltimore Checkerspot host plant--not a chelone

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