Category: Species Profile
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Species Profile: Juniper Hairstreak
(Callophrys nelsoni) (Columbia Basin Segregate) This is a butterfly with a very confused nomenclature! Today it is Callophrys nelsoni but when Dave Nunnallee and I wrote our Life Histories book it was Callophrys gryneus. Tomorrow? Who knows? Callophrys nelsoni is the name given now to all Juniper/Cedar Hairstreaks in Washington and it seems likely or…
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Species Profile: Oregon Swallowtail
Hill Topping Quandary on Lewis Butte Oregon Swallowtail, Papilio machaon, ranges from central to eastern Washington but has rarely been observed in the upper Methow valley. On many occasions I’ve looked at Anise Swallowtails, P. zelicaon, trying to find a P. machaon. Dale Swedberg led a Sinlahekin Wildlife Area field trip in July 2021, east…
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Species Profile: Celastrina echo
She arrived on May 18th, 2020, the 40th anniversary of the Mt. St. Helens eruption. From my yard I watched a twinkle of butterfly blue drop onto a newly-planted Ocean spray, where she promptly laid eggs and left. I found seven in the four foot shrub. Daily, I monitored the Lilliputian arrivals, and soon began…
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Species Profile: In Search of the Clodius Parnassian Host Plant East of the Cascades
Searching host plants for immature butterfly stages can be a fun pastime while waiting for spring flight season. Sometimes, even finding the host plant can be a challenge. Dicentra uniflora is a plant that can often go unnoticed in sage steppe habitat. It emerges soon after snow melt and is quite small. Photos of it…
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Species Profile: Coronis Fritillary,
observations through the seasons In visiting a new shrub steppe site this spring, I found a bountiful array of early blooming flowers, including several buckwheats and the sagebrush violet, Viola trinervata. The latter is a host plant for the Coronis Fritillary, Argynnis coronis. I made a mental note of this for later reference. The Coronis…
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Species Profile: Spring (Echo) Azure
The Western Spring Azure, or Echo Azure, Celastrina echo, is one of the first spring butterflies to make an appearance, and the first of the blues. In my garden it is usually the second butterfly, after the Cabbage Whites. Like most of the other early spring butterflies, it achieves that status by overwintering as a…
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Species Profile: Red Admirable, Vanessa atalanta
Sheep Lake at Chinook Pass, 5,700 feet in elevation, was where I saw my first Red Admirable, and I was mesmerized. Both its size and the striking diagonal orange bars on the dorsal forewings and along the marginal edges of the hindwings amazed me. I have since seen it in many locations, the shrub steppe…
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Species Profile: Taylor’s Checkerspot and the Golden Paintbrush
Executive Summary on the Status of the Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly From Ann Potter, WDFW The Taylor’s Checkerspot, a Pacific Northwest endemic butterfly, was historically found in grassland habitats from southeastern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, south through the Puget Trough in western Washington, and into the southern Willamette Valley in Oregon. Today, the butterfly is restricted…
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Species Profile: Florida’s Atala, Eumaeus atala
The Atala butterfly, Eumaeus atala, is a member of the Lycaenidae family and the Subfamily Theclinae, or hairstreak. The Atala occurs naturally in southeast Florida, and also in the Bahamas, Cuba, the Cayman Islands and other nearby islands (Koi & Hall, 2015). I visited Florida in February of this year and was able to see…
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Species Profile: Silver-spotted Skipper, Epargyreus clarus
The Silver-spotted Skipper is a member of the family Hesperiidae, the skippers. All North American skippers can be recognized by their recurved antennal clubs. Washington’s skippers currently fit into three subfamilies, the Pyrgine (spreadwing) skippers, the Hesperine (grass or monocot) skippers, and a third subfamily, the Heteropterinae, which in this area includes the Arctic Skipper.…
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Species Profile: Dotted Blue
Dave Nunnallee WBA Cofounder and Former Board Member, Coauthor of Life Histories of Cascadia Butterflies
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Species Profile: Edith’s Checkerspot, Euphydryas editha
In Washington we have ten species of butterflies which are loosely grouped as checkerspots owing to the cancellate or squarish patterning of intersecting lines on the ventral hindwings. Our checkerspots are placed in three separate genera, Euphydryas, Phyciodes and Chlosyne. The genus Euphydryas includes three species in our area and can be distinguished by their…
