Endangered Resources Program Species Information
Gorgone Checker Spot (Chlosyne gorgone)

Gorgone Checker Spot Photo by Ann Swengel. Check the photos tab for additional photos.
Photo © Ann Swengel

Overview

Species Overview

Gorgone checker spot (Chlosyne gorgone), a State Special Concern butterfly, is found in barrens, dry fields and prairies, sandy ridges, glades in woodlands, and open pine forests. This species has two flight periods, one from late May through June and again in early August to early September.

Status and NHI Documented Occurrences in Wisconsin

The table below provides information about the protected status (State and Federal Status) and the rank (S and G Ranks) for Gorgone Checker Spot (Chlosyne gorgone). See the Working List Key for more information about the abbreviations used. Counties shaded blue have documented occurrences for this species in the Wisconsin Natural Heritage Inventory database. For invertebrates, dots depict locations from the "Invertebrate Atlas," a database with occurrences of rare and common aquatic and select terrestrial invertebrate species found in Wisconsin and adjacent areas. While the invertebrate atlas is a quality assured database, not all records have been verified. The map is provided as a general reference of where this species has been found to date and is not meant as a range map.

Summary Information
State Status:	SC/N
Federal Status in Wisconsin:	none
State Rank:	S3
Global Rank:	G5
Tracked by NHI:	Y
Species of Greatest Conservation Need:

Documented locations of Chlosyne gorgone in the Natural Heritage Inventory Database as of April 2009.

Detailed Information

Identification: The wings above are orange with black markings; hindwing with submarginal row of solid black spots. The underside of the hindwings are silvery gray covered with distinctive, strongly contrasting zigzag bands of brown and white. The undersides of the hindwings must be examined for identification of species. The wildly zigzag pattern of the ventral hindwing is distinctive. Wingspan: 27-38mm. Length of forewing: 15-19 mm. Larvae are orange with a black head, black longitudinal stripes, and black spines.

Similar Species: The three Wisconsin species of crescents (Phyciodes spp.) are similarly orange and black above, but have yellowish to yellowish-brown ventral hindwings. The hindwing below of the silvery checkerspot (Chlosyne nycteis) has a wider and more even silver medial band. The ventral hindwing of Harris' checkerspot (C. harrisii) has a wider, more even silver median band and a prominent orange band along the outer margin. Both of these checkerspots inhabit moist areas.

Habitat: Barrens, dry fields and prairies, sandy ridges, glades in woodlands, and open pine forests.

Nectar Source: Goldenrod (Solidago spp.) and probably hostplant flowers.

Host Plant: Plants in the aster family (Asteraceae) especially Helianthus, Aster, and Silphium species. Larvae were found on black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) in Waushara County, and on pale purple coneflower (Echinacea pallida) in Grant County (Williams, 1995). Also observed on prairie sunflower (Helianthus petiolaris) in Illinois (Nielsen, 1999).

Associated Species: May be found early with Karner blue (Lycaeides melissa samuelis) and frosted elfin (Callophrys irus) butterflies in the jack pine barrens.

State Distribution: The Gorgone Checkerspot is a vagrant species prone to establishing short-lived colonies in far-flung areas (Brock and Kaufman 2003). It appears to come and go in many areas of Wisconsin, but seems to regularly occur in the barrens of Burnett and Jackson Counties. The species was discovered quite recently in some of the eastern Wisconsin stations and remains uncommon in those areas. Adams, Burnett, Clark, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Douglas, Dunn, Eau Claire, Grant, Green, Iowa, Jackson, Juneau, Monroe, Outagamie, Polk, Portage, Rock, Sauk, Shawano, Trempealeau, Waushara, Winnebago and Wood Counties.

Global Distribution: A Great Plains species. Alberta east to southern Ontario in Canada, south to Texas, Lousiana, and central Georgia. Scattered populations in the Appalachians and Rocky Mountains.

Threats: Habitat loss due to woody species and forest encroachment. Since it is unknown where the larvae overwinter, overwintering immatures may be exposed and vulnerable to being killed by fire.

Phenology: Two flights from late May through June and again in early August to early September.

Life History: Females lay eggs in clusters on underside of hostplant leaves. Larvae typically feed gregariously on the undersurface of leaves. Most of the spring larvae go into diapause but some continue to mature to form the second generation of adults about six weeks later (Layberry 1998). Third stage larvae hibernate. A species with moderate remnant-dependence (Panzer et al. 1995).

Survey Guidance: Males will patrol and perch on the host plants. Search hilltops within the habitat. Also watch for aggregations of spiny black larvae on yellow-flowered asters. These should be reared to the adult stage for verification.

Inventory, Monitoring and Research Needs: Locate additional populations and monitor known sites, particularly those managed with fire.

Management Guidance: Sites managed with fire should contain refugia as a necessary precaution to protect the entire insect component of the site.

Information originally presented as part of the Online Field Guide to Rare Lepidoptera: Bogs and Barrens.

Photos

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