We’ve got another two part ecology question this week to test your plant and butterfly ID!
The plant on the left is the host for which butterfly on the right?
- Top
- Bottom
We’ve got another two part ecology question this week to test your plant and butterfly ID!
The plant on the left is the host for which butterfly on the right?
Click below to reveal the answer to this weeks’ quiz
The butterfly on top, the Baltimore Checkerspot, uses White Turtlehead as its host.
White Turtlehead is a native species of wetlands with a white flower that resembles the head of a turtle. It is named after a Greek myth of a nymph who was turned into a tortoise for refusing to attend Zeus’ wedding. While historically Baltimore Checkerspot were restricted to these wetland habitats, they can now be found in dry fields where a new host plant is found - the Narrow-Leaved Plantain or Ribwort Plantain, an introduced plant from Europe. This shift is interesting but not unexpected as after some taxonomic controversy, it turns out that White Turtlehead is a member of the Plantain family.
The Baltimore Checkerspot’s signature black and orange colors reminded scientific namers of the black and gold shield of Lord Cecil Calvert, Baron of Baltimore - an honor it shares with the Baltimore Oriole.
The Common Buckeye (bottom), although rare in Vermont, has a number of host plants including members of the Figwort family, which are - as might be expected - also rare in Vermont. They will also use members of the more common Plantain family.
Baltimore Checkerspot by Jeff Cherry (iNaturalist)
Common Buckeye by Jeff Cherry (iNaturalist)
White Turtlehead by memoosborne (iNaturalist)
Check out the next butterfly ID quiz here!