Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for Mylitta Crescent butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Hills Creek Rd, Lane Co, Aug 27, male Mylitta Crescent Phyciodes mylitta Size: Up to 1.5 inch wingspan Key ID features: Above, orange with black spots, checks and borders. Females have wider black border above. Fringes checked. HW above with submarginal band of small black dots circled with orange, on males this is below large unmarked orange patch. HW below cream, tan and brown bands and patches, and bright marginal crescent below midpoint, haloed with brown. Similar species: Pale Crescent is larger than Field or Mylitta. Mylitta lacks nearly rectangular black bar at trailing edge of FW above. Host plant: Mostly thistles, including Cirsium arvense (Canada thistle) . Habitat: Prairies, weedy fields, meadows, roadsides, marshes. Range: All of Oregon . Season: Late February to mid-October Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Lareg Marble butterfly. 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 narrow black bar in forewing cell, sometimes with light white scaling. Below, bold green marbling with yellow wash against white background and yellow veins. Similar species: California Marble and Desert Marble are smaller. California Marble has pearly or shiny look to white areas on VHW, and green marbling is often darker. Desert Marble lacks white scaling on forewing cell bar, and DFW tip markings often black rather than dark gray. 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

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Izee Rd Meadow, Grant Co, July 1 - male Great Spangled Fritillary Argynnis cybele AKA Speyeria cybele Size: Up to 3 inch wingspan Key ID features: Male orange above with thin black veins, black shading near the body, black irregular lines inwardly, and bands of black spots and chevrons near wing edge. Female striking white to cream above with similar black markings as male. Below male has dark orange "disc" on HW with silvery-white spots and warm tan submarginal band. Below female has dark brown disc with silvery-white spots and tan to ivory submarginal band. Similar species: Female Great Spangled is unmistakable. Male has lighter black markings above along wing edge than other greater fritillaries, and silver spots on HW disc below are much smaller in proportion to size of disc (disc looks more empty) in comparison. Host plant: Violets (Viola ) especially Viola glabella (stream violet) . Habitat: Open meadows, openings in oak-pine forest, lower slopes of mountains in eastern Oregon. Range: Western and southwestern Oregon, Ochoco Mtns, Blue Mtns, Wallowa Mtns, Warner Mtns, Steens Mtn, Mt Jefferson area. Season: Early June to early October. Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure .

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Tailed Copper butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Crane Cr, Lake Co, July 4 - male Tailed Copper Tharsalea arota AKA Lycaena arota Size: 0.75- 1.25 inches wingspan Key ID features: Male coppery brown above. Female FW above has broad dark brown marginal bands, dark patches around coppery-orange spots, and HW with similar pattern with scalloped orange band along trailing edge. Small white-tipped tails on HW, longer on females. Below HW is boldly marked with spots, chevrons, a submarginal white band and black spots circled with white, against gray-brown background (bolder in females). Similar species: No other coppers have tails. No hairstreaks in our area are similar. Host plant: Currants and gooseberries. Habitat: Moist meadows, canyons, mountain canyons. Range: Siskiyou Mtns, Central and Southern Cascade Mtns, Klamath Mtns, Warner Mtns, central Willamette Valley. Season: Mid-June to late September Abundance: Locally common Conservation Status: Secure

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the California Sister butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Hills Cr Rd, Lane Co, Aug 27 California Sister Adelpha californica Size: Up to 3.5 inch wingspan Key ID features: Above dark brown with narrow white band through FW and HW, thinning toward the end of the abdomen, prominent orange patches near wingtips, separated from wingtip by brown margin. Below bands of orange, white and pale lavender, not crossed by black veins. Similar species: Similar to Lorquin's Admiral, which is black above, has orange all the way to the tip of the FW above, and has bolder bands below crossed by black veins. Host plant: Oak species (Quercus ) and Golden chinkapin (Chrysolepis chrysophylla ) . Habitat: Near oak-lined waterways, in oak stands. Range: Throughout western Oregon, except in low areas at the northern end. Season: late May to late October. Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for Small Wood Nymph. Gallery Prev Next Mill Cr Rd, Lane Co, August 9 Sylvan Wood Nymph Cercyonis silvestris AKA Sylvan Satyr Size: Up to 1.75 inch wingspan Note: this species, formerly assumed to be a west-side segregate of Great Basin Wood Nymph, was recently clarified by DNA analysis to be a distinct species. Key ID features: Above grayish-brown usually with two eye spots on FW. Below, striated chocolate brown with one to several small eyespots on HW, two eyespots on FW, lower spot usually noticeably smaller than upper spot. Dark median line on HW sometimes indistinct, less erratically jagged than on Small Wood Nymph. Similar species: Great Basin Wood Nymph is slightly larger, more grayish below, with more prominent HW median bands below, and HW median line more distinct and jagged. Small Wood Nymph is typically somewhat smaller and darker, with more distinct and more jagged VHW median line, and usually with significantly smaller lower eyespot. Host plant: Undetermined grass species. Habitat: Openings in forested habitats, and along forest roads in foothills and mountains. Range: West slope of the Cascades in Linn, Lane, Douglas,and Jackson counties. Season: Late July to late September Abundance: Locally common Conservation Status: Secure

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Half-moon Hairstreak butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Three Creeks Lake, Deschutes Co, August 6 Half-Moon Hairstreak Satyrium semiluna AKA Sagebrush Sooty Hairstreak Size: 1.0 - 1.25 inches wingspan Key ID features: Both sexes dull gray above and below. Below, median band of small dark spots with white halos, and submarginal band of black spots with halos. No tails. Similar species: May be confused with a female Boisduval's blue, which has some blue below (Half-moon has no blue), white fringes, and usually one to three black basal spots on HW below. Range does not overlap with closely related Sooty Hairstreak. Host plant: Lupines (Lupinus ) . Habitat: Subalpine meadows, high ridges, sage steppe, open slopes. Range: East of the Cascades except Columbia basin in Gilliam, Morrow and Umatilla counties. Season: Mid-May to early September Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Gold-hunters Hairstreak butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Kinney Cr Rd, Jackson Co, May 26 Thank you to Dana Ross and Paul Hammond, volunteers at OSAC! Gold-hunter's Hairstreak Satyrium auretorum Size: 1.0 - 1.25 inches wingspan Key ID features: Light brown above. Slightly darker brown below with variable uneven spot bands, and submarginal band of black chevrons, female more strongly marked. Tail barely noticeable, with adjacent blue frosted patch, and one or two of the chevrons with a small orange patch. Similar species: Somewhat similar to Hedgerow HS, which has more defined median line on HW below. Mountain Mahogany HS is more grayish below, often with a more frosted look. Host plant: Oaks (Quercus ), primarily Oregon White Oak (Quercus garryana ) . Habitat: Oak-pine stands and shrubby habitats near oaks. Range: Along California border in Jackson County and SE Klamath County. Season: Early June to mid-July Abundance: Uncommon Conservation Status: Secure

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Checkered White butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Lost Lake, Linn Co, August 26 - male Checkered White Pontia protodice Size: 1.5 - 2.0 inches wingspan Key ID features: Extremely variable and challenging to ID with certainty. Above, white with black, brown or charcoal checks, bars or chevrons. Below yellow-veined with brown or olive chevron marks. Similar species: Western White has darker and more extensive DFW markings and, and bolder yellow-green markings on the VHW, especially along veins. On Western White males, the gray triangles along the FW tip usually are joined to each other, while on Checkered White they are often separate. Pattern of veins on the forewing also differ as seen here . DFW markings in female Checkered Whites are often more extensive and brownish gray. Host plant: A wide variety of both weedy and native cruciferous species. Habitat: Arid habitats, both disturbed and undisturbed. Range: Primarily in southeast Oregon and east of Cascade Mtns, with scattered records in the Willamette Valley and Coast Range. Season: Earl June to late September Abundance: Uncommon in Oregon Conservation Status: Secure

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Arctic Skipper. Gallery Prev Next Lookout Cr Rd, Lane Co, May 26 Arctic Skipper Carterocephalus skada Size: Up to 1 inch wingspan Key ID features: Small and boldly marked . Above dark brown with many light orange patches on both wings. Below FW light orange with brown patches, HW darker orange with white or pale yellow spots with dark rims. Similar species: No other similar species (small skipper with orange spots on brown wings) in Oregon. Host plant: Grass species. Habitat: Forest openings, grassy meadows, streambanks, riparian areas--usually near water. Range: NE Blue Mtns, Wallowa Mtns, Cascade Range, northern Coast Range, and isolated Coast Range populations in Coos and Benton counties. Season: Mid-April to early August Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Red Admiral butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Sand Cr, Klamath Co, June 25 Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta AKA Red Admirable Size: Up to 2.5 inch wingspan Key ID features: Unmistakable. Above black with red-orange band across FW, and white bar and spots near FW tip. HW above black with orange-red marginal band with small black spots and two black ringed blue spots at the anal angle. HW below a mosaic of brown, gray and black, with a thin paleblue submarginal line. FW below bold pinkish orange band as above, below band mostly black, above band black with white bar and spots and blue ring, wingtip mottled grays and browns with small spots. Similar species: Unlike any other species. Hostplant: Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica ) . Habitat: May be found in any habitat. Range: Throughout Oregon . Season: Any time of year, but mostly May to October. Abundance: Uncommon Conservation Status: Secure

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Indra Swallowtail butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Illinois River Rd, Josephine Co, April 24 Indra Swallowtail Papilio indra Size: 2.25 - 2.5 inches wingspan Key ID features: Upperside mostly black with narrow band of yellow on forewing, stubby tails, blue patches on black band near hindwing margin. Underside almost identical to upper side, with paler black. Similar species: Anise Swallowtail has much less black on forewing and longer tails. Host plant: Wild members of the parsley family. Habitat: Dry canyons, riverbanks and roadsides, hilltops, rocky desert washes. Range: Blue Mtns, northern portion of Cascade Mtns on east side, Steens Mtn, and Klamath Mtns. Season: Late March - mid-August Abundance: Uncommon Conservation Status: Secure