Watching Washington Butterflies with Bob Pyle: Number Forty Five

On July 19, for my 74th birthday, I took to the field in the Dark Divide, Gifford Pinchot National Forest, Washington. This is the area described in my book, Where Bigfoot Walks: Crossing the Dark Divide , and in the feature film based on it, The Dark Divide. This time I was looking for smaller game.

I camped the night of the 18th at Elk Pass on NF 25, just below Mt. St. Helens on its east side, at the parking area for Boundary Trail # 1. The next morning’s early sun, warming a big patch of naturalized Lotus corniculatus (Birds-foot Trefoil), brought out a male Anna’s Blue (Plebejus anna) to bask, and then many males and females among the yellow lotus, surely its hostplant here (as it is for acmon blues not many miles away, and for several blues in its native Europe). One fresh female Mormon fritillary (Argynnis mormonia) also appeared.

I took NF 25 north to NF 28, east to Mosquito Meadows, which I had long wanted to visit. Driving all four small Forest Service roads that are supposed to circumscribe the meadows, I saw no sign of them, only fir forest; perhaps they have largely succeeded to woods? But the mosquitoes were there, so that’s something. (I see on Google Earth now that the main meadow is a little off NF 28 to the south, not visible from the road).

From here, NF 77 runs northward to Pinto Rock and French Butte. In the first mile, on Pearly Everlasting, nectared a male Mariposa Copper (Lycaena mariposa cascadia), and Lorquin’s Admiral (Limenitis lorquini) and Coronis Fritillary (Argynnis coronis) cruised by. Here was also the first of several stands of Naked Buckwheat (Eriogonum nudum) I would see throughout the day. In the second mile, the only California Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis californica) of the trip appeared. Two miles out from Mosquito Meadows one comes to a climbers’ parking lot at the base of the tall and very rugged welded-tuff breccia formation known as Pinto Rock. From here, NF 77 runs due north along and under the summit ridge of Pinto Rock.

The next mile took me a couple of mid-day hours to drive and walk, it was so rich: one of the most rewarding sites for both plants and butterflies I have experienced in years. The rocky slope on the right (east) side of the road was flower- packed, including much Stonecrop (Sedum (prob. divergens) and Valeriana, and ditto for the verge and slope down on the west side (almost in the lap of Mt. St. Helens), including yellow and purple asters and three species of blooming buckwheats: E. nudum, compositum, and heracleoides. These flowery areas alternated with stretches of shaded forest, but kept on coming, along with the butterflies they hosted.

Here’s what I encountered over this butterfly-and-flower wonder- mile, in order: one small Orange Sulphur (Colias eurytheme) sighted, unless it was a Sleepy or Tailed Orange-Occam’s Razor! And one Western Sulphur (C. occidentalis) netted. Boisduval’s and Anna’s blues (Icaricia icarioides, P. anna ricei), both common; Edith’s (Euphydryas editha colonia) and Snowberry (E. colon) checkerspots both numerous and easy to tell apart on the wing; more frits (Argynnis hydaspe, few and fresh), and coronis (see note below); Julia’s Orange-tip (Anthocharis julia), one male, then farther on and higher, several; several Western Meadow Fritillaries (B. epithore) necta ing on Valerian with several Parnassius clodius. Purplish Copper (Lycaena helloides) males here and there; one old anglewing (Polygonia gracilis or faunus) perched on the road.

Then came a big rock outcrop with much Sedum and a stand of E. nudum. As I’d hoped, it supported a colony of Mountain Parnassians (P. smintheus, several males), within a quarter-mile of the Clodius. Nectaring on the Sedum and sailing up and down the rock face, never in reach except for binoculars, was a pale female checkerspot (Chlosyne spp.), surely C. hoffmanni from the location and the nearby presence later of several fresh males. Two quite light Field Crescent males (Phyciodes pulchella) were alighting on raspberry leaves and chasing everything else. Of course I checked all three buckwheats for blues, and on E. compositum I found Blue Coppers (Lycaena heteronea), which became common farther along; and one worn, pale female Acmon Blue (Plebejus acmon) almost devoid of scintillae. And the butterflies just kept coming.

Beyond this long mile the road crests the ridge and drops onto the east slope of French Butte to continue northeasterly. Here the aspect is entirely different, with fewer flowers and few butterflies other than Coronis Fritillaries in flight and Boisduval’s Blues on the lupines. At one point above a hairpin culvert, a mini-meadow retained a tiny flow, the only water I saw all day except for one sadly shaded puddle. Here appeared a lone, worn female Silvery Blue (Glaucopsyche lygdamus) on a horse mint, a surprise addition held over from the spring flight.

My ultimate objective was the Burley Mountain Lookout, one of only three remaining on the GPNF. This is barely across into Lewis County, all the above being in Skamania. One can drive (dodgily) most of the way to the 5,304-foot lookout, then hike the last bit. There is actually a little bit of subalpine aspect, with cushion plants such as Spreading Phlox (Phlox diffusa), and lots of Sedum. It was 3 pm, still clear and warm (70s), but breezy. I was surprised how few butterflies were here-I’d expected more, hilltopping and utilizing the pseudo-tundra veg. But the good habitat is actually very small, it may have been a little late for such a dry year (flowers were going over already), and it must have been devastated in the 1980 blast, as it sits just NE of Mt. St. Helens (the views are fabulous of Mts. St. Helens, Rainier, Adams, all very near, and more distant Hood), plus the rugged juts of the Dark Divide-Juniper, Sunrise, Jumbo, Dark, Hat, Snagtooth, Badger, Shark, Pinto, and others. Plus, there wasn’t a hint of smoke on the air. It was strange to look directly down on the Cispus Center, where I have taught many times.

There are a couple of modest stands of E. nudum on the summit, but no sign of the Dotted Blue (Euphilotes enoptes). Here’s what I did see up there: P. smintheus (only one), L. helloides, P. anna, I. icarioides, several each of A. mormonia washingtonia (very near the type locality), A. hydaspe, and A. coronis; one Hoffmann’s Checker male; and then, right at the west end of the summit on the wind, one Anise Swallowtail (Papilio zelicaon)-the only thing hilltopping besides flies, and the only swallowtail I saw all day! P. smintheus and S. mormonia were the only “alpine” notes on top. I was hoping for Arctic Blues (Agriades glandon), as the summits where I’d got the Skamania County records for both Arctic Blues and Mountain Parnassians were just a few miles away and clearly visible, but no such luck. The lookout is no longer staffed, but it’s open for visitors to see what life must have been like for a high country fire lookout. In the visitors’ book, I left a list of the butterflies I’d seen up there.

I took the long loopy drive on tiny FS roads down to the Cowlitz River Valley below, trying in vain for a woodland skipper in weedy habitats and White Clover fields around Randle, in the waning warm sun. Then I completed the circle back to I-5 and westward out the Columbia to home. It had been a great birthday with the butterflies, up there in Bigfoot country.

Further notes:

The most notable distributional records were for the plant Eriogonum nudum, these several new stands being among the most western and southern for this rare species (and Euphilotes enoptes hostplant) in Washington. The P. pulchella are the southwesternmost record in Washington, and must be one of very few Skamania County records for Field Crescents.

The L. heteronea are the third Skamania County record, after the MSHNVM finds that both Caitlin La Bar and I have had on E. nudum, and the only robust colony of Blue Coppers known west of the Cascade Crest. The P. smintheus occurrences at Pinto Rock and Burley Mountain are among very few records in that part of the state, and the westernmost in Lewis County by a good stretch; I’d found it a few miles farther west in Skamania, on Strawberry Mountain, in 2018.

Argynnis coronis: Coronis Fritillaries were everywhere! I saw hundreds of them, to just one N. californica. Coronis Frits are the new Cal Torts! at least this year. And they came in all sizes-from mormonia-small to quite hefty. See James & Pelham: Observations on the Seasonal Biology and Apparent Migration of Argynnis (Speyeria) coronis (Nymphalidae) in Central Washington

And what wasn’t there: interestingly, I saw not a single skipper of any kind all day. Also absent were Pterourus (tiger) swallowtails. I also failed to record a single hairstreak of any species, nor any satyrs. While working on this I’ve just seen my first two Woodland Skippers (Ochlodes sylvanoides) of the year in my yard, and a western tiger swallowtail. I’m tempted to consider the field trip still on till I file this, and count them! Even so, I saw, netted, and released 24 species in all – not a high count elsewhere, but most respectable for an old guy in Western Washington!

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