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 last blooms of Rabbitbrush, right up until Halloween scares them away. To see butterflies in November, I usually need to go to California to see my beloved monarchs but I will often also see Red Admirals, West Coast Ladies, Cabbage Whites and for a bit of exotica, I sometimes see a Gulf Fritillary or two.

This year is different. It is mid-month as I write and we have had some light frosts but no killing frosts in the Yakima Valley. Thus, there are still some flowers blooming in gardens and along rivers, thistles, sweet yellow clover, knapweeds, dandelions etc. There is even a profusion of resprouting and flowering Hoary Tansy-Asters populating a mowed meadow near the wetlands of Toppenish NWR!

November 15 was a partly sunny day but the temperature reached 67 degrees by midday. So, I decided to take a walk through the Hoary Tansy-Aster meadow at Toppenish to see what insect life remained of the season. As I approached, I could see the distinctive yellow flutterings of Sulphur butterflies! Over a couple of hours, I counted ten Sulphurs, all, by my reckoning, Clouded Sulphurs. Orange Sulphurs are still flying as well; one was seen in a Yakima garden on the same day.

For those few hours, it almost seemed as if the 2025 butterfly season was still alive and well, and indeed it was in the Hoary Tansy-Aster meadow. It wasn’t just butterflies either. Other pollinators were celebrating seasonend too, many species of hover flies, tachinid flies, tiny native bees and wasps. According to the weather forecast, an insect-killing freeze in the Yakima Valley is still about 10 days away, so I am looking forward to reliving my butterfly echo of summer at least one more time!

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