Size: Up to 1.75 inch wingspan

​

Key ID features:  Highly variable. Male above, bands of orange and sometimes yellow-orange, separated by black lines, crescents and checks.  Female often darker than male above. Below bands of off-white and brick red with black veins and edges.  Often on HW below, submarginal red band has yellowish centers in red spots.

​

Similar species: Sagebrush Checkerspot  pure white rather than off-white below. Hoffman's Checkerspot darker basally on HW above.

​

Host plant: Not well-documented, but likely species in the aster family.

​

Habitat: Sage desert, pinyon-juniper savanna, washes, gulches, canyons and brushy flats.   

​

Range: Meadows, roadsides, streambanks, clearings.

​

Season: Late March to early August

​

Abundance: Common 

 

Conservation Status: Secure