April 29, 2026

By David James

Following on from our WBA field trip in April 2025 seeking proof of life for the Columbia Basin segregate of the Juniper Hairstreak, we again made a trip on April 29, 2026 to the surreal landscape of Juniper Dunes, just north of Pasco, WA. Both years, we failed to spot any evidence that the Juniper Hairstreak still lives at Juniper Dunes as it used to do up until about 2010.

In 2025, we had about half a dozen WBA members searching the junipers and the dunes. This year, sadly, it was only me and Don Grinolds from Tacoma. Nevertheless, we gave it our best shot but rapidly realized that the advanced spring of 2026 had done us no favors. The ubiquitous Gray Hairstreak, which is normally fresh and in great numbers during the second half of June when Juniper Hairstreaks used to fly, was present in very low numbers and all that we spotted were ‘rags’ – to use a lepidopterist term for an old, worn butterfly. Don and I were very likely way past prime time for Juniper Hairstreaks this year.

However, our wanderings across the dunes did enable us to find what appears to be prime habitat for Juniper Hairstreaks that we have not explored before. This area is slightly moister with more junipers and nectar resources and I plan to survey it for Juniper Hairstreaks in future years.

Don and I did see six species of butterflies on the dunes including an Anise Swallowtail ovipositing on northern Indian parsnip (Cymopterus terebinthinus), an unusual host. At least 20 Painted Ladies were seen, a species surging in from the south and shaping up to be the butterfly of 2026.

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