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Picture Notes: This picture was taken on 04/21/2011 off of the Late Night Trail in Cottonwood Valley inside Red Rock Canyon, NV. Trying to identify butterflies is like finding a needle in a hay stack. There are literally thousands of different species and varieties. As best I can determine this is a Chalcedon Checkerspot (Euphydryas chalcedona), or some variation thereof. Unfortunately, I had left my tripod behind on the hike, else I might have been able to obtain a sharper picture. Being relatively new at this photography thing, I find that it is quite difficult at best to get a well focused hand-held shot while one of the critters is flying from bush to bush.
Description: The Chalcedon Checkerspot is extremely variable with a narrow forewing. The upper side is black to dark orange-brown, sometimes with with yellow, red, or white spots; the underside with yellow and orange-red bands. (The picture on the right is of the same butterfly and shows the the yellow and white bands on the underside.) Males perch or patrol all day for females. Eggs are laid in large groups on underside of leaves of host plants. Their wingspan is between 1 1/4 - 2 1/4 inches. Their habitat is sagebrush flats, chaparral, desert hills, high prairie and open forest areas from the pacific coast through California and Arizona to Baja California and Mexico; east to Montana, the Dakotas, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico. It was interesting to read that one of the most popular hosts for caterpillars is the Indian paintbrush.
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