Death Valley, CA. 3/25/2005.
Death Valley, CA. 3/25/2005.
Lower Deschutes River. Male.
Lower Deschutes River. Mating pair, ventral view. Bright male contrasting with dark female.
Lower Deschutes River. Mating pair, dorsal view. (Apparently ground color can be off-white.)
Dorsal view. Rd 2 (west end), Modoc County, CA. 6/26/22
Ventral view. Rd 2 (west end), Modoc County, CA. 6/26/22
Comment. Found in sagebrush country through much of the Southwest. Just reaches into the far southeast corner of Oregon but subspecies sterope found along the Deschutes River. Despite the name, its host plant is rabbitbrush or desert aster. Color varies.
Similar species. Compare to Northern Checkerspot. Hind wing below has white bands and partial orange spot bands while Northern has yellowish bands and more complete orange spot bands. The Death Valley specimen has minimal black markings and superficially resembles a fritillary. Populations further east and north have more typical checkerspot colors making this a variable species.
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