Mylitta Crescent? - Chlosyne gabbii

OK, this does look like the images from the other park,

so, we'll go with C. gabbii. This one has been doing quite a little shuffle dance. I see we had another post from the same park a month later, that was never associated with this post - that one also C. gabbii.

Moved from Patches, Checkerspots.

… David J. Ferguson, 5 June, 2013 - 11:11am

Moved

Moved from Northern Checkerspot.

… Ken Schneider, 7 May, 2010 - 10:17am

Moved

Moved from Chlosyne.

… Ken Schneider, 13 July, 2009 - 8:45pm

Moved

Moved from Butterflies (excluding skippers).

… David J. Ferguson, 9 July, 2009 - 3:38pm

Confusingly similar to Crescents, but not

This one is a Checkerspot. If you have a shot of the underside, I could be more certain of identification, but this is either Chlosyne gabbii or Chlosyne palla (the two meet near the coast in an area a bit inland and southward a ways from the Bay Area). Anyway, I'm not well versed on which is found in that state park. I expect that yours is more likely C. palla, but there's no way I know to be certain. Below C. gabbii is a pearly white on the hind wing, while C. palla is more creamy to pale yellowish. C. gabbii favors the hills and canyons near the coast, while C. palla is more of a mountain creature, often most common in openings in woodlands and forests. There may be intermediate specimens where the two meet???

… David J. Ferguson, 9 July, 2009 - 3:34pm

C. gabbii

I'm 99% possitive this is C. gabbii based on the numerous gabbii that I've seen in Joseph D. Grant Co. Park just north of Henry Coe SP. I've never seen C. palla in this southern part of the Diablo Range. I did put some C. gabbii pictures from Grant in 2009.

… Owen Holt, 7 May, 2010 - 10:04am

C. palla -

I think, based on the fact that this is the only member of the genus listed in our local field guide by Shapiro and Manolis, "Field Guide to Butterflies of the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento Valley Regions". It talks about how C. Gabbii replaces this species further south...

Thanks for the ID and correction, David!

… Ken Schneider, 9 July, 2009 - 10:27pm

Your welcome

I think that's good enough evidence to move it to the species page for C. palla.

… David J. Ferguson, 13 July, 2009 - 6:29pm

I have seen something pretty close...

...but like this one, taken by Gary McDonald, it had dots towards the base of the hind wing pair only. I don't know what significance of the markings are. Maybe a sexual dimorphism?

… Arthur Scott Macmillan, 11 June, 2009 - 6:21pm