[2][5] Multiple subspecies of C. leanira have been identified:[6] Phylogenetic relationships of butterfly species in the family Nymphalidae were analyzed using mitochondrial DNA sequences.

In a phylogenetic analysis of different butterfly species, Thessalia leanira was categorized under the Chlosyne group.

The phylogenetic analysis also suggested that in the subtribe Melitaeiti (within the tribe Melitaeini), the genus Chlosyne is synonymous with Thessalia.

Chlosyne leanira fulvia larvae consume (Orobanchaceae) Castilleja integra, a flowering plant.

[8] In an 8-year period, only 6 Chlosyne leanira wrighti were observed in Hall Canyon, which is located in Ventura, California.

[9] A survey of butterfly species in the Sutter Buttes mountain range in California's Central Valley did not uncover any C. leanira.

Sutter Buttes is characterized by its long, hot summers and short, wet winters, with an annual precipitation of about 51 cm.

The two sites were Gates Canyon in California and in the Sierra Nevada Range in Washington.

[5] C. leanira was also present in the Ashland Watershed Reserve, which is located in the Siskiyou Mountains in Oregon.