Gallery Prev Next Oregon Mtn, Josephine Co, June 12 - male Northern Checkerspot Chlosyne palla Size: Up to 1.75 inch wingspan ​ Key ID features: Highly variable. Male above, bands of orange and sometimes yellow-orange, separated by black lines, crescents and checks . Female often darker than male above. Below bands of off-white and brick red with black veins and edges. Often on HW below, submarginal red band has yellowish centers in red spots. ​ Similar species: Sagebrush Checkerspot pure white rather than off-white below. Hoffman's Checkerspot darker basally on HW above. ​ Host plant: Not well-documented, but likely species in the aster family . ​ Habitat: Sage desert, pinyon-juniper savanna, washes, gulches, canyons and brushy flats. ​ Range: Meadows, roadsides, streambanks, clearings . ​ Season: Late March to early August ​ Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

A Bit More History Continued from "About" page... I had long paid attention to butterflies, ever since my childhood days of collecting butterflies with my Dad. When I was about 10 years old, Dad drove our family up the Steens Mountain Loop Road, and we stopped near the summit, at over 9,000 feet elevation. In the windswept, grassy meadows near the summit, there were hundreds of Milbert's Tortoiseshells flying up in the wind. I was captivated! That year, Dad bought me a butterfly net, a Golden Guide field identification guide, a killing jar, a pinning board, and a display case. The next summer, we spent several weekends driving and walking Forest Service Roads near Portland looking for butterflies with our nets in hand. ​ Decades later, in 2001, my friend Eric Wold told me of his childhood love of butterflies, and we decided to go on a hike to Iron Mountain in Linn County to find some butterflies. On that hike I unsuccessfully attempted to photograph a bright green Sheridan's Hairstreak, and I got hooked! That first failure started me on a long and joyful journey of photographing butterflies. ​ ​ It was about 2014 when I realized that I had photographed around 100 species of native butterflies in Oregon. I thought to myself "I might actually be able to photograph all of them," meaning all of Oregon's regularly occurring 168 species (the exact number depends on whose taxonomic approach you follow, and how many species have been recently split or lumped). I decided that year to go to work on those remaining 68 or so species, just for fun, and to see what kind of progress I could make. In 2014 - 2017, I had a great time tromping around the wild spots in Oregon, and added several more species. In 2017, I posted a couple of butterfly photos to Facebook, and admitted to the world that I was going to try for all of Oregon's regularly breeding species. Seeing that post, my friend Lindsay Selzer inquired about where she could see all the ones I had already photographed. I sheepishly wrote her that I had never bothered to compile the collection and I actually wasn't even sure how many I had. Her question inspired me to find out the answer, which led me down the path toward creating this website to share these photos. Through that effort I realized that, of Oregon's regularly occurring and breeding species, at that time I only had about 15 more to photograph! I hadn't realized I was so close! Knowing I was so close lit a fire under me, and I began to get organized. ​ See my blog for accounts of my most recent escapades, adventures and discoveries. ​ Thanks for reading, and for your interest in the Butterflies of Oregon! ​ Neil Bjorklund Eugene, Oregon

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Gallery Prev Next Bradley Lake Meadows, Douglas Co, July 13 - male Sierra Nevada Blue Agriades podarce AKA Sierra Blue Size: 1.0 - 1.2 inch wingspan ​ Key ID features: Male dusky gray-blue to sky blue above, dark gray wing borders with white fringes, black cell end bars (FW), and white circles with black centers along trailing margin. Female mostly gray to gray-brown above, with prominent FW cell end bar and light blue-gray circles with dark centers along trailing margin. Below FW and HW have black spots ringed with white, and submarginal row of black checks or chevrons rimmed in white against brown or gray-brown background, with marginal row of black spots rimmed with white. ​ Similar species: Arctic Blue has white patches against dark gray background on HW below, and may or may not still exist in Oregon. ​ Host plant: Likely to be Shooting Stars (Dodecatheon aplinum and D. jeffreyi ) . ​ Habitat: Moist meadows above 5,000 feet. ​ ​ Range: Along the crest of the southern Cascades, along the western border of Klamath County. ​ Season: Late June to early August ​ Abundance: Uncommon Conservation Status: Secure

Gallery Prev Next Eight Dollar Rd, Josephine Co, June 5 Persius Duskywing Erynnis persius Size: Up to 1.5 inch wingspan ​ Key ID features: Above, FW gray-brown with indistinct gray markings and 3-5 tiny hyaline (glassy, translucent) spots on FW. Female FW usually more boldly patterned, but less so than Propertius. HW gray-brown with vague light spots. Below dark brown with light spots and hyaline spots on FW, small vague spots on HW. ​ Similar species: Propertius is larger, and usually more strongly marked. When fresh, Pacuvius has brown patches on FW, otherwise look for tibial tufts on hindlegs (Persius has them, Pacuvius does not). ​ Host plant: Pea family species, including lupines (Lupinus ), Thermopsis , Astragalus , and Lotus . ​ Habitat: Open sunny meadows, roadsides and hillsides. ​ Range: Cascade Range, Willamette Valley, much of Coast Range, Ochoco Mtns, Blue Mtns, Wallowa Mtns, Siskiyou Mtns, Klamath Mtns. ​ Season: Mid-April to mid-August ​ Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

Gallery Prev Next Box Canyon Meadows, Lane Co, July 9 Dreamy Duskywing Erynnis icelus Size: Up to 1.5 inch wingspan ​ Key ID features: Small for a Duskywing. Males have hump at leading edge of FW. Above, FW gray-brown with frosted band and spots, no hyaline (translucent) spots near FW tip as on other Duskywings. HW plainer gray-brown with vague light spots. Below brown with light spots and pale gray patch near FW tip. ​ Similar species: Other duskywings are larger, and have translucent hyaline spots on FW. ​ Host plant: Willows and aspens. ​ Habitat: Open meadows and road cuts, up to mid-elevations. ​ Range: Siskiyou Mtns, Cascade Range, Blue Mtns, Wallowa Mtns, northern Coast Range. ​ Season: Early April to late July ​ Abundance: Uncommon Conservation Status: Secure

Gallery Prev Next Kinney Cr Rd, Jackson Co, May 27 Columbian Skipper Hesperia columbia Size: Up to 1.4 inch wingspan ​ Key ID features: Above, bright orange often with deeply toothed dark border, male with dark stigmata on FW, female with dark patch in same location. Below greenish tan with reduced disjointed white bands, inner band reduced to a couple of spots. ​ Similar species: Other grass skippers have bolder, more extensive white bands below. ​ Host plant: Various grass species. ​ Habitat: Dry shrubby habitats. ​ Range: Jackson County and southern Josephine County. ​ Season: Early May to mid-October ​ Abundance: Uncommon Conservation Status: Secure

Gallery Prev Next Rd 23, Lane Co, July 8 Cabbage White Pieris rapae Size: 1.25 - 1.75 inches wingspan ​ Key ID features: Males white with one black spot and black apex on FW. Female white with two black spots and black FW apex. Yellowish below. ​ Similar species: Mustard White lacks black spots on FW. Host plant: Many species of mustards, including food plants in the cabbage family. ​ Habitat: Found in most habitat types. ​ Range: Introduced from Europe. Found throughout Oregon. ​ Season: Early March to early November ​ Abundance: Abundant Conservation Status: Secure

Gallery Prev Next Alvord Basin, Harney Co, May 31 - ssp. basinensis Leanira Checkerspot Chlosyne leanira Size: Up to 2 inch wingspan ​ Key ID features: Two distinct subspecies . Ssp. oregonensis is black above, with pale ivory spots, sometimes with red spots on FW tips. Below, FW orange with pale ivory spots, and submarginal band of ivory and black, often with a gap. HW below white with black veins and submarginal band of white spots surrounded by black. Ssp. basinensis is orange above with black veins, submarginal band of pale orange spots. Below similar to oregonensis , with bolder, wider black border to submarginal spot band. ​ Similar species: Below, neither subspecies is similar to other Oregon butterfly species. Above, C. l. oregonensis is similar to some small, dark individuals of Snowberry Checkerspot, note pattern below. ​ Host plant: Paintbrush species (Castilleja ) . ​ Habitat/Range: Ssp oregonensis found in canyons and hillsides near streams in SW Oregon. Ssp. basinensis found in desert hills and sage flats in SE Oregon. ​ Season: Early May to late July ​ Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

Gallery Prev Next Mule Mountain Ridge, Lane Co, August 5, male Clodius Parnassian Parnassius clodius Size: 2.25 - 3 inches wingspan ​ Key ID features: Above, white, gray/translucent wings with red spots, and all-black or nearly all-black antennae. Same general pattern below, but HW below often has additional red patches basally, and red spots in the median area usually have pink centers. ​ Similar species: Mountain Parnassian (Parnassius smintheus ), which is smaller, and has boldy black/white barred antennae. Host plant: Pacific Bleeding Heart (Dicentra formosa ). ​ Habitat: Mountain meadows and moist, open mountain woodlands, occasionally in lowlands. ​ Range: Western Oregon, Blue Mountains, Ochocos, Warner Mountains. ​ Season: late May to late August ​ Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

Gallery Prev Next Ana Reservoir SP, Lake Co, August 1 Yuma Skipper Ochlodes yuma Size: Up to 1.75 inch wingspan ​ Key ID features: Large and plain. Above, tan-orange with graduated dark border . Male with black stigmata on FW, female with light spot band on FW. HW below plain pale tan. ​ Similar species: Large size and unmarked pale tan HW below distinct. ​ Host plant: Primarily American common reed (Phragmites australis ssp. americanus ). ​ Habitat: Near s tands of reeds along streams, seeps and marshes in alkaline lowlands. ​ Range: Summer Lake area in Lake County, Imnaha River canyon in Wallowa County. ​ Season: Early July to early September ​ Abundance: Uncommon Conservation Status: Secure

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