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Dr. James Adams Monthly Program presentation March 4, 2026 The Underwing Moths are one of the most popular groups of moths among budding nighttime lep enthusiasts! These are gorgeous moths, and Taylor’s Ridge, or some area similar to it along…
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First Butterfly of 2026
By David James After weeks of gray, cold and wet weather, the sun shone in Yakima today, the 5th day of January and I took a walk at Snow Mountain Ranch. I was not expecting to see a butterfly, but…
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2026 Wild and Wonderful Field Trips and Outdoor Fun
Melanie Weiss, Field Trip Coordinator Given the mild winter weather so far, Washington’s butterfly season may surprise us with an early start this year. We are fortunate to have enthusiastic and knowledgeable community members volunteering as field trip leaders throughout…
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WWU Environmental Studies grad student models potential habitat for highly endangered local butterfly
Emily Bradford’s thesis maps areas where the endangered and endemic Island Marble butterfly could thrive outside of its tiny current habitat on San Juan Island . Read the article here:https://news.wwu.edu/wwu-environmental-studies-grad-student-models-potential-habitat-for-highly-endangered-local Grad Student Needs Your Help! Hello, my name is Taylor…
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President’s Message February 2026
Hello WBA members and friends, My last message reflected on the end of summer, with thoughts of hot apple cider and hot chocolate. And now after celebrating the shortest day of the year on December 21st, we can look ahead…
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Like a Butterfly to a Flame? Butterfly Recolonization Following Fire
David Droppers Monthly Program presentation February 4, 2026 David has stumbled upon a new project. After the Bolt Creek Fire of 2022, he is seeking to understand how butterflies recolonize after a wildfire in the coniferous forests of western Washington…
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Resurrection Ecology of the Xerces Blue Butterfly.
Presenter: Stuart B. Weiss, Ph.D Monthly Program presentation December 3, 2025 The Xerces blue butterfly (Glaucospsyche xerces) occupied sand dunes in western San Francisco but urban development drove it into extinction by the 1940s. Starting in the 1990s, many acres…
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November Butterflies in the Yakima Valley!
Yakima, November 15, 67°F by David James In previous years, I have been excited and blessed to see butterflies in the Yakima Valley close to Halloween. Orange Sulphurs, Cabbage Whites and Sachem Skippers are often seen flying and visiting the…
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A Symbol of Hope in the Midst of Drought!
By John Baumann Spokane, Sept 3, 2025, approaching 101° F I’d just finished lunch and was walking a bucket of vegetable stuff back to our compost when I spied a fritillary flying slowly and low to the ground in a…
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Snow Mountain Ranch, Yakima, Field Trip
September 13, 2025 By David James, Trip Leader Our last WBA field trip of the 2025 butterfly season was held at Snow Mountain Ranch just west of Yakima on September 13. It was a sunny, warm 80 degree fall day…
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Little Quilcene, Field Trip Report
July 29, 2025 By Karen Holtrop, Trip Leader Seven enthusiastic WBA members embarked on the Little Quilcene for Zerene (pronounced so it rhymes with Quilcene) and More Field Trip on July 29th. The trip took place along an old road…
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Bear Creek Mountain, Field Trip Report
July 26, 2025 by David James, Trip Leader Six WBA members and a reporter from the Yakima Herald had a spectacular day in the flowery meadows below Bear Creek Mountain in late July. The flowers had only just started blooming…
