Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Sonoran Skipper butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Summit Meadows, LaneCo, August 13 Sonoran Skipper Polites sonora Size: Up to 1.25 inch wingspan Key ID features: Above orangish-brown, with darker reddish brown border, and vague light spot band on HW. Males with black stigmata with adjacent dark patches on FW, female FW with dark patch surrounded by yellowish spots. HW below brown with arc of pale yellow bars forming a curved band, and an elongated light spot near wing base . HW bars somewhat rounded with indistinct edges. Similar species: HW pattern below is somewhat similar to Mardon Skipper, which has shorter, broader wings and HW spots that are angular and more distinct. Host plant: Various grass species. Habitat: Flowery meadows and pastures, forest openings, roadsides, streambanks. Range: Cascade Range, Siskiyou Mtns, Klamath Mtns, Warner Mtns, Ochoco Mtns, Blue Mtns, Wallowa Mtns, Willamette Valley. Season: Late May to late August Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Common Sootywing butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Jones Canyon, Wasco County, May 4 Common Sootywing Pholisora catullus Size: Up to 1.25 inch wingspan Key ID features: Small. Above very dark brown to black with several small white spots near FW wingtip, row of tiny submarginal white spots on FW and HW. Below deep brown-black with a few white spots near the tip of the FW. Head mostly white. Similar species: Common Roadside Skipper is browner, with checked wing fringes. Dun Skipper much lighter, lacks white FW spots above and below. Host plant: Weedy species in the goosefoot family, such as lamb's quarters, goosefoot, pigweed, etc . Habitat: Disturbed weedy areas, shrub desert, alkali flats, and along waterways. Range: In north half of state, east of the Cascade Range and north of Crook County. In south half of state, east of Lake County. Season: Late March to early September Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Mountain Parnassian butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Boccard Point, Jackson Co, July 5, female Mountain Parnassian Parnassius smintheus AKA Rocky Mountain Parnassian 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

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Thicket Hairstreak butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Rock Creek Canyon, Baker Co, June 23 Thicket Hairstreak Callophrys spinetorum Size: 1.0 - 1.25 inches wingspan Key ID features: Above both sexes bright, steely blue. Below reddish-brown. White-tipped black tails on HW, with adjacent patches of gray-blue and orange. Bold white median line containing distinct "W" near tails, and submarginal row of black spots along the entire trailing margin of HW. Similar species: Johnson's HS lacks prominent "W" in white median line, is brown above, and submarginal spots on HW only run half way along the trailing margin. Host plant: Several species of mistletoe that grow on conifers (Arceuthobium sp.) . Habitat: Clearings in mature coniferous forest (Ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir, western hemlock, Grand fir). Range: East flank of Cascades Range, southern Cascades, Siskiyou Mtns, Ochocos, Blue Mtns. Season: Late April to mid-August Abundance: Uncommon Conservation Status: Secure

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Woodland Skipper butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Frissell Ridge, Lane Co, July 18 Woodland Skipper Ochlodes sylvanoides Size: Up to 1 inch wingspan Key ID features: Highly variable. Above orange, with dark brown, "toothy" borders, less distinct on HW. HW with large orange patch bordered by dark brown. Male above with narrow black stigmata, forming part of dark diagonal band running from wing base to FW tip. Female above also has dark diagonal band, with dark patch replacing stigmata . Below HW light yellowish brown usually with "folded" band of connected light spots (sometimes bold, sometimes barely visible or missing). Similar species: Sachem and Juba Skipper fly at the same time but are larger. Yuma Skipper is plain above and below. Juba Skipper has green gray ground color below with bold white spot bands. Host plant: Various grass species. Habitat: Any open grassy habitat. Range: A ll of Oregon. Season: Mid-June to early October Abundance: Common to abundant 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 the Mourning Cloak butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Big Summit Prairie, Crook Co, June 19 Mourning Cloak Nymphalis antiopa Size: Up to 3 inch wingspan and larger Key ID features: Large. Above deep maroon edged with black band with blue spots, and cream to golden marginal band with dark mottling. Below nearly black with striations and tan specks, pale tan submarginal band. Similar species: Above, unlike any other Oregon species. California Tortoiseshell orange and black above, below is more complexly marked and shaded. Milbert's Tortoiseshell is smaller, orange bands above, and below broad band of striated brown in outer half. Host plant: Willows, and many other shrubs and trees including alder, maple, poplar, spiraea . Habitat: In riparian areas, and other openings, usually near water. Range: Throughout Oregon . Season: Early May to mid-October. Abundance: Common. Conservation Status: Secure

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Spring Azure butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Fitton Green, Linn County, March 26 Echo Azure Celastrina echo AKA Pacific Azure Size: 1.0 - 1.25 inches wingspan Key ID features: Male lilac-blue above, with no black markings. Female dusky-blue, with few marginal spots ringed with gray, FW with dark bands on outer edge. Below, bright gray-white, with very light marginal band of chevrons, and small black spots. Below, gray discal bars on both FW and HW. Similar species: Light markings below with no tails or orange spots distinctive and usually easy to distinguish from other blues. Host plant: Many shrub species including red osier dogwood, elderberry, madrone, snowbrush, and oceanspray . Habitat: Shrubby habitats and riparian areas. Range: Most of Oregon except dry basin and range areas on the east side of Cascade Mtns. Season: Late February to early October Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Callippe Fritillary butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Hat Point Rd, Wallowa Co, July 1, ssp. semivirida Callippe Fritillary Argynnis callippe AKA Speyeria callippe Size: Up to 2.5 inch wingspan Key ID features: Varies significantly among subspecies especially below. Light orange above with thin 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. Silver spots below show boldly through above. Below "disc" on HW ranges from light tan-brown to dark reddish brown, with large silvery-white oval spots usually with green or greenish brown caps. Similar species: Zerene Fritillary is larger, with silver spots not showing through above as boldly, lacks greenish caps to silver spots on disc below. Host plant: Violet (Viola ) species . Habitat: Montane canyons and roadsides, sage-steppe, pine-oak woodland openings, grasslands. Range: Throughout mountainous areas of eastern and southwestern Oregon, except in Columbia River basin. Season: Early May to early September. Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

This page provides background on the Butterflies of Oregon website, and about the photography, the author/photographer, and the purpose and history of ButterfliesofOregon.com. This site will be updated periodically each year, so please visit often! The Project Butterflies of Oregon is both an online guide to Oregon's butterfly species and a record of my endeavor to photograph all of Oregon's regularly occurring and breeding described butterfly species inside the borders of the state. As I continue to pursue images of those remaining species that have as yet eluded me and my camera, I plan to use the website, the information I’ve collected, and the stories about the butterflies and the photos to educate interested folks about native butterflies in Oregon, their habitats, their ecology and their conservation. Public presentations, and educational publications are likely to come with time. Check back here for updates or sign up to be notified of new Blog entries. The Photos All of the photographs of live butterflies in this website were taken by myself, Neil Bjorklund, of wild, un-manipulated butterflies, within the borders of Oregon. These photos are the best images sifted from my library of more than 10,0 00 photos of butterflies in Oregon (as of fall 2023). Considering all the photos that weren't high enough quality to keep, it’s safe to say I’ve taken something like 12,000-15,000 photos of butterflies in Oregon to produce this set of about 300! The images of pinned butterflies from the Oregon State Arthropod Collection were taken by me and by Dana Ross, lepidopterist extraordinaire, with support from Paul Hammond who selected the specimens for us. Thank you, Dana and Paul! I took the live butterfly images primarily in the years 2002-2006 and 2014-2023, so over about 13 years (as of 2023). I have experimented with a variety of cameras and lenses over the years. I began the switch to digital photography in 2003 with my beloved Nikon CoolPix E995. The lion’s share of the photos were taken with these four digital set-ups: FujiFilm X-T1/X-T3 / X-T4 with a Fuji 80 mm F2.8 Macro Lens Sony RX10 Mark IV Canon PowerShot SX50 HS Nikon CoolPix E995 The Photographer I am an Oregon boy through and through, born and raised in SW Portland. The earliest I can remember attempting butterfly photos was on a family vacation in California in about 1968, and my images of Pipevine Swallowtails along the side of Highway 99 taken with my little plastic camera didn't come out very well. Eight years later (1976) I got my first "real" camera - a spiffy Nikormat FT3 SLR! With that camera I took my first decent photograph of a butterfly in Green Bay, Wisconsin in 1979—a Common Buckeye on the shore of Green Bay. Click the "More"button below to see that photo and read more history. More

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Northern White Skipper. Gallery Prev Next Baldy Cr Rd, Jackson Co, June 28 (new county record) - male Northern White Skipper Heliopetes ericetorum Size: Up to 2 inch wingspan Key ID features: Above pearly-white, with "chains" of dark brown chevrons along wing margins, light on males, bolder and more extensive on females . Below white with irregular vague bands of light tan, pinkish brown or mustard. Similar species: No other similar species in Oregon. Host plant: Various species in the globemallow family. Habitat: Various habitats in arid areas including riverbanks, canyons, roadsides, lower elevation forest openings, weedy fields and alfalfa fields. Range: Primarily Columbia, Deschutes, Snake River and Owyhee river basins, but also recent records in southern Lake and Jackson counties. Season: Early May to early October Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Pelidne Sulphur butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Bonny Lakes Trail, Wallow Co, August 2 Pelidne Sulphur Colias skinneri AKA: Skinner's Sulphur Skinner's Pelidne Sulphur Size: 1.25 - 1.5 inches wingspan Key ID features: Smallish. Above lemon yellow, with solid dark brown to black borders. Below, HW dusted with black over-scaling, sometimes giving olive cast. On HW below, discal spot is small, thickly-rimmed in rose or reddish brown. Forewing also has more black over-scaling than other sulphurs in Oregon . Wing edges have a narrow rose-colored band (not pink). Similar species: This species has more extensive black overscaling on the VFW, which extends further from the FW leading edge. Clouded Sulphurs have double ring around discal spot on HW below. Western Sulphurs look greenish on HW below. Pink-edged Sulphurs have more rounded wings, and have much less overscaling below and have pink wing borders. Host plant: Various species of Vaccinium (huckleberry). Habitat: High forest clearings and moist meadows with Vaccinium . Range: In Oregon, only found in Wallowa Mtns and on Steens Mtn. Season: L ate June to early-September Abundance: Uncommon Conservation Status: Secure