The New Mexico Rare Arthropod Resource

This butterfly inhabits limestone ridges in shortgrass prairies and mesquite woodlands (Scott 1986, Opler and Wright 1999, Glassberg 2001). In New Mexico it is found between elevations of 1,524 to 1,981 m in the northeastern and east-central plains (Cary and Toliver 2024).

As larvae, the hostplants are Figworts (Scrophulariaceae) and Beardtongues (Penstemonspp.) (Scott 1986, Opler and Wright 1999, Glassberg 2001, Cary and Toliver 2024). They prefer plants with green, thin leaves; for example, Beardtongues with thick or gray leaves are not eaten (Scott 1986). In Northeast New Mexico they are found on Penstemon jamesii and Penstemon albidus (Cary and Toliver 2024). An average of 38 eggs are laid on the underside of hostplants (Scott 1986), Larvae are gregarious and eat leaves, third stage larvae hibernate  (Scott 1986, Opler and Wright 1999, Glassberg 2001).

The species has multiple flights with two generations every year (Scott 1986, Cary and Toliver 2024) Flights start in May and last till late September, New Mexico records stretch from May 10 to October 2nd, with peak numbers in May and another peak in August through September (Scott 1986, Opler and Wright 1999, Glassberg 2001, Cary and Toliver 2024). Adults are known to nectar on yellow composites in the order Asterales (Scott 1986, Opler and Wright 1999) and have also been recorded on the flowers of asters and Black-Eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta)(Opler and Wright 1999). When looking for females, males perch on low vegetation on limestone ridgetops from around 7:00 am to 12:30 pm then patrol around flowers for the rest of the day. (Scott 1986, Opler and Wright 1999, Cary and Toliver 2024). Males will fly behind the female waiting for her to land to mate, unreceptive females will fly or crawl away. Males live an average of 5 days in nature and through mark and recapture studies have been shown to occupy an average area of 100 m (Scott 1986).

The Dotted Checkerspot is a shortgrass prairie specialist living near limestone ridges in the United States and Mexico. The northernmost part of its range is southeast Colorado and northeast New Mexico (Scott 1986, Cary and Toliver 2024). The range continues south through Texas and New Mexico before ending in Chihuahua and Zacatecas, Mexico (Scott 1986, Opler and Wright 1999, Glassberg 2001). In New Mexico it is found between 1,524 to 1,981 m in elevation in the northeastern and east-central plains, with historical records in the following counties: Colfax, Curry, De Baca, Guadalupe, Harding, Mora, Quay, Roosevelt, San Miguel, Union (Cary and Toliver 2024).

There are no known range wide conservations actions in place for this butterfly. The subspecies found in New Mexico, is being considered for inclusion as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need in the 2025 revision of the New Mexico State Wildlife Action Plan (NMDGF 2024). More research is needed on the population size and trends, as well as threats.

This butterfly has likely been in slow decline due to land use changes in the region, since the arrival of European settlers (Swengel et al. 2011). North American prairies have declined by an estimated 99% in the last few centuries, primarily due to conversion for agriculture (Samson and Knopf 1994). Remaining isolated patches of prairie are generally threatened by further habitat loss and degradation from urban development, intensive grazing regimes, pesticide use, silviculture, the invasion of non-native plants (Wright et al. 2003). Intensive grazing has been shown to adversely impact other remnant prairie butterflies, likely due to loss of nectar sources, loss of larval host plants, changes in vegetative structure and trampling of larvae and eggs (Dana 1991). Invasive species such as Smooth Brome (Bromus inermis), Kentucky Bluegrass (Poa pratensis), Leafy Spurge (Euphoribia esula), and woodland invasion by both native and non-native plants also threatens prairie remnant habitats. Pesticide use is also problematic, as many prairie remnants are surrounded by rangeland and cropland (Selby 2005). Management with prescribed burns can also negatively impact some prairie butterfly populations if carried out late in the spring or in the fall, over too large an area, or too frequently (Dana 1991).

Oil and gs adevelopment may also be a threat across some parts of the Dotted Checkerspot's range. Studies have shown oil well sites, when compared to relatively ungrazed grasslands surrounding leased oil well sites and sites with no oil wells, impact the soil pH, increase the presence and pervasiveness of nonnative plant species, and increase the percent of bare ground present (Nasen et al. 2011). These conditions could lead to a change in hostplant quantity and quality.

Another threat facing some grassland butterflies is catastrophic fire or lack of fire. The impacts of fire on this species may depend on the intensity and size of the fire, as well as seasonal timing (USFWS 2004). With population numbers in small areas one fire, controlled or wild, could wipe out a large percentage of what's left of this species and potentially cause its extinction (Cary et al. 2004, Wasserman et al. 2023). However, at the same time with no fire these grasslands may grow senescent or be succeeded which will also drive the taxa towards potential extinction (Cary et al. 2004,  Wasserman et al. 2023). The impacts of land use on fire intensity and spread may also be consequential. For example, grazing may temper a fire, as grazed meadows carry less fuel load, but the presence of some invasive grasses which are more abundant in grazed areas, such as Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), may cause more frequent fires due to invasive grasses adding novel and continuous fuels (USFWS 2004, Fusco et al. 2019).

Drought may also be a threat across some parts of the range of this species. For example, the southwestern United States saw its driest 22-year period from 2000 to 2021 since at least 800 CE (the time period used in previous climatic reconstructions) (Williams et al. 2022) and droughts are projected to become more prolonged, severe, and common in the region under future climate change scenarios (USGCRP 2018). Drought conditions can increase sensitivity to environmental stochasticity, especially due to variation in host quantity, quality, and phenology (Ehrlich and Murphy 1987). This can further stress species already living in hot and dry environments. Many butterfly species, even very common ones, have been experiencing widespread declines due to a series of threats that may be affecting this species as well (Forister et al. 2021). Land use and water use change also have been shown to affect many other species in the western United States (Forister et al. 2010).

The butterfly is also at risk of stochastic events with males living an average of five days in nature and through mark and recapture studies have been shown to occupy an average area of 100 m (Scott 1986). This limited mobility leaves them exposed to environmental stochastic events such as extreme weather, wildfires, and predation. In a recent paper, Forister et al. (2023) used biological, ecological, and climate data to rank the imperilment of western butterfly species for which long-term monitoring data are not available (including this species). For this butterfly, the limited number of plant genera and plant families reported as caterpillar hosts, a relatively restricted geographic range, and exposure to agricultural and other developed lands were identified as the greatest threats (Forister et al. 2023). Additional research is needed to better understand the threats to this species.

The population size and trend are not known for this species. Determination of population size and monitoring of population trends is necessary to ensure the population is stable. Especially as several widespread, relatively common species of butterfly are in decline across the western United States (Forister et al. 2021).

• Selby, G.. 2005. Ottoe Skipper (Hesperia ottoe W.H. Edwards): a technical conservation assessment. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region. http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/projects/scp/ assessments/ottoeskipper.pdf
• Wright, V.F., Huber, R.L. and Huber, C.L.. 2003. Butterflies (Lepidoptera) of Konza Prairie Biological Station: an annotated checklist. Journal of the Kansas Entomologist 76: (469-476).
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Otero County, The Village of Cloudcroft, and U.S. Forest Service. 2004. Conservation Plan for the Sacramento Mountains Checkerspot Butterfly (Euphydryas anicia cloudcrofti). Albuquerque, NM : (80).
• Pittenger, J.S. and Yori, K.A.. 2003. Abundance, population structure, and habitat of the Sacramento Mountains Checkerspot Butterfly (Euphydryas anicia cloudcrofti), with notes on life history and ecology. Prepared for the U.S Forest Service, Lincoln National Forest and the New Mexico Department of Transportation, Santa Fe, NM : (55).
• Hughes, P.. 2020. Population status of the Sacramento Mountain Checkerspot Butterfly and current tactics to proposed to mitigate the probability of imminent extinction. Preliminary results. U.S. Forest Service, Sacramento Ranger District, Cloudcroft, NM : (19).
• McIntyre, J.. 2010. Habitat variables, mammal interactions, and recovery approaches important to a rare, New Mexican butterfly, Euphydryas anicia cloudcrofti (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM : (115). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/biol_etds/78
• Forister, M.L., Halsch, C.A., Nice, C.C., Fordyce, J.A., Dilts, T.E., Oliver, J.C., Prudic, K.L., Shapiro, A.M., Wilson, J.K. and Glassberg, J. . 2021. Fewer butterflies seen by community scientists across the warming and drying landscapes of the American West. Science 371: (1042-1045).
• Williams, A.P., Cook, B.I. and Smerdon, J.E. . 2022. Rapid intensification of the emerging southwestern North American megadrought in 2020–2021. Nature Climate Change 12: (232-234).
• Cary, S. J., Johnson, K., & Pierce, L.. 2004. Alberta Arctic Butterfly Surveys in the Capulin Volcano National Monument Area 2003-2004 Final Report.. National Park Service. http://www.npshistory.com/publications/cavo/butterfly-2004.pdf
• Swengel, S., Schlicht, D., Olsen, F. and Swengel, A.. 2011. Declines of prairie butterflies in the midwestern USA. Journal of Insect Conservation 15: (327-339).
• sRedList. 2024. sRedList Platform - a tool to support Red List assessments (Version 1.1). LifeWatch ERIC. https://doi.org/10.48372/DSKB-JE13
• INaturalist. 2024. . https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?captive=any&place_id=any&project_id=2329&subview=table&taxon_id=534757&verifiable=any
• Cary, S.J. and Toliver, M.E. . 2024. Butterflies of New Mexico.. Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC). https://peecnature.org/butterflies-of-new-mexico/
• Souther, S., Loeser, M., Crews, T.E. and Sisk, T.. 2019. Drought exacerbates negative consequences of high-intensity cattle grazing in a semiarid grassland. Ecological Applications 30: (e02048).
• Forister, M.L., Grames, E.M., Halsch, C.A., Burls, K.J., Carroll, C.F., Bell, K.L., Jahner, J.P., Bradfod, T., Zhang, J., Cong, Q., Grishin, N.V., Glassberg, K., Shapiro, A.M. and Riecke. T.V.. 2023. Assessing risk for butterflies in the context of climate change, demographic uncertainty, and heterogenous data sources. Ecological Monographs 93: (e1584).
• USGCRP. 2018. Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States: Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume II. U.S. Global Change Research Program , Washington, DC, USA : (1515).
• Scott, J.A.. 1986. The Butterflies of North America, A Natural History and Field Guide. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California : (583).
• Glassberg, J.. 2001. Butterflies through Binoculars: The West. Oxford University Press, New York .
• Dana, R.P.. 1991. Conservation Management of the Prairie Skippers Hesperia dacotae and Hesperia ottoe: basic biology and threat of mortality during prescribed burning in spring. University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN : (63). https://conservancy.umn.edu/handle/11299/139544
• Opler, P.A. and Wright, A.B.. 1999. A Field Guide to Western Butterflies. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts : (540).
• Beccaloni, G., Scoble, M., Kitching, I., Simonsen, T., Robinson, G., Pitkin, B., Hine, A. and Lyal, C. (Eds.). 2003. The Global Lepidoptera Names Index (LepIndex). https://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/data/lepindex/
• Nasen, L.C.; Noble, B.F.; Johnstone, J.F.. 2011. Environmental effects of oil and gas lease sites in a grassland ecosystem.. Journal of Environmental Management. 92: (195-204).
• Wasserman T.N. and Mueller S.E.. 2023. Climate influences on future fire severity: a synthesis of climate-fire interactions and impacts on fire regimes, high-severity fire, and forests in the western United States. Fire Ecology 19. https://fireecology.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s42408-023-00200-8
• New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF). 2024. Poladryas minuta . Natural Heritage New Mexico . bison-m.org/booklet.aspx?SpeciesID=215065
• Forister, M.L., McCall, A.C., Sanders, N.J., Fordyce, J.A., Thorne, J.H., O’Brien, J., Waetjen, D.P. and Shapiro, A.M.. 2010. Compounded effects of climate change and habitat alteration shift patterns of butterfly diversity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107: (2088-2092).