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Photo#1417476
Checkerspot - Euphydryas chalcedona--a

Checkerspot - Euphydryas chalcedona--a
Bishop Pass, Sierra Nevadas, Fresno County, California, USA
July 31, 2017
~11,980 ft.

Moved
Moved from Melitaeini.

Moved

Moved

 
It looks like Euphydryas editha
lacking white dorsal abdominal spots. Much reddish orange, and smaller sized, based on body to wing ratio.

 
Euphydryas species
E. editha is very different looking from this insect, and I don't think that's what it is.

The abdominal markings vary a lot in the chalcedona / anicia complex, and spots on the dorsum are not required. However, the taxonomy of the group is in a bit of a mess, with various authors disagreeing on how to classify them. Some religiously follow traits of male genitalia to sort them (but the populations of insects don't necessarily agree, they seem to vary fairly consistently from west to east regardless of which "species" the insects belong to). Some authors recognize several species, and others only one. In my opinion (based on behavior) there are at least two or three species involved (likely more), but they are not well sorted nor fully understood yet. The identifications here at BugGuide are currently a bit mixed up too.

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