Windwolf
Crex Meadows Butterflies... The True Brushfoots
True Brushfoot Butterflies
Baltimore
Euphydryas phaeton
Picture taken June 28, 2007
| Kingdom | Animalia | (Animals) |
| Phylum | Arthropoda | (Arthropods) |
| Superclass | Hexapoda | (Hexapods) |
| Class | Insecta | (Insects) |
| Subclass | Pterygota | (Winged Insects) |
| Order | Lepidoptera | (Butterflies and Moths) |
| Superfamily | Papilionoidea | (Butterflies) |
| Family | Nymphalidae | (Brushfooted Butterflies) |
| Subfamily | Nymphalinae | (Crescents, Checkerspots, Anglewings, etc.) |
| Genus | Euphydryas | |
| Species | phaeton | (Baltimore Checkerspot) |
Picture taken June 28, 2007
Wing span: 1 3/4 - 2 3/4 inches (4.5 - 7 cm).
Larvae feed on turtlehead (Chelone glabra), hairy beardtongue (Penstemon hirsutus), English plantain (Plantago lanceolata), and false foxglove (Aureolaria).
Eggs are laid in groups of 100-700 under host plant leaves.
Habitat: Wet meadows, bogs, and marshes in the northeast part of the range; dry open or wooded hillsides in the southwest.
This was the only sighting of this particular butterfly in Crex Meadows during 2007.
June 10, 2008 brought an encounter with a beautiful caterpiller along Main Dike Road. The closest match I could find via bug guide and other net sources is the Baltimore. This may or may not hold up over time, but it seems to be a visual match.
