New Jersey Zoologist (& Stockton grad) Robert Somes has sent in some interesting background about checkered whites:
Checkered white is kind of a peculiar species in NJ with a Threatened Status. Up until the last two years it was restricted to a small colony at Newark Airport. Then a report came in of some sightings around Pedricktown (several different fields and roadsides around town, mainly fields near Railroad Ave. and Freed Road) two years ago with plenty of photos to back it up.
There were as many as forty in one field that was fallow that year. Last year the main field was cultivated and numbers were down to five or six observed at scattered locations. It seemed to be a colonization of suitable habitat that moved from one suitable patch to another, but what was left in my mind was where had they come from in the first place?
I am just guessing there were other colonies around down there, and now there are reports coming in to you.
This is great news, and I am planning on heading down south on Friday (Aug 3) to have a look. Feel free to share this with your blog and if anyone wants to take a look around Pedricktown it would be cool to see what is out there this year. There are also a good number of bronze coppers that have turned up around Pedricktown and one of the photos I was sent was of both a bronze copper and a checkered white on the same set of flowers. That’s a one-in-a-million-shot there. Take care and thanks for the information.
Robert Somes
Senior Zoologist
NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife
Endangered and Nongame Species Program
1 Eldridge Road
Robbinsville, NJ 08691