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Photo#67008
Silvery Checkerspot Cats?? - Chlosyne nycteis

Silvery Checkerspot Cats?? - Chlosyne nycteis
Burlington, Halton, Ontario, Canada
July 27, 2006
Size: ~ an inch
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?

Images of this individual: tag all
Silvery Checkerspot Cats?? - Chlosyne nycteis Silvery Checkerspot Cats?? - Chlosyne nycteis Silvery Checkerspot Cats?? - Chlosyne nycteis Silvery Checkerspot Cats?? - Chlosyne nycteis

Sorry not to respond sooner
I just found out the Balabans are on vacation - I was hoping they would give an opinion on this one. Distinguishing silvery checkerspot from similar buckmoth caterpillars is quite challenging. However, the hostplant is right for the checkerspot, and the gregarious behavior, as well as the stripe you mentioned, so I'm pretty sure this is a good ID.

As for raising them, you'd better make sure you have something to feed them first - maybe you have another sunflower relative available? Wingstem is listed for these, and it's pretty common (at least, it was very common in OH, and I'm guessing you have similar flora in Ontario). If there's a native plants nursery in your town, they might even have the Rudbeckia, or certainly a relative. The other thing you need, of course, is the landowner's permission.

This is also a guess, but I think it's quite likely you'd get adults this year - there's still time for another generation before diapause is likely to set in. If you can find a way to work it, I'd recommend you collect just five to ten or it will be hard keeping up with their food needs.

 
Thanks.
Thanks for the responce.
I was doing a bit of research and the plant they are on is listed as a host for the Silvery. I did see the post with the buckmoth caterpillars so thus wanting confermation.

I returned to the site today to try and collect a few but was totaly disaponted. Totaly. We had some extreem weather the night after I took the photos and well...the whole area is now flat. The destruction of the floodplain was pritymuch total. (things will come back but the caterpillars are washed away as far as I can tell) I even spent last night making a container to hold the larva and foodplant, and makeing a ventilated transporting container.

I did find quite a bit of the Rudbeckia species they were on tho so thats good.

I was so totaly bumed when I could not find the larva again. One weather event and over 100 larva just gone like that. *sigh* (no wonder I've never seen any of the adults around here yet...) I walked the whole streatch of the floodplan (on one side) and didn't find a single caterpillar on any other plants. Landowner isues are not a problem as my work owns the land, I was working when we found the larva. I may go back and try the oposite side of the creek if I can gather the energy. The day I took the photos we were crossing the creek in our hikers and not getting wet...now I would have needed waiders and a rope to hold on to. Crazy how fast things change.

 
That's really bad luck!
espoecially for such a rarely-encountered species.

I'm moving these to the guide. I hope you get to find some more some time soon. Once you know where to look, bugs are much easier to find. And now you are fully prepared!

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