Euphydryas chalcedona kingstonensis

Desert Mountain Checkerspot

Euphydryas chalcedona kingstonensis is a butterfly of the eastern Mojave in California. It flies in the Mojave National Preserve, with a type locality north of the Preserve in the Kingston Range, and across state lines in Nevada. It has a definite tan or light brown aspect to it mentioned in the original description which I personally found more apparent live than in photos.

The type locality is specifically a canyon 3/4 of a mile southwest of Horse Thief Spring in the Kingston Range. These chalcedona checkerspots are so variable (thus the common name "variable checkerspot") that I wanted to be sure and get my photos at the type locality, especially for comparison with the reddish corralensis, which I've photographed at its type locality, Rock Corral. In my second attempt at cross-country hiking into the canyons draining the rugged Kingston Peak this spring, I found a wash with huge Keckiella antirrhinoides var microphylla shrubs, and soon I began seeing the patrolling butterflies.

Euphydryas chalcedona kingstonensis - Desert Mountain Checkerspot
Euphydryas chalcedona kingstonensis from the Kingston Range. May 1, 2020.
Euphydryas chalcedona kingstonensis - Desert Mountain Checkerspot
From the same wash, same day.
Euphydryas chalcedona kingstonensis - Desert Mountain Checkerspot
Some of the wing coloration was more tan than red, giving this butterfly a look different from others in the chalcedona species. It is much lighter in appearance than nominate chalcedona, but not quite the red phenotype of corralensis.
Keckiella from the Kingston Range
One thing I found strange was the impressive size of the host Keckiella antirrhinoides in the drainage where I first saw it and the butterfly.

©Dennis Walker