05/15/2026
This is a “Tropical or Desert Checkered Skipper”. In this case it’s a High Desert Checkered skipper. While it’s enjoying the calendula on our fame, their host plant is mallow. Common mallow (Malva neglecta) is a “weed” growing all over Central Oregon that has beautiful benefits for people and pollinators alike. Mallow is even mentioned in the oldest book of the Bible as a beneficial plant. The cool thing about this moth is that it has antennae that look like golf clubs.
