Variable Checkerspot: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Butterflies of the Americas · day 5 of 7

Five facts

1. True to its name, it varies a lot. In the Sierra it can be brick-red, while in northern California it is yellow and black.
2. Before winter, caterpillars hide in hollow dry stems, under bark or in rock cracks. High in the mountains, they can rest for several years.
3. Its main food plant fights back: it packs resin into its youngest leaves, pushing caterpillars onto older, less nourishing ones.
4. Birds that try one shake their heads and wipe their beaks. Chemicals from its caterpillar food plants make it taste bad.
5. Red seems to work as a warning. Birds mostly go for less red butterflies, so females, usually less red than males, get attacked more.

The quiz

1. What colours can the variable checkerspot be in northern California?

• Bright blue
• Yellow and black (correct)
• All white
• Green and purple

Northern Californian populations are yellow and black, unlike brick-red Sierra ones.

2. Where do caterpillars go to rest before winter?

• Into ponds
• Into birds' nests
• Into hollow stems, under bark or into rock cracks (correct)
• Onto the tops of flowers

They leave the food plant for sheltered spots like these.

3. How does the main food plant protect its youngest leaves?

• It packs them with resin (correct)
• It grows sharp thorns
• It drops them at night
• It hides them underground

Resin in young leaves pushes caterpillars to eat older leaves.

4. What do birds do after tasting a variable checkerspot?

• They ask for more
• They sing loudly
• They feed it to their chicks
• They shake their heads and wipe their beaks (correct)

Head-shaking and beak-wiping show the butterfly tastes bad.

5. Which butterflies do birds attack most?

• The reddest ones
• The less red ones (correct)
• Only the biggest males
• Only the caterpillars

Attacks focus on butterflies with less intense red.

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