Identifying butterflies can be fun. Quite a lot is known about our PNW Butterflies, and there are some very good resources to help us identify and learn more about them.
Reference Books
Pocket Guide to the Butterflies of Washington by Caitlin LaBar. She has recently updated the guide, and this 4th edition not only has our newest species, like Asher’s Blue included but Caitlin has also added thumbnail maps with counties shaded to indicate any records. More information available at Northwest Butterflies
Bob Pyle’s and Caitlin LaBar’s book, Butterflies of the Pacific Northwest is a must have for more in depth information, including keys to recognize and differentiate from similar species, Habitat and Range, On the Wing, Host Plants, and much more. Several new specimen plates featuring a wider selection of subspecies for difficult-to-identify groups such as sulphurs and fritillaries are also included. The book features around 50 photographers from our region, including some WBA members! Updated in 2018 and available from most bookstores and online.
For those who already own the book a few corrections to errors but also notes about scientific name changes and range updates – BPNW errata list
Life Histories of Cascadia Butterflies by David G. James and David Nunnallee is the book that will take your understanding of our butterflies to the next level. And it is essential for learning about and identifying the immature stages of the butterflies life cycle.
Butterflies of the Sinlahekin Wildlife Area This book is fabulous. Although it does not include every Washington butterfly, only those found in the SWA, the photos and specimen plates, along with the information makes this a great addition to your identification and education arsenal. Currently out of stock and out of print.
iNaturalist
WBA has an iNaturalist project. You won’t have to join the project to be included – any observation of any butterfly (and some moths) in WA state will be automatically included in the project. This is another way to get help with identifying butterflies you have photographed. Read more about the project in Regina’s blog posts WBA’s iNaturalist Project: Washington State Butterflies and My Experiences with e-Butterfly and iNaturalist.
WBA is having a statewide, month-long butterfly count, 2025 was the first year for this WBA citizen science project and it will now become an annual event. Let’s see how many butterflies everyone observes around the state. You can document butterflies from your yard, while camping, hiking, at a park, or wherever you may find yourself throughout Washington. It is easy to participate. Learn more at https://wabutterflyassoc.org/big-butterfly-month/
Butterflies and Moths of North America
Butterflies and Moths of North America: www.butterfliesandmoths.org is a comprehensive online resource that will include information on taxonomy and identification, distribution and habitat, life history and bibliography for all butterfly taxa in America, including species, subspecies and undescribed geographic variants.
Dichotomous Key to the Blues of Washington State
David Droppers first introduced us to his key to identifying the many blue butterflies at the March 2, 2011 meeting. Periodically he has updated it. It now includes the updated taxonomic changes to the Celastrina (Echo and Asher’s Blues) and the new perspectives on the Euphilotes. This is also handy to print out and have on hand.
Key to the Blues – Updated March 1, 2023
You can watch David’s presentation on the key from a past program for even more help.
Learning Aids
Our Learning Aids Page has more fun stuff…butterfly checklists for the state in pdf and excel formats, a butterfly identification game, and printable flashcards.
Become a WBA Member
Lastly, but maybe most importantly…. you should join us. Our members are extremely knowledgeable and willing to help others learn about our PNW butterflies. One of the best ways to not only identify a butterfly you have observed, but learn to identify butterflies in general, is to build relationships with other butterfly enthusiast. And it’s a lot more fun than doing it all solo. Become a member.