Leanira checkerspot | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Nymphalidae |
Genus: | Chlosyne |
Species: | C. leanira
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Binomial name | |
Chlosyne leanira | |
Synonyms | |
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Chlosyne leanira, the leanira checkerspot, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in North America from western Oregon south to California, Nevada, Utah and western Colorado, as well as Baja California.[2] The wingspan is 33–40 mm. Generally, females are larger than males, but males have a more apparent red color to their wings.[3]
Adults feed on flower nectar while the larvae feed on Castilleja plants in the Orobanchaceae plant family, particularly the leaves and flowers of this host plant.[2][4]
Young larvae live together in a loose web. Third-instar larvae hibernate, and examination of Chlosyne leanira in Gates Canyon, California revealed that they overwinter as larvae.[2][5]