Variable checkerspot
This butterfly's colors vary so much between populations, from brick-red desert forms to black and yellow ones, that early observers took its forms for separate species.
| Where | Mountain scrub, canyons and open forest |
|---|---|
| Size | 32 to 70 mm wingspan |
| When | March to July |
The Variable checkerspot lives up to its name: the upper wings show a checkered pattern of black, red, yellow and pale spots that shifts noticeably from one population to the next, some forms leaning strongly red and others mostly black and yellow.
Caterpillars feed on plants such as paintbrush, penstemon, monkeyflower and snowberry, and adults spend most of the day taking nectar from flowers on rocky slopes, canyons and open forest across mountainous parts of western North America.
Traits
Habitat
Heath
Colour
Black, Red, Yellow
Active
Day
To people
Harmless to people; adults visit flowers for nectar and are a common sight along mountain trails.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
The Anicia checkerspot is smaller and shows plain white spot bands mixed with more red and yellow overall, while the Variable checkerspot is larger with pale ivory, not white, spots above.
Questions
Is the Variable checkerspot dangerous to people?
Harmless to people; adults visit flowers for nectar and are a common sight along mountain trails.
When can you see the Variable checkerspot?
The Variable checkerspot can be seen from March to July, by day.
Plate retouched from a photo by ben142, CC0, iNaturalist Licence
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Butterflies and moths›Brush-footed butterflies›Euphydryas
Last updated 2026-09-27. Every entry is checked against published sources.