The Baltimore Checkerspot (Euphydryas phaeton) is a North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

n butterfly

Butterfly

A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...

 of the family, Nymphalidae

Nymphalidae

The Nymphalidae is a family of about 5,000 species of butterflies which are distributed throughout most of the world. These are usually medium sized to large butterflies. Most species have a reduced pair of forelegs and many hold their colourful wings flat when resting. They are also called...

.
It is the official state insect of the U.S. State

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

 since 1973.

During its period of growth, the Checkerspot Butterfly will search for a host plant for nourishment. Its native larval host is the White Turtle Head (Chelone glabra

Chelone glabra

Chelone glabra is a plant in the family Plantaginaceae .-Description:Chelone glabra is a herbaceous plant found in wetlands and riparian forests of eastern North America with opposite, simple leaves, on stout, upright stems. The flowers are white, borne in late summer and early fall...

), but it has also to some extent made use of the introduced lawn weed English Plantain (Plantago lanceolata

Plantago lanceolata

Plantago lanceolata is a species of genus Plantago known by the common names ribwort plantain, English plantain, and narrowleaf plantain. It is a common weed of cultivated land....

) and other plants.

Unlike most butterflies and moths

Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...

, which overwinter as eggs, pupae, or sometimes adults, the Baltimore Checkerspot overwinters as larvae. In late summer (sometime in July through September depending on latitude, weather, and other factors) the larvae spin a pre-hibernation web on a plant, stop feeding, and remain in the web. Several months later they leave this web and enter the litter (dead grass and leaves and so on) on the ground, where they spend the winter.