I've tentitivly identified these guys as Silvery Checkerspot using Princeton/Wagner
(1). They seem to have the right noduel thingys and there is a yellow line near/above their feet. Confermations? Contradictions?
I think the plant they were on is Tall Coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata). It was growing in a moist floodplain /moist forest. Photo of a lower leaf
temporarily here. The flowers looked very sunflower like...or what was left of flowers on another plant anyways....
I counted at least 50 on this side of the leaf, there were more (slightly fewer) on the other side and even more on a former flowerhead, on same plant. (see linked photos)
I am seriosly considering going back and colecting some to raise and get photos of the adults. The huge number of cats in one spot takes away my reservations to collecting. :P (only thing holding me back is the long hike and hugantus slopes I would have to go back down and up to get back there) I have never seen an adult Silvery Checkerspot so that also makes me want to colect and conferm. Any rearing suggestions? I have read the
raising caterpillars article here on bugguide, very usefull! How many should I colect to ensure a sucsesfull emergence? Would 4 or 5 be good? I also am wondering about food plants. There was not a whole lot of that food plant around (and I can't do that hike every few days to get more!) Replacements that would be easy to find?
PS: if I got the ID right do they need to overwinter as pupa or will this generation emerge as adults this year? The guide was not specific, it said something about a diapause but also mentioned there could be multible generations a year. Some diapause and some don't?