Chlosyne gorgone
Size:
Wingspan is
1 1/4 - 1 3/4 inches.
Similar Species:
Silvery Checkerspot
Pearl Crescent (smaller)
Habitat:
Open areas including ridges, stream sides, hardwood forests, old fields,
forest edges and logging roads.
Range/Abundance:
Very rare and only known to a few
sites in the western mountains.
Flight Period:
Adults fly from early May until late May in a single brood. There could
be another later brood but there is not enough data to support another
brood currently.
Larval Host Plants:
Sunflower Helianthus and Crosswort Lysimachia
Comments:
Recently discovered in NC and SC by Ron Gatrelle during May of 2001.
From above it is difficult to tell from the common Silvery
Checkerspot. Checking the underside is the easiest way to tell the
two species apart.
This is another species you would have to be in the right location at
the right time of year to find.
The top photo was provided by Tom
Lewis. The second and bottom photos were taken in Pickens Co., SC
on May 03, 2003.
