Uploaded December 2013 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Finally completed after 6 years, this collection of live action video, still images and timelapse sequences chronicle the life phases of the Gabb's Checkerspot Butterfly (Chlosyne gabbii) in amazing visual detail... Footage shot in the field and lab/studio had been accumulating for some time, and even though there was enough material to complete the project, it remained shelved until just recently when I finally found the time to finish it.
The life cycle begins with a mating pair filmed on a warm Spring day in May. A few days later, several females were collected and returned to the lab where a special enclosure was fabricated to provide a suitable environment to encourage the females to lay their eggs on fresh host plant cuttings, which you can see on the JCMDI documentary webpage here: lepidoptera.jcmdi.com/b/nym/gabbii/gabbiir.html.
The females spend the morning eating and basking in the warm sunshine until after noon, when they select a suitable place on a host plant, and settle in to begin laying their eggs. Unlike many species which lay their eggs one or a few at a time, this species lays a mass of eggs in one place over the course of several hours. Depending upon the size and health of the female, she may lay several masses like the ones shown.
After 10-12 days, the tiny larvae develop and can be seen through the transparent eggshells as creamy-green with black heads. They chew their way out of the shells and begin feeding. At night or when at rest, they move to old or dead curled-up leaves lower in the plant where they are less likely to be spotted and eaten by predators. The larvae only eat for a couple of weeks, until mid-2nd instar, when they find a suitable location deep in the plant foliage to go into diapause (hibernation) for the rest of the summer, fall and winter.
The following Spring when temperatures warm up, they come back to life and begin eating again, growing to maturity rapidly and pupating soon afterwards. Timelapse sequences show the caterpillar pupation process, which normally takes a few hours, in only few seconds. After they harden a bit, the pupae change into a camouflaged color pattern which blends in amazingly well with the host plant foliage. In a few weeks, the pupae develop, with the adult butterfly's wing colors clearly visible through the semi-transparent pupal case, and emerge shortly afterward.
The butterfly emerges and inflates its wings in 10-20 few minutes, then waits patiently for a couple of hours while its wings dry and harden enough to be used in flight. Females are ready to mate as soon as they emerge, and the males, which frequently begin emerging a day or two before the females, are already on patrol and looking for them, to start the life cycle process all over again...
See the entire online documentary for this species on the JCMDI website here: lepidoptera.jcmdi.com/b/nym/gabbii/gabbiip.html
The soundtrack is "The End of Summer (CD Ver*)" from the "TimeShift" CD by Technician (yours truly), album and single track available on iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/album/timeshift/id416810514 full artist discography and CDs available at HTTP://technician.jcmdi.com
Note: This is copyrighted material, however, you may download this footage directly from YouTube and use it free of charge in your own non-profit/non-commercial YouTube videos, school projects, etc. The full free usage policy and YouTube copyright notice/ad info can be found here (please read before using JCMDI material): jcmdi.com/stockfootage/faq.html#freeusage jcmdi.com/stockfootage/faq.html#partner
Enjoy the show! =)
Finally completed after 6 years, this collection of live action video, still images and timelapse sequences chronicle the life phases of the Gabb's Checkerspot Butterfly (Chlosyne gabbii) in amazing visual detail... Footage shot in the field and lab/studio had been accumulating for some time, and even though there was enough material to complete the project, it remained shelved until just recently when I finally found the time to finish it.
The life cycle begins with a mating pair filmed on a warm Spring day in May. A few days later, several females were collected and returned to the lab where a special enclosure was fabricated to provide a suitable environment to encourage the females to lay their eggs on fresh host plant cuttings, which you can see on the JCMDI documentary webpage here: lepidoptera.jcmdi.com/b/nym/gabbii/gabbiir.html.
The females spend the morning eating and basking in the warm sunshine until after noon, when they select a suitable place on a host plant, and settle in to begin laying their eggs. Unlike many species which lay their eggs one or a few at a time, this species lays a mass of eggs in one place over the course of several hours. Depending upon the size and health of the female, she may lay several masses like the ones shown.
After 10-12 days, the tiny larvae develop and can be seen through the transparent eggshells as creamy-green with black heads. They chew their way out of the shells and begin feeding. At night or when at rest, they move to old or dead curled-up leaves lower in the plant where they are less likely to be spotted and eaten by predators. The larvae only eat for a couple of weeks, until mid-2nd instar, when they find a suitable location deep in the plant foliage to go into diapause (hibernation) for the rest of the summer, fall and winter.
The following Spring when temperatures warm up, they come back to life and begin eating again, growing to maturity rapidly and pupating soon afterwards. Timelapse sequences show the caterpillar pupation process, which normally takes a few hours, in only few seconds. After they harden a bit, the pupae change into a camouflaged color pattern which blends in amazingly well with the host plant foliage. In a few weeks, the pupae develop, with the adult butterfly's wing colors clearly visible through the semi-transparent pupal case, and emerge shortly afterward.
The butterfly emerges and inflates its wings in 10-20 few minutes, then waits patiently for a couple of hours while its wings dry and harden enough to be used in flight. Females are ready to mate as soon as they emerge, and the males, which frequently begin emerging a day or two before the females, are already on patrol and looking for them, to start the life cycle process all over again...
See the entire online documentary for this species on the JCMDI website here: lepidoptera.jcmdi.com/b/nym/gabbii/gabbiip.html
The soundtrack is "The End of Summer (CD Ver*)" from the "TimeShift" CD by Technician (yours truly), album and single track available on iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/album/timeshift/id416810514 full artist discography and CDs available at HTTP://technician.jcmdi.com
Note: This is copyrighted material, however, you may download this footage directly from YouTube and use it free of charge in your own non-profit/non-commercial YouTube videos, school projects, etc. The full free usage policy and YouTube copyright notice/ad info can be found here (please read before using JCMDI material): jcmdi.com/stockfootage/faq.html#freeusage jcmdi.com/stockfootage/faq.html#partner
Enjoy the show! =)
