Butterflies of Oregon has exquisite photos and information about all of Oregon's native butterfly species, covering the identification, distribution and biology of each species. A lively blog provides seasonal stories and updates from the field. 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

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Lupine Blue butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Frissell Ridge, Lane Co, July 18 - male Lupine Blue Icaricia lupini Size: 1.0 - 1.25 inch wingspan Key ID features: Male blue above with narrow black marginal band and white fringe, on HW red-orange band above marginal row of black spots, often with narrow darker band between orange and blue. Female brown above with darker marginal line and white fringe on FW, on HW broad orange band above row of dark brown marginal spots. Below, male light bluish gray, female brownish gray, with black spots. HW has row of marginal spots that are black inwardly, then orange, and outwardly black with a circle of iridescent blue. Similar species: Acmon Blue very similar, but tends to be smaller, and on males, tends to lack dark border between pinkish-orange band and blue on HW above. Note shorter flight season of Lupine Blue below. Host plant: Several Buckwheat (Eriogonum ) species . Habitat: Wide range of habitats, from sea level lowlands to montane habitats. Range: Found in all of eastern Oregon and SW Oregon and on Rickreall Ridge in Polk County. The high elevation segregate (AKA Volcano Blue) is found in high elevation pumice habitat near its host plant, Shasta Buckwheat. Season: Late May to early August Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Brown Elfin butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Grassy Glade, Lane Co, June 25 Brown Elfin Callophrys augustinus Size: 1.0 - 1.25 inches wingspan Key ID features: Above both sexes brown or orangish brown (females), unmarked. Below HW violet to pink scaling over brown, usually two-toned with basal half somewhat darker, rarely with irregular median line, and sometimes light submarginal spot band. Similar species: Thicket HS has prominent "W" in white median line, is blue above, and submarginal spots on HW run entire length of trailing margin. Host plant: Wide range of plants including salal, madrone, manzanita, huckleberry, and many others . Habitat: Pine-oak woodlands, manzanita and salal thickets, sage-steppe, roadside seeps. Range: Most of Oregon except dry bottomlands east of the Cascade Range. Season: Mid-February to Late July Abundance: Uncommon Conservation Status: Secure

on iNaturalist Join the revolution! On the iNaturalist.org website, there is a Butterflies of Oregon Project that collects and displays all of the photos of butterflies submitted from Oregon. There are now over 30,000 photos of butterflies from Oregon, and the number of people submitting butterfly photos from Oregon is growing every year! You can view the most recent Oregon butterflies posted to iNaturalist at right, or go directly to the Butterflies of Oregon Project page. Note: the links at right to the individual iNaturalist posts only work if you right-click the link and select "open in a new tab" or "open in a new window." iNaturalist.org has the largest online collection of recent records of butterfly sightings, and the largest number of users, and has emerged as the best place to both share your sightings and get help identifying them. By contributing your photos of Oregon butterflies to iNaturalist, you are making them available to others for learning, study and pleasure. Being part of this community of naturalists benefits everyone involved. recent Oregon sightings: View additional recent Oregon butterfly sightings on iNaturalist.org.

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for Small Wood Nymph. Gallery Prev Next Newberry Caldera, Deschutes Co, July 16 Small Wood Nymph Cercyonis oetus AKA Dark Wood Nymph Size: Up to 1.75 inch wingspan Key ID features: Above gray-brown with one or two eye spots on FW. Below, striated brown with one to several small eyespots on HW, two eyespots on FW upper one usually much larger than lower, lower spot closer to wing margin than upper, lower spot sometimes missing. Dark median line on HW erratically jagged--much more so than on other Wood Nymphs in our area. Similar species: Great Basin Wood Nymph is larger, has more prominent bands below, lower eyespot only slightly smaller than upper, HW median line less jagged. Sylvan Wood Nymph plainer, with HW median line less jagged. Host plant: Undetermined grass species . Habitat: Grassy habitats including sage-steppe, plateaus, montane meadows and dry hillsides. Range: Eastern Oregon. Season: Late May to late September Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Northwestern Fritillary butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Frissell Ridge, Lane Co, July 17 Northwestern Fritillary Argynnis hesperis AKA Hesperis Fritillary AKA Speyeria hesperis Size: Up to 2.5 inch wingspan Key ID features: Medium orange above with black veins, black shading near the body, black irregular lines inwardly, submarginal black spot band and black marking along margin like chain links, bolder on female. Below ground color of "disc" on HW deep reddish to chocolate brown, with creamy to white elongated oval spots, and a distinct submarginal band of warm or pinkish tan, crossed by dark veins. Often with yellowish-tan "spashes" or rays within the discal area. The cream spot in the middle of the bottom of the ventral hindwing is usually "smeared" toward the outer edge. Similar species: Hydaspe has a submarginal band that is more pinkish and often less distinct, and the cream-colored spot on the bottom edge of the ventral hindwing is small and not smeared toward the outer edge. Host plant: Violet (Viola ) species . Habitat: Openings, riparian areas and meadows in pine and fir forests. Range: Found in southern Cascades, Siskiyou, Ochoco, Strawberry, Wallowa and Warner Mtns. Season: Mid-June to early September. Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Gray Hairstreak butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Picture Rock Pass, Lake County, August 5 Gray Hairstreak Strymon melinus Size: 1.0 - 1.25 inches wingspan Key ID features: Dark gray above (darker when very fresh). Orange patch and light blue lines bordering tails above. Light gray below with bold broken median black line edged in white, and vague submarginal band of black chevrons on HW. Two sets of tails, one short and one long, with two prominent adjacent orange patches below. Similar species: Female tailed-blues are smaller, with more rounded FW, and usually lack clear gray ground color below. Hostplant: A true generalist that uses a huge range of plants and plant families . Habitat: Virtually all open habitats. Range: All of Oregon. Season: Late March to mid-October Abundance: Very common Conservation Status: Secure

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for Common Alpine. Gallery Prev Next Coyle Cr Rd, Crook Co, June 29 Common Alpine Erebia epipsodea AKA Butler's Alpine Size: Up to 2 inch wingspan Key ID features: Above very dark brown with orange patches containing small black eyespots with white centers--two closely spaced eyespots and sometime two or more additional smaller eyespots on FW, three to five eyespots on HW. Below similar to above, but with HW having a slightly grizzled or rough look compared to clean dark brown above. Similar species: None. Host plant: Grasses including Foxtail bristlegrass (Setaria italica ) . Habitat: Grassy habitats including sage-steppe, plateaus, montane meadows and dry hillsides. Range: Northeastern Oregon in Ochoco Mtns, Wallowa Mtns, Blue Mtns. Season: Early May to early August Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Sara Orangetip butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Little Groundhog Mtn, Lane Co, July 8 - male Julia's Orangetip Anthocharis julia AKA Julia Orangetip Size: 1.25 - 1.5 inches wingspan Key ID features: Male white above, with bold orange FW tip. Female pale yellow-green above with smaller orange patch near FW tip. Below patchy marbling with light yellow veins. Similar species: Sara's Orangetip, which occurs only along the California border is very similar and difficult to distinguish in the field where they overlap. The two species are distinguished by several characteristics, including larval characteristics, number of overwintering cycles, and shape and color of the chrysalis. Host plant: Crucifers including several rockcresses. Habitat: Wide variety of open habitats. Range: Found throughout Oregon. Season: Mid-March to mid-August Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Shasta Blue butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Wickiup Plain, Lane Co, August 12 Shasta Blue Icaricia shasta Size: 0.85 - 1.25 inch wingspan Key ID features: Male dark blue above with dark cell end bars and white fringes. Female brown above with some blue scaling inwardly, and vague or no orange zigzag along trailing margin. Both sexes have distinct black cell end bars on FW. Both sexes gray below with gray-rimmed black median spots, and submarginal black spots with iridescent eyes bordered inwardly with black, rimmed inwardly with orange. Similar species: Separated from other Icaricia blues by gray ground color below and HW spots with iridescent eyes. Host plant: Several pea family species including lupines, clovers, and milkvetches . Habitat: High rocky ridges, plateaus, and high pumice flats. Range: Found in central and south-central Oregon in Ochocos, east slope of Cascades, Warners, and on Steens Mtn. Season: Mid-June to mid-August Abundance: Locally common Conservation Status: Secure

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Western Pine Elfin butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Meadow Cr, Jefferson Co, May 29 Western Pine Elfin Callophrys eryphon Size: 1.0 - 1.25 inches wingspan Key ID features: Above both sexes dark chocolate brown. Very distinctive pattern of zigzags on HW below, in black, browns and lavenders, with thin white median line. HW has submarginal light frosted line. Checked fringes, no tails. Similar species: Pattern below not likely to be confused with other elfin species. Hostplant: Ponderosa, Lodgepole and other species of pine (Pinus ) . Habitat: Primarily in clearings in Ponderosa pine forest, also in Lodgepole pine forests and Shore pine stands. Range: Cascade Range, Siskiyou Mtns, Ochoco Mtns, Klamath Mtns, Blue Mtns, and narrow band along the coast. Season: Late February to late August Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Nevada Skipper butterfly. Gallery Prev Next E Camp Cr Rd, Baker Co, June 22 Thank you to Dana Ross and Paul Hammond , volunteers at OSAC! Nevada Skipper Hesperia nevada Size: Up to 1.25 inch wingspan Key ID features: Above, bright tan-orange, dark wing borders fade into orange. Below dark gray-green with disjointed white spot band, with lowest white patch on outer band dramatically displaced inwardly. Similar species: Juba and Western Branded skippers also have the lowest white spot in the outer band displaced inwardly, but not nearly as much. Host plant: Grass species, including western needlegrass (Achnatherum occidentale ). Habitat: Sage-steppe plateaus, and ridge and peak summits, usually above 4500 feet. Range: Warner Mtns, Baker County, north end of Malheur County, south portion of Grant, Crook and Deschutes counties. Season: Early May to late July Abundance: Locally common Conservation Status: Secure