Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for Riding's Satyr. Gallery Prev Next Light Peak, Warner Mtns, Lake Co, July 14 Ridings' Satyr Neominois ridingsii Size: Up to 2 inch wingspan Key ID features: Above sandy gray-brown with elongated light tan to white patches on FW containing black eyespots with white centers. Sometimes one small eyespot on HW above. Below similar to above, but with HW having a more grizzled look crossed by zigzag dark lines and light vein lines. Very cryptic and difficult to spot when perched with wings closed. Similar species: None. Host plant: Grasses, but no specific species identified in Oregon . Habitat: Grassy habitats including sage-steppe, plateaus, montane meadows and dry hillsides. Range: Millican Flats area near Pine Mtn in Crook and Deschutes counties, Light Peak in Warner Mtns, Pueblo Mtns, Trout Creek Mtns. Season: Late June to mid-August Abundance: Uncommon Conservation Status: Secure

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Two-tailed Swallowtail butterfly. Mack's Canyon Boat Launch, Sherman Co, April 30 Gallery Prev Next Two-tailed Swallowtail Papilio multicaudata Size: Over 5 inches wingspan Key ID features: Very large. Upperside mostly yellow with wide bands of yellow on forewing separated by black lines, extra tails, blue chevrons on black band near hindwing margin. Below, very similar to above, with red-orange shading in yellow marginal spots near the tail. Similar species: Western Tiger Swallowtail is smaller and has broader black bands on forewing and single tails. Host plant: Primarily western choke cherry (Prunus virginiana var. demissa). Habitat: Riparian and road corridors, canyons and urban parks and gardens. Range: Throughout eastern and southwestern Oregon. Season: Late March - mid-September Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

Photos, flight season, distribution and host plant information, conservation status, and identification tips for the Sachem butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Boardman, Morrow County, August 24 - male Sachem Atalopedes campestris Size: Up to 1.5 inch wingspan Key ID features: Larger and longer winged than other comparable Oregon skippers. Above orangish-brown, with dark brown borders. Male with large rectangular black patch around stigmata and vague light orange pattern on HW. Female above with dark patch on FW, with pale yellow spot band beyond that, and HW with light orange spot band. Male HW below with broad light yellowish patches sometimes nearly enclosing a darker rectangular patch . Female below, with darker HW ground color and curved band of smaller, more distinct spots. Similar species: Yuma Skipper and Juba Skipper are of similar size. 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: Pastures, gardens, roadsides and open prairie. Range: Cascade Range, Siskiyou Mtns, Willamette Valley, Columbia and Deschutes river drainages. Season: Late May to late August Abundance: Uncommon 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 Mountain Mahogany Hairstreak butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Crooked Cr, Lake Co, August 6 - male Mountain Mahogany Hairstreak Satyrium tetra Size: 1.0 - 1.25 inches wingspan Key ID features: Dark gray-brown above. Gray-brown below with median line, and submarginal band of black chevrons. Tail short on males, longer on females, with adjacent blue frosted patch, and one (or mare) of the chevrons with small orange patch. Similar species: Somewhat similar to Hedgerow HS, which has more defined median line on HW below. Gold-Hunter's HS is more brown below, with a less clear and defined median line on HW below. Host plant: Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus montanus, C. ledifolius ) . Habitat: Dry ridges and plateaus, oak-pine edges, shrubby areas with Mountain Mahogany. Range: Southern portion of Josephine, Jackson, Klamath and Lake counties. Season: Early July to late August Abundance: Uncommon 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

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 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 Glaucon Blue butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Sand Creek, Klamath Co, July 1 Summit Blue Euphilotes glaucon AKA Glaucon Blue 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, connected orange submarginal line on HW. Similar species: Best told from other Euphilotes blues by host-plant association, location and flight period. Host plant: Eriogonum umbellatum (Sulphur-flower buckwheat). Habitat: Well-drained sites where host plant grows, including high plateaus, ridges and roadsides. Range: North Cascades, Curry Co, Jackson Co, Josephine Co, Klamath Co, Deschutes Co, Harney Co Season: Early May to mid-August 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 Dun Skipper butterfly. Gallery Prev Next Coburg Ridge, Lane Co, July 3 - male Dun Skipper Euphyes vestris Size: Up to 1.4 inch wingspan Key ID features: Medium gray-brown above and below, can have orange iridescence when fresh. Male with dark brown stigmata on FW, female with vague small white spots on both wings, above and below. Similar species: No other Oregon skipper is this shade of brown and relatively unmarked. Host plant: Sedges ( Carex ). Habitat: Moist areas including roadsides, meadows, riparian areas, seeps. Range: West of the Cascade Range crest. Season: Late May to early September Abundance: Common Conservation Status: Secure

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