January 25

Winter Party – twenty-three of us met for good food, good fellowship, and exchanging white elephant gifts, with the evening graciously hosted by Bill and Heidi Webber (sister of Jonathan Pelham). The gifts ranged from a set of would-you-really-want-to-display-them ceramic butterflies to a couple of hot-off-the-press butterfly books (rather stretching the suggested $5 or so for value of gifts). With the rules giving each person the choice of an unopened gift or any gift already opened, a nice set of butterflies ended up with the young man who probably prized them the most.

February 6 What is a Species? “The Specious Species: Superficially plausible, but actually wrong.” Jonathan Pelham, Co-founder of WBA

With so many changes in the classification of butterfly families and individuals it can become confusing what determines a species. Jon will clarify with us and give us an interesting overview of what this is all about and how scientists arrive at the classifications.

March 6 Bumblebees & Butterflies: Nature’s Pollinators by Julie O’Donald

Learn about native pollinating insects and how they affect the success of fruits, berries, flowers and seeds. Find out what attracts native bees and butterflies to the home landscape and learn to recognize which pollinators may be in your garden. Long time WBA member, Julie O’Donald is a Master Gardener with 25 years experience creating wildlife friendly backyard habitats. She is trained as a Backyard Wildlife Habitat Steward and looks forward to sharing information from a recent pollinator study in our area. Excellent photos will illustrate her presentation.

April 3 Exploring the Butterflies and Wildflowers of the Olympic Mountains by Bob Hardwick

Travel with Bob Hardwick to the Lake Cushman area of the Olympics and then head for Quilcene to hike the Mt. Townsend Trail. Enjoy the wildlife and spectacular views as we make the climb to the summit. The special butterflies found only in the Olympics will be highlighted through Bob’s excellent photographs.

May 1 Sexual Differences in Vision of Lycaenid Butterflies by Dr. Gary D. Bernard, Affiliate Professor of Electrical Engineering, U of Washington.

Both wings and eyes of many Lycaenidae are substantially dimorphic. Photos and measurements of eyeshine demonstrate sexual differences in sensitivity to wavelength and polarization. After viewing videos of hairstreak behavior when in crowded groups, the speaker and audience will consider what butterflies do when close to one another. Think about your experiences and be prepared to participate in discussions.

June: Due to the early date for the annual WBA state conference, there will be no membership meeting in June. The next membership meeting will be September 4th.

September 4: Share the Wealth. Always an entertaining, fun and educational program. Bring your photos to share with us for education, entertainment or species identification. Everyone works together to make this fun. Bring photos in digital, slide or printed form of photos to be identified or just shared. This informal meeting gives members a chance to get to know each other better. All levels of photography and butterflying are encouraged and appreciated. Sense of humor is required!

October 2: Butterflies and Nature. Our longtime WBA members Reg Reisenbichler and Kim Kendall recently volunteered for five months at Big Cypress National Preserve (the western Everglades) and will share with us their adventures with butterflies, birds, panthers with babies, and the many other experiences of being volunteers in one of our major National Park units. This may make you want to sign up to do the same!!! Fun program…don’t miss it!

November 6: When Butterflies Begin to Fade – Dave Nunnallee

December 4: Restoration of Checkerspots in Washington: Species and Habitats. Mary Linders, a highly respected naturalist from the WA Department of Fish and Wildlife, has led the program of restoring the Taylor’s Checkerspot (Euphydryas editha taylori) and prairie habitat in the Fort Lewis area. She will discuss WA state’s unique prison program in assisting in the raising of the species as well as the creation of the habitat in moving from the existing Fort Lewis firing range to a safer area for this species. Mary is an excellent presenter.