Bug FAQHarris's Checkerspot
Chlosyne harrisii · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Nymphalidae
Also called: Harris' Checkerspot
Harris's checkerspot is a butterfly with a wingspan of about 3.6 to 5.1 cm. Adults have orange upper wings marked with black, and the underside shows a red-orange stripe plus a patterned hindwing. It flies once a year in June and July and its caterpillars overwinter as third-instar larvae.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The upper side of the wings is orange with black markings.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults measure 3.6 to 5.1 cm across the wings.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They are commonly seen in bogs, meadows and wherever their host plant grows. They occur from sea level up to about 1,742 feet (531 m).
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Caterpillars feed on flat-topped white aster (Aster umbellatus). Adult butterflies sip nectar from flowers.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
There is a single flight period in June and July. The caterpillars spend the winter in their third instar stage.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are on the wing only between June and July.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Harris's checkerspot lives in North America, from the Atlantic provinces of Canada (except Newfoundland and Labrador) west to Manitoba and North Dakota. Its range extends southward into the United States as far as West Virginia and Ohio.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It is often mistaken for the silvery checkerspot, another species in the same genus.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 18 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Vermont, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Wisconsin.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What do the caterpillars eat?
The larvae feed on flat-topped white aster (Aster umbellatus).
Source: Wikipedia
Where does Harris's checkerspot live?
It is found across eastern Canada and the eastern United States, from the Atlantic provinces to Ohio and West Virginia.
Source: Wikipedia
What does the adult butterfly look like?
The upper wings are orange with black markings, and the underside has a red-orange stripe and a patterned hindwing.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Nymphalidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlosyne_harrisii
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.