Gallery Prev Next Lincoln Cr Rd, Jackson Co, May 20 Greenish Blue Icaricia saepiolus Size: 0.85 - 1.25 inch wingspan ​ Key ID features: Male bright blue above with narrow dark wing borders 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 above. Male blue-gray below with black spots and marginal row of black triangles. Female below brownish-gray with bold black spots, and orange edges to submarginal black spots on HW. HW below usually has two closely spaced black triangles edged with orange at anal angle of wing. ​ Similar species: Boisduval's blues have black spots below with substantial white halos, and lack orange edged triangles at anal angle of HW. ​ Hostplant: Several clover species (Trifolium ) . ​ Habitat: Wet meadows and riparian areas with clover. ​ ​ Range: Irregular distribution pattern, in Cascades, Ochocos, Blues, Wallowas, Siskiyous, Klamaths and Warner Mtns, plus disjunct populations along the south and middle coast . ​ Season: Late April to late August ​ Abundance: Common inland, scarce along coast Conservation Status: coastal subspecies imperiled in Oregon.

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 Illinois River, Josephine Co, May 7 - female Sara's Orangetip Anthocharis sara AKA Sara 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: Julia's Orangetip, which occurs throughout western Oregon and the Cascades is very similar and difficult to distinguish in the adult stage wherever 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: Only found along the Oregon-California border in Jackson, Josephine and Curry counties. ​ Season: Mid-March to mid-August ​ Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

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

Gallery Prev Next Eight Dollar Mountain Rd, Josephine Co, June 4 California Hairstreak Satyrium californica Size: 1.0 - 1.25 inches wingspan ​ Key ID features: Dark gray-brown above. Below, lighter gray-brown with median black spot band lightly edged with white. On HW below, black v-shaped or checkmark-shaped spot next to blue patch below tail. Inner edge of blue patch on hindwing often bordered by orange. HW (and often FW) below has submarginal band of black lines or checks edged outwardly with orange. ​ Similar species: Sylvan HS is generally more lightly marked, lacks the black V-shaped spot next to the blue HW patch (checkmark or dash instead), and orange halos only on two or three submarginal black crescents on HW . Host plant: Primarily Purshia tridentata (Antelope bitterbrush) and Ceanothus velutinus (Snowbrush) . ​ Habitat: Buckbrush scrub, oak woodlands, canyons. ​ ​ Range: East slope of Cascades, most of SE and SW Oregon, Wallowa Mtns. ​ Season: Early May to early September ​ Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

Gallery Prev Next Millican Flats, Deschutes Co, June 21 Melissa's Blue Plebejus melissa Size: 1.0 - 1.25 inch wingspan ​ Key ID features: Male shiny violet-blue above with black marginal line and white fringe. Female brown above with scalloped orange marginal band, clearer and bolder on HW. Below, brownish-gray with bold black spots, with submarginal row of orange patches, bordered inwardly with black and a row of black spots, which on HW have bold patch of iridescent blue bordered by black. ​ Similar species: Male Acmon and Lupine Blues have orange band on HW above, and females of those species have no orange on FW above. Orange borders of Northern Blues below are less bold. ​ Host plant: Legumes, including lupines, lotuses, milkvetches and many others . ​ Habitat: Hot, low to mid-elevation prairies and meadows, as well as disturbed areas like agricultural fields. ​ ​ Range: Found throughout eastern Oregon and in southern Klamath County, and Jackson County. ​ Season: Late April to late September ​ Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

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 or continuous black or gray markings on forewing tip above, and greener markings below, especially along veins. Often the shaded markings at the forewing tip are smaller and more discrete than in other species. 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

Gallery Prev Next Wolf Mtn Rd, Lane Co, September 10 West Coast Lady Vanessa annabella Size: Up to 2 inch wingspan ​ Key ID features: Smaller than other ladies. Above bright orange with black FW tips with a thick vertical orange bar at the leading edge and a few small white spots near the wing tip. HW above orange with submarginal row of black spots with blue centers. Below, HW brown with submarginal row of four small eye spots, and web of white lines and white patches. FW below has bright salmon orange crossed by black in lower 2/3, upper 1/3 similar to HW. ​ Similar species: American Lady has two large eye spots below. Painted Lady is larger, has white bar at leading edge of FW above instead of orange. ​ Hostplant: Many species in the mallow family including streambank globe-mallow, checkermallow and others . ​ Habitat: Flowery meadows, roadsides, and gardens. ​ Range: Throughout Oregon except in Malheur County . ​ Season: E arly March to mid-November. ​ Abundance: Uncommon Conservation Status: Secure

Gallery Prev Next Bachelor Mtn, Linn Co, July 13 Hoffmann's Checkerspot Chlosyne hoffmanni Size: 1.25 to 1.75 inch wingspan ​ Key ID features: Above, bands of orange and yellow-orange, separated by black lines and patches . Median band usually lighter. Basal 1/3 of HW above is mostly black with little orange. Below bands of off-white and brick red with black veins and edges. Red spots in postmedian band often longer than in similar species. ​ Similar species: Northern Checkerspot does not have the large black area on the basal HW above, and below postmedian band spots are generally shorter than in Hoffman's. ​ Hostplant: Asters, including western showy aster (Eurybia conspicua ) and Cascade aster (Eucephalus ledophyllus ) . ​ Habitat: Moist montane meadows, canyons, streamsides, clearings in conifer forests. ​ Range: Cascade Range above 1000 feet. ​ Season: Early May to early September ​ Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

Gallery Prev Next Summer Lake, Lake Co, August 6 Monarch Danaus plexippus Size: 3.0 - 4.5 inch wingspan ​ Key ID features: Large. Above deep orange with black veins, black borders with double row of white spots, FW tips black with white and light orange spots. Below, similar pattern except Orange areas on HW are light creamy orange, and FW tip has two creamy light orange patches surrounded by black border with white spots. ​ Similar species: Viceroy is smaller, FWs shorter, has black curved line diagonally across HW. ​ Host plant: Milkweeds (Asclepias ) . ​ Habitat: Can be found almost anywhere during migration. ​ ​ Range: Found throughout Oregon. ​ Season: Early June to late October ​ Abundance: Uncommon Conservation Status: Has been submitted for Federal Listing as Threatened.

Resources - Online Northwest Butterflies ​ Caitlin Labar's lovely and informative website on the butterflies of Oregon and Washington. Visit and you will learn a lot! ​ Butterflies of America ​ A comprehensive guide to the butterflies of North, Central and South America. Photos of pinned specimens and some live butterfly species, covering all described species and recognized taxa including subspecies. Very helpful for our Greater Fritillaries here in Oregon (Speyeria sp.). ​ Lane County Butterfly Club (Chapter of NABA) ​ The new website for the only Oregon chapter of the North American Butterfly Association. Find out about their series of presentations in winter, their summer field trips, butterfly counts and other activities. ​ Washington Butterfly Association ​ Facebook page for the large and lively state of Washington Butterfly Association. Keep up to date on their presentations in winter and their field trips in summer, and other activities. ​ Oregon Zoo: Taylor's Checkerspot ​ A webpage describing how the Oregon Zoo is contributing to the conservation of this endangered Northwest butterfly. ​ Conserving Oregon Monarchs ​ Learn about the State of Oregon's plan for conserving Monarchs in Oregon. ​ Oregon Silverspot Butterfly ​ Visit the US Fish and Wildlife Service's page on the endangered Oregon Silverspot. ​ Fender's Blue ​ Visit the US Fish and Wildlife Service's page on the endangered Fender's Blue. ​ Conservation of Prairie-Oak Butterflies in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia ​ Online article about conservation status and measures for Fender's blue (Icaricia icarioides fenderi ), Taylor's checkerspot (Euphydryas editha taylori ), Mardon skipper (Polites mardon ), island marble (Euchloe ausonides insulanus) , and Oregon silverspot (Speyeria zerene hippolyta ), and a brief review of 10 additional at-risk butterfly species in the ecoregion. ​ Xerces Society ​ Get plugged in to the first and foremost conservation organization for butterflies and other invertebrates. They do great work in education, advocacy, and conservation planning. Please support them! ​ ​