Chlosyne leanira wrightii
Leanira Checkerspot
Never really common in my experience and always great to see, this checkerspot seems to emerge only when conditions suit it. I've seen it several times up Mt. Baldy Road in the San Gabriels, and once in a while at Cactus Spring Trail (pro-tip: it hilltops sometimes at the hill past the "Dolomite Mine"). Finding larvae hasn't been terribly difficult, as they really stand out on the Castilleja, but I haven't yet found eggs or chrysalises. Most of my records are from April and May for adults and caterpillars, but I also saw a worn adult flying on September 20th, 2014, at Cactus Spring Trail, so like a typical checkerspot, a fall brood may emerge if conditions allow.
This butterfly is a real beauty. This fresh female Chlosyne leanira wrightii had just emerged at Cactus Spring Trail on April 30th, 2024, and was still getting the hang of flying.
Chlosyne leanira wrightii - 'Wright's' Leanira checkerspot - from Glendora Ridge Road in the San Gabriels. May 1, 2011.
Ventral of the Leanira checkerspot, subspecies wrighti, Barrett-Stoddard Truck Trail, San Gabriels, April 29, 2007. This was my first leanira, a butterfly that is not always easy to find. This particular spring it wasn't uncommon in certain areas up Mt. Baldy Road.
Larva of the Leanira checkerspot on Indian paintbrush along Cactus Springs Trail in the Santa Rosa Wilderness north of Anza-Borrego, March 19, 2024. I saw at least a dozen or so this day.
Also at Cactus Springs Trail but years earlier, April 26, 2011, also on the food plant.
Within a few minutes of taking the photograph above, I caught a glimpse of this recently-emerged beauty - a Leanira checkerspot hanging out on a slope above me. This is the only one I would see this day, and the first adult I've ever seen on this trail.
Closer view of the same leanira wrightii.
Same one, just before it flew off into the distance. Seeing this rare butterfly really made my day.
Back to the Mt Baldy area on May 1, 2011, where several leanira were flying.
William Wright collected this butterfly and sent it to William Henry Edwards, who described it in the Canadian Entomologist in 1886.
©Dennis Walker
