Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Melissa's Blue butterfly. 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

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Western White butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Eagle Cap Wilderness, Wallowa Co, Aug 26 - female Western White Pontia occidentalis Size: 1.25 - 1.75 inches wingspan Key ID features: Above, male white with black or gray markings on forewing, female has more extensive markings on both wings. Below dark overscaling creates gray-green margins along hindwing veins, darker in spring. Similar species: Co-occurs with Checkered White in SE Oregon. The two species are not separable in flight. Female Checkered White is less sharply marked, often with olive or brown shades above instead of the gray-black of Western. Male Checkered White has narrower gray marks on the forewing margins with more white in between, and forewing markings are less extensive in general. Host plant: Many native species in the mustard family. Habitat: Open habitats, including woodland openings, mountain meadows, and barren areas above tree line. Range: Throughout Oregon west of the Cascade Crest. Season: Mid-March to mid-September Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Glaucon Blue butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Izee Rd Meadow, Grant Co, July 1 Cascadia Blue Euphilotes heracleoides Size: Up to 1.0 inch wingspan Key ID features: Small. Male blue above with narrow dark wing borders, little or no orange along trailing edge of HW. Female dark brown above with prominent orange zigzag along trailing margin. Both sexes have checked fringe on FW. Below bluish-gray with bold black spots, larger on FW, and broad orange submarginal line on HW. Similar species: Best told from other Euphilotes blues by host-plant association, location and flight period. Host plant: Eriogonum heracleoides (Parsnip-flower buckwheat). Habitat: Well-drained sites where host plant grows, including high plateaus, ridges and roadsides. Range: All of northeast Oregon, and in Warner Mountains and southern Deschutes County Season: Late April to late June Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Queen Alexandra's Sulphur butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Mtn Lakes Wilderness, Klamath Co, August 15 Queen Alexandra's Sulphur Colias alexandra Size: 2.0 - 2.8 inches wingspan Key ID features: Larger than any other Oregon sulphur, with more pointed FW. Below HW discal spot is white (not pearly) with no satellite spot, often unrimmed. Below HW has heavy black overscaling, giving strong green cast. Similar species: Clouded Sulphurs are smaller and have double ring around discal spot on HW below. Western Sulphurs are smaller and often have brighter pink wing borders. Pink-edged Sulphurs have more rounded wings, lack black overscaling below and have bright pink wing borders. Host plant: Various species in the pea family, especially Astragalus (milkvetch) and Medicago (alfalfa). Habitat: Meadows, roadsides, dry steppe slopes and forest glades. Range: Throughout eastern Oregon. Season: mid-April to mid-September Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Oreas Comma butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Mt. Hebo, Tillamook Co, August 13, ssp. silenus Oreas Comma Polygonia oreas AKA Oreas Anglewing Size: Up to 2 inch wingspan Key ID features: Above orange with black blotches and spots, often with very jagged wing edges. FW above has yellow patches adjacent to dark marginal band. HW above has submarginal row of yellow/orange crescent-shaped chevrons within brown to black marginal band. Below dark chocolate or dark gray to black, with lighter gray striations, and prominent white flattened "v" with no hooks (usually pointed at the bottom, often looking like a gull in flight), in center of HW. Similar species: Darker below than other comma species, white "v" mark on HW below lacks barbs. Other comma species either have stronger green submarginal shading below or the "comma" mark on HW below is curved (not a pointed "v") or barbed or both. Other commas species have less jagged wing edges, often looking smooth between major points. Host plant: Currant species (Ribes ), including R. divericatum (straggly gooseberry), and R. lacustre (swamp gooseberry) . Habitat: Forest fringes, especially in older stands, riparian areas and ravines, subalpine meadows. Range: Coast Range, Willamette Valley, Western Cascades, east slope of Cascades, Wallowa Mtns, Blue Mtns . Season: Late February to mid-September Abundance: Uncommon Conservation Status: Secure

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Orange Sulphur butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Upper Mule Prairie, Lane Co, August 2 - male Orange Sulphur Colias eurytheme Size: 1.3 - 2.3 inches wingspan Key ID features: Males above, bright orange with unbroken black border. Females above either bright orange or greenish white with "window" spots breaking up black border. Below, central pearly "discal" spot on HW with small satellite spot, and two pinkish-brown rings, and submarginal row of black or brown "eurytheme spots." Similar species: Western Sulphur and Clouded Sulphur are lemony yellow, lacking orange. White females difficult to separate from Clouded Sulphur, but often HW border is stronger in female Orange Sulphur. Host plant: Many species in the pea family. Habitat: Most commonly seen in meadows, pastures, fields and other open habitats. Range: Throughout Oregon Season: Late March to early November Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

Butterflies of Oregon has exquisite photos and information about all of Oregon's native butterfly species, with information about the biology, distribution and identification of each species. A lively blog provides seasonal stories and updates from the field. Butterflies of Oregon New Book Now Available ! 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 Weidemeyer's Admiral butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Arizona Cr, Pueblo Mtns, Harney Co, July 3 Weidemeyer's Admiral Limenitis weidemeyerii Size: Up to 3.5 inch wingspan Key ID features: Above black with broad white band through FW and HW, small white patches near wingtips. Often with submarginal band of small white spots, and sometimes band of slightly larger orange spots just below white band on HW. Below bold white band through both wings, with bands of blue-gray and lavender crescents and dark red-brown patches. Similar species: Superficially similar to Lorquin's Admiral, but lacks orange wingtips of that species. Hybridizes with Lorquin's Admiral, showing mix of traits from both species--see photos of form Friday . Hostplant: Aspen (Populus tremuloides ), Willow ( Salix ) species, and shrubs in the rose family . Habitat: Along or near waterways with willow and aspen. Range: Found in Pueblo Mtns, Trout Cr Mtns, and Owyhee canyons in SE Oregon. Season: Early June to late September. Abundance: Uncommon Conservation Status: Secure

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for Great Basin Wood Nymph. Gallery Prev Next Picture Rock Pass, Lake Co, Aug 5 Great Basin Woodnymph Cercyonis sthenele Size: Up to 2 inch wingspan Key ID features: Above, brown or gray-brown with two eye spots on FW, lower eye slightly smaller, otherwise plain. Below, silvery striated brown with one to several small eyespots on HW, two large eyespots on FW (lower one smaller as above), but nearly equidistant from FW margin. Dark median line below lobed, but smoother than in Small Wood Nymph. Similar species: Small Wood Nymph is smaller, and HW median line below is more erratically jagged. Host plant: Undetermined grass species . Habitat: Sage-steppe, bunchgrass prairie, pinyon-juniper stands, ponderosa pine lands, oak-lined canyons. Range: Eastern Oregon, Siskiyou Mtns, Cascade Range from Lane County south. Season: Late June to late September Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the California Hairstreak butterfly. 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

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for Common Wood Nymph. Gallery Prev Next Beaver Cr, Wasco Co, July 2 Common Woodnymph Cercyonis pegala Size: Up to 2 inch wingspan Key ID features: Highly variable. Above, shades of brown and gray-brown with two large eye spots on FW, nearly equal in size or lower eye larger, otherwise plain. Below, striated brown with one to several small eyespots on HW, two large eyespots on FW (as above). Some eastern Oregon populations can have large, bright halos around FW eyespots, and six bold eyespots on HW below (see photo). Similar species: Great Basin Woodnymph is smaller, shorter winged and has more prominent bands below. Small Woodnymph is smaller, darker, and usually more gray and grizzled looking below. Host plant: Undetermined grass species . Habitat: Prairies, meadows, marshes, pastures, roadsides. Range: All of Oregon except northern coast and flat basin lands between Riley and Brothers (SE of Bend). Season: Mid-may to late September Abundance: Very 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