Gallery Prev Next Lost Lake, Linn Co, August 19 Golden Hairstreak Habrodais grunus Size: 1 - 1.25 inches wingspan ​ Key ID features: Above golden brown with darker edges on FW. Below tan with indistinct brown bands. Short tails on HW. ​ Similar species: There are no similar hairstreaks in Oregon. Host plant: Golden Chinkapin (Chrysolepis chrysophylla ). ​ Habitat: Dry sunny slopes with Chinkapin. ​ ​ Range: Cascade Range, Siskiyou Mtns, Klamath Mtns. ​ Season: Early July to late September ​ Abundance: Locally common Conservation Status: Secure

Butterflies of Oregon Welcome to Butterflies of Oregon, a resource for Oregon butterfly enthusiasts, with photos of all of Oregon's regularly occurring butterfly species and information to help you find and identify them. ​ Butterflies of Oregon also shares stories of the author's attempt to photograph all of Oregon's butterfly species in the wilds of Oregon. ​ Thanks for visiting! www.butterfliesoforegon.com Subscribe to Blog Thanks for submitting! Email Us

Butterflies of Oregon Blog Sign up for notices of new blog posts: Subscribe Thanks for submitting! All Posts Neil Björklund Nov 16, 2023 9 min The Lone Wanderer It was wicked-hot, dry, desolate, and extraordinarily beautiful in the desert near the Owyhee River in Malheur County, where I spent a... 237 views 2 comments 8 likes. Post not marked as liked 8 Neil Björklund Sep 22, 2023 7 min A Very Little Big Deal Last summer, I wrote about a visit I made to the pumice desert east of Crater Lake, to check up on our population of Leona's Little Blue,... 236 views 1 comment 3 likes. Post not marked as liked 3 Neil Björklund Aug 17, 2023 12 min The Great Butterfly Scrounge Maybe I could blame it on iNaturalist. Well, maybe a little on my friend John, too. Although John and I are probably about even, since I... 276 views 2 comments 4 likes. Post not marked as liked 4 Neil Björklund Apr 4, 2023 2 min The iNat Revolution Welcome to my first Blog post of the year! I can't wait to share some updates from this new butterfly season with you. In the meantime,... 235 views 1 comment Post not marked as liked Neil Björklund Sep 21, 2022 6 min Yes, We have Volcanos! I've been known to describe my avocation of chasing butterflies in Oregon as a game played on the huge game board of the state of... 175 views 1 comment 6 likes. Post not marked as liked 6 Neil Björklund Sep 15, 2022 7 min Wave the Checkered Flag! I first started looking for the enigmatic Checkered White (Pontia protodice) back in 2004, at Picture Rock Pass, in Lake County. It was,... 122 views 0 comments 3 likes. Post not marked as liked 3 Neil Björklund Sep 9, 2022 7 min Let's Go Dutch! Nope, I'm not talking about coffee--I'm talking about the peak in southern Oregon. You know, Dutchman Peak, in the Siskiyous. It was... 137 views 2 comments 5 likes. Post not marked as liked 5 Neil Björklund Aug 28, 2022 5 min Loving Leona Leona's Blue (Philotiella leona) is Oregon's only known endemic butterfly. It has been found only in the pumice flats created by the... 234 views 0 comments 5 likes. Post not marked as liked 5 Neil Björklund Aug 18, 2022 8 min The Bigfoot of Butterflies We humans tend to love stories about mysterious critters that may or may not exist or persist out in the wild places. The Northwest's... 235 views 0 comments 5 likes. Post not marked as liked 5 Neil Björklund Aug 12, 2022 7 min A Double Scoop of Rocky Road Back in May I visited a few of the sites where Andy Warren had studied azure blues back in the early 2000's. At several sites, mostly in... 114 views 0 comments 5 likes. Post not marked as liked 5 Neil Björklund Aug 3, 2022 8 min The Art of Waiting The Nevada Skipper flies very fast and low in treeless habitats on windswept ridges. When the wind is gusting they can just disappear... 167 views 0 comments 3 likes. Post not marked as liked 3 Neil Björklund Jun 7, 2022 11 min A Boy and His Butterfly Earlier this spring, I learned in an unexpected way about an obscure disease called 4H Leukodystrophy. It is an inherited genetic... 405 views 4 comments 6 likes. Post not marked as liked 6 Neil Björklund Apr 29, 2022 9 min Searching for Spring This year, just when we seemed to be heading for the most severe drought in Oregon history, winter seemed to wake up and say "oh, wait... 170 views 0 comments 6 likes. Post not marked as liked 6 Neil Björklund Aug 15, 2021 5 min Silverspotting The Oregon Silverspot (Argynnis zerene hippolyta) is a subspecies of the Zerene Fritillary (Argynnis zerene), found along the Oregon... 353 views 0 comments 6 likes. Post not marked as liked 6 Neil Björklund Aug 8, 2021 12 min Puttin' on the Frits Here in Oregon, as summer pushes on into July and early August, we get into smoke season, but we also get into the season of nymphalids... 226 views 0 comments 5 likes. Post not marked as liked 5 Neil Björklund Jul 14, 2021 10 min The Mysterious Case of the Vanishing Checkerspot I was packing for a trip to the southern Blue Mountains to (hopefully) photograph Garita Skipperlings for the first time, when I got the... 252 views 2 comments 3 likes. Post not marked as liked 3 Neil Björklund Jul 10, 2021 9 min The Tao of Skipperlings The Taoist Masters of old speak of the principle of Wu wei, or non-doing, as being central to their way of understanding how the world is... 159 views 0 comments 3 likes. Post not marked as liked 3 Neil Björklund Jun 27, 2021 13 min Heat Zombie and the Bakeoven Butterflies As a second generation native Oregonian, I have always felt some kind of civic duty to photograph the Oregon Swallowtail, our state insect.. 320 views 0 comments 1 like. Post not marked as liked 1 Neil Björklund Jun 6, 2021 6 min Hunting for the Gold Isn't it curious how sometimes when we are looking for one thing, we often find something else that is equally satisfying? 193 views 2 comments 4 likes. Post not marked as liked 4 Neil Björklund May 3, 2021 5 min Chasing Our Swallowtail My 2021 field season started quite a bit later than I'd planned, and sadly I had to skip a trip to the Illinois River in April in search... 211 views 3 comments 5 likes. Post not marked as liked 5

Gallery Prev Next Boccard Point, Jackson Co, July 5, female Mountain Parnassian Parnassius smintheus Size: 2.0 - 2.5 inches wingspan ​ Key ID features: White/gray/translucent wings with red spots on the HW, and often with additional red patches bordered with black on FW. Antennae are boldly black/white striped. Similar pattern below, with medial red spots having pink centers. ​ Similar species: Clodius Parnassian (Parnassius clodius ), which is larger, usually has solid black antennae Host plant: Stonecrops including Sedum obtusatum, S. lanceolatum ​ Habitat: Primarily rocky outcroppings above 2500' elevation. ​ Range: Siskiyou Mtns, Aldrich, Blue and Wallowa Mtns ​ Season: Late June to late August. ​ Abundance: Locally common Conservation Status: Secure

Gallery Prev Next Upper Mule Prairie, Lane Co, August 2 - male Orange Sulphur Colias eurytheme Size: 1.3 - 2.3 inches wingspan ​ Key ID features: Males above, bright orange with unbroken black border. Females above either bright orange or greenish white with "window" spots breaking up black border. Below, central pearly "discal" spot on HW with small satellite spot, and two pinkish-brown rings, and submarginal row of black or brown "eurytheme spots." ​ Similar species: Western Sulphur and Clouded Sulphur are lemony yellow, lacking orange. White females difficult to separate from Clouded Sulphur, but often HW border is stronger in female Orange Sulphur. Host plant: Many species in the pea family. ​ ​ Habitat: Most commonly seen in meadows, pastures, fields and other open habitats. ​ Range: Throughout Oregon ​ Season: Late March to early November ​ Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

Gallery Prev Next Dutchman's Peak, Jackson Co, July 15 Spring White Pontia sisymbrii Size: 1.25 - 1.5 inches wingspan ​ Key ID features: Above, male milk-white, female cream to yellowish, both with black checks on wingtips and closed black bar at end of forewing cell. Below, hindwing veins crisply lined with brownish back bars, partially interrupted across the middle. ​ Similar species: Western white has FW cell end bar with white center, and below HW veins less boldly shaded, and lacks slightly interrupted band across veins. Host plant: Wide variety of rockcresses and mustards. ​ Habitat: Rocky desert-steppe, sage lands, subalpine ridges in the Cascades. ​ Range: Throughout eastern Oregon east of the Cascades and in southern Josephine and Jackson counties. ​ Season: Late March to late August ​ Abundance: Widespread, but locally distributed, often seen singly. Conservation Status: Secure

Gallery Prev Next Hat Point Rd, Wallowa Co, June 30 Large Marble Euchloe ausonides Size: Up to 1.75 inches wingspan ​ Key ID features: Above, milk-white with black pattern on FW tip and thin black rectangle ("cell bar") in forewing cell with light white scaling. Below, bold gray-green marbling against white background and yellow veins. ​ Similar species: California Marble and Desert Marble are smaller. Desert Marble has pearly or shiny look to white areas. California Marble lacks white scaling on forewing cell bar. Host plant: Many cruciferous species. ​ Habitat: Open montane and foothill slopes, dry meadows and canyons, sage steppe habitats. ​ Range: All of eastern Oregon and southwestern Oregon south of Douglas County. ​ Season: Late March to late July ​ Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

Gallery Prev Next Doral View Little Groundhog Man, Lane Co, July 22 - female Eastern Tailed-Blue Cupido comyntas Size: 0.75 - 1.0 inches wingspan ​ Key ID features: Male bright blue above, female dark gray or gray-brown, with coppery-green iridescence when fresh. HW with white fringe and marginal band of black spots with gray borders. Below, gray or bluish-gray, with black spots rimmed with white, variable marginal band of spots and chevrons, orange patches next to small white-tipped tails. Usually shows black cell-end bar on FW above and below. ​ Similar species: Western Tailed-Blue tends to be whiter below and usually lacks black cell end bar on the FW above. Host plant: Many species in the pea family including lupines, vetches and clovers . ​ Habitat: Often in weedy, disturbed habitats, but also in native wet meadows and riparian areas. ​ ​ Range: West of the Cascade Range, Wallowa Mtns and NE Blue Mtns. ​ Season: Early April to early August ​ Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

Gallery Prev Next Oregon Mountain, Josephine Co, June 4 Western Cloudywing Thorybes diversus ​ AKA Cecropterus diversus Size: Up to 1.75 inch wingspan ​ Key ID features: Above very dark brown with a few narrow white bars and spots on FW. Bars and spots translucent. Below similar to above, dark brown with with a few narrow tan or off-white bars and spots on FW. Tends to perch on elevated rocks rather than on ground or plant. ​ Similar species: Northern Cloudywing has shorter and wider sub-cell white bar on FW, and male lacks costal fold. Northern Mexican Cloudywing has striations below on the outer portion of wings. ​ Host plant: Various clover (Trifolium ) species . ​ Habitat: Damp hillsides, creeksides, clearings in coniferous forest. ​ Range: Very restricted range near CA border in Josephine County and Klamath County. ​ Season: Mid-May to early July ​ Abundance: Uncommon Conservation Status: Secure

Gallery Prev Next Kinney Cr Rd, Jackson Co, May 28 Lindsey's Skipper Hesperia lindseyi Size: Up to 1.25 inch wingspan ​ Key ID features: Above, bright orange. Female relatively unmarked, male with vague dark borders, narrow stigmata on FW. Below greenish tan with disjointed white (female) or yellowish (male) spot bands--spots angular, veins lined with pale (not bright) scales. ​ Similar species: Sandhill Skipper smaller, with larger light areas below. Uncas Skipper range does not overlap. ​ Host plant: Lupines, grasses, oaks. ​ Habitat: Oak woodland and dry shrubby habitats with grasses. ​ Range: Jackson County and Josephine counties, southern Klamath County, Warner Mtns. ​ Season: Early June to mid-July ​ Abundance: Locally common Conservation Status: Secure

Gallery Prev Next Gert Canyon, Wasco Co, May 4, female Arrowhead Blue Glaucopsyche piasus Size: 1.0 - 1.25 inches wingspan ​ Key ID features: Noticeably larger than most blues. Violet-blue above, with dark wing borders, white checked fringes. Below brownish-gray, HW with white arrows pointing toward median band of black spots. ​ Similar species: No other Oregon blue has white arrows on HW below pointing toward body. Host plant: Lupine species (Lupinus ) ​ Habitat: Open areas with lupines in sage-steppe, ponderosa pine stands, canyons and wet meadows. ​ ​ Range: Most of Oregon east of the Cascade Range and in SW Oregon. ​ Season: Early April to late August ​ Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

Gallery Prev Next Gert Canyon, Wasco Co, May 4, male Pale Crescent Phyciodes pallida Size: Up to 2 inch wingspan ​ Key ID features: Above, orange patches and bands separated by black, much lighter in males. FW fringes checked, HW fringes white. HW above with submarginal band of small black dots circled with orange. Males especially have squarish black bar at middle of FW trailing edge above . Below white, tan and brown bands and patches. ​ Similar species: Pale Crescent is larger than Field or Mylitta. Mylitta lacks squarish black bar at trailing edge of FW above. ​ Host plant: Thistles including Cirsium undulatum . ​ Habitat: Dry foothill gullies, streamsides and canyons. ​ Range: Lower Deschutes River basin, Snake River basin . ​ Season: Mid-April to early August ​ Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure