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Why does the checkerspot need open spaces?

By Chelsie Vandaveer

April 10, 2002

Sponsored By: Springhill Nursery—>Click here.

Also Sponsored By: Breck's Bulbs - Direct From Holland—>Click here.

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Suggested Reading—>Click here.

Butterfly and Hummingbird Collection, Foxglove & more—>Click here.

The quino checkerspot butterfly is found only in southern California. There are a variety of habitats that support the quino checkerspot (Euphydryas editha quino Behr) [you fi dry' as e dith' a key' no]. The QCB can be found from the coastal sage scrub and chaparral to the desert pinyon-juniper woodlands as long as the host plants, Plantago erecta and Castilleja exserta are present.

Quino checkerspot butterflies are univoltine, having only one generation per year. Adults are usually present from February to April. Each female lays from 400 to 800 eggs either on or near Plantago or Castilleja. The young caterpillars are gregarious, spinning a communal web and feeding in groups under the protection of the silk.

California Checkerspot butterfly and daisies
John Warden
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After two or three molts, the caterpillars enter diapause, a state of dormancy. By this time, most of the food plants have died. The caterpillars remain dormant until the winter rains renew the growth of the host plants. After diapause, the caterpillars are solitary feeders. The caterpillars pupate in low vegetation or under rocks.

The QCB caterpillars need five weeks of food before entering diapause. If a female lays her eggs too late in the season, the young will starve. But if the underlying soil has been disturbed by pocket gophers (Thomomys bottae), the Plantago have deeper roots. The host plants survive several weeks longer in gopher territory than where soils are undisturbed.

The QCB is facing extinction. Entomologists with the University of California discovered it was not what plants were present, but the structure of the community that attracts and harbors the butterfly.

The butterflies live in open spaces within the habitats. These spaces support cryptobiotic crusts—lichens, mosses, fungi, and cyanobacteria (blue-green algae)—that cover the bare soil. The cryptobiotic crust helps the native host plants survive by protecting the seeds and making nutrients available.

The Essig Museum of Entomology, University of California-Berkeley has a photograph of the QCB. To view the butterfly, click on the link:

http://shanana.berkeley.edu/essig/endins/quino.htm

Peter J. Bryant, University of California-Irvine has posted a photograph of Plantago erecta. To view, click on the link:

http://mamba.bio.uci.edu/~pjbryant/biodiv/plants/plantain.htm

killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~

Brecks Dutch Treat Collection

Breck's Bulbs®

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This spectacular 100-bulb assortment demonstrates to beginners, as well as to expert gardeners, how lovely your surroundings can be with a multitude of bright flowers from the fields of Holland. Exciting blooms start peeking through in early spring and keep coming until summer is in sight. Shipped in a distinctive gift box with complete planting instructions. Free $25 off any order of $50 or more at Brecks Bulbs [More Spring Blooming Collections...]

Butterfly and Hummingbird Collection

Springhill Nursery®

Nothing compares to the magic of spotting a hummingbird or butterfly darting from bloom to bloom in your garden! This special combination of perennials will provide you with many weeks of blooming beauty, while also providing nectar for a wide range of butterflies and hummers. Returns year after year for an ever-increasing display. Best infull sun to partial shade.

Create a wildlife habitat with the following:

Zagreb Coreopsis (3), Spectacular European introduction, a favorite of hummingbirds, is covered with golden blooms for months, mid-summer to frost..
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Black Knight Butterfly Bush (1), Graceful trusses smothered with dark purple flowers attract flocks of butterflies..
Orange Glory Flower (3), Butterflies can't resist the bright color and sweet nectar of this North American native plant..
Blue Butterfly Delphinium (3), The dazzling deep blue blooms of this wonderful delphinium lure butterflies all summer long. .
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Foxglove, Mixed

Springhill Nursery®

Digitalis purpurea – Outstanding in early summer borders. Towering stalks, up to 4' tall, are covered with bell-shaped florets in a mix of bright colors. Hummingbirds can't resist! Fast-growing biennial plants are resistant to most pests and diseases. Beautiful in woodland gardens, cottage gardens and borders. Space 2-3' apart. # Field-Grown Plants. Deer tend to avoid. Zone 4 to 10 Click here for $20 off your first order at Spring Hill Nursery!

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Sparkler Allium Mix

Breck's Bulbs®

Colourful clusters of up to 30 bell-shaped flowers burst from Sparkler's stems like fireworks in the sky. Mix includes golden-yellow, red-violet and pure white flowers, set off by blue-green and silvery-green foliage. allium flavum, A. carinatum, A. carinatum 'album' Zones 3-9. Top-size bulbs. Height:16" Bloom Time: Late spring to early summer Free $25 off any order of $50 or more at Brecks Bulbs

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Early Summer Festival Collection

Breck's Bulbs®

This massive collection includes some of our very best late- spring/early-summer perennials . Intersperse the perennials of this collection with your spring- blooming bulbs to extend the floral show into early summer. Or, use them together for a special early summer display anywhere you could use a little extra color! Free $25 off any order of $50 or more at Brecks Bulbs

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Breck’s Early Summer Festival Collection includes:

50 Mountain Bells Mixture - These eye-catching alliums are easy-to-grow and produce a riot of carefree colour while fending off even the most troublesome plant predators. Blooms burst in small clusters during the drab, late spring months when petals of most bulbs have faded and summer flowers have yet to open. Sweetly fragrant Mountain Bells multiply freely year after year with hundreds of blooms. Zones 3-8. 4-5 cm bulbs. Height: 10-14".

5 Firecracker Flower - Light up your beds with a burst of glowing colour! You'll be delighted at the exotic, brilliant crimson blossoms sporting a greenish-yellow tip and standing tall atop long, narrow leaves. A sunny spot might bring as many as 20-25 flowers on one stem! Attracts hummingbirds, too! Zones 5-8. 5+ cm bulbs. Height: 24-30".

15 Poppy Anemone Mix - Enjoy a steady parade of long-lasting flowers with this mix of two popular poppy anemone varieties - pure white Bride and rich violet- blue Mr. Fokker. Each cream-of-the-crop bulb produces 3-5 vibrant 2" single blooms. Zones 6-9. 6+ cm bulbs. Height: 10-14".

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[More Specialty Bulbs...] [Gardening 101 Assistance...]