Observation of the week June 26 – July 2, 2022
Our seventh OOTW for the 2022 Butterfly Blitz is an observation of one of our most distinctive butterfly species – the Baltimore Checkerspot. This particular checkerspot adult was seen by Christine (@c-elliott) in the Hungry Hollow ravine in Georgetown.
Hungry Hollow has been having a mini explosion of Baltimore Checkerspots this year, with over a dozen observations made on iNaturalist. This is probably partly because Hungry Hollow is a popular walking area, and the checkerspots have been easily seen from the trails. But it’s also probably partly because of the biology of the species – when you find one Baltimore Checkerspot, you’re likely to see more.
Adult female Baltimore Checkerspots lay groups of 100 to 700 eggs together on the undersides of leaves of white turtlehead plants. After the caterpillars hatch, they hang out and feed on turtlehead leaves together in a communal nest that they construct out of silk.
After feeding for a few weeks, partly grown Baltimore checkerspot caterpillars drop to the ground and find a cozy place in the leaf litter to spend the winter. When temperatures warm up in the spring, they come out of hibernation and begin feeding again. Although young Baltimore Checkerspot caterpillars prefer to eat turtlehead leaves, the bigger ones are less picky and will feed on the leaves of different plant species – including ash trees and plantain.
Left: Communal nest of Baltimore Checkerspot caterpillars, Hungry Hollow in August 2021.
Right: Baltimore Checkerspot caterpillars feeding on ash leaves, Hungry Hollow in June 2022.
Christine shared some wonderful details on how she made this observation:
“The Baltimore Checkerspot and Acadian Hairstreak were my two target species as I headed out that afternoon, based on observations from other Butterfly Blitz participants earlier in the week (shout out to @pbuchwald, @maci_paci, @l_silva, and @bevlynn99). As uncommon species in our area, it was exciting to know that I could potentially see both within walking distance of my home. This would be my first time observing Baltimore Checkerspots in the field, making this observation both a first-of-year and lifer.
The area where I spotted both species was the newly opened extension to the Hungry Hollow Trail in Georgetown, north of West Branch Park. The boardwalk over the wet meadow made for excellent viewing opportunities with little disturbance to the surrounding habitat. To my surprise I wasn't treated to just a few butterflies of each species, but dozens.
One of my goals this year is to pay greater attention to the habitat and hosts plants for the different butterfly and moth species I encounter. While reading up about the Baltimore Checkerspot, I learned that the eggs are laid on native plants such as turtlehead and hairy beardtongue, and that adults prefer to nectar on the flowers of milkweed, viburnum and wild rose. Moving forward, I hope this information will help me to find other populations outside of Hungry Hollow in the future.”
Side note: The Baltimore Checkerspot was named after George Calvert (1580-1632), the first Lord Baltimore, whose coat-of-arms was orange and black. The Baltimore Oriole is also named after Lord Baltimore, while Baltimore, Maryland, was named by his son. It’s partly because of the name that the Baltimore Checkerspot is the official state insect of Maryland.
Did you know Ontario doesn’t have an official provincial insect? If we did, what do you think it should be?
Written by @lltimms, Senior Specialist in Natural Heritage, CVC.
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