Oregon and Washington Butterfly Photos - Swallowtails and Whites

by Will Cook

Here's a selection of images from a trip to the Portland, Oregon area, July 29-August 9, 2006. I ranged as far as Mt. St. Helens (Washington), Bend, and the NW Oregon coast (which was lacking in butterflies). Locals say that 2006 was a very poor year for butterfly numbers, and I believe them, though I still saw plenty of cool stuff. I also found a couple of odonates, too, which are appended at the end of the Skippers page. All photos were taken using a Nikon CoolPix 8800, the majority with a Nikon 4T close-up lens attached. The camera settings are encoded in the EXIF data in each jpg image, readable with image browsing programs such as the free one I recommend, FastStone. Identification help is appreciated!

Swallowtails and Whites | Coppers | Hairstreaks | Blues | Nymphalids | Skippers

Papilionidae - Parnassians and Swallowtails

Western Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio rutulus)

Western Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio rutulus)
Sherwood, Washington Co., OR 7/29/06.

I saw incredibly few swallowtails during my trip. This is the only species I saw up close! The one Clodius Parnassian I saw was unfortunately a brief flyby.

Pieridae - Whites and Sulphurs

Pine White (Neophasia menapia)

Pine White (Neophasia menapia)
Road to Round Lake, Jefferson Co., OR 8/1/06.

Wow - what a stunner! Pine Whites were quite common here near the Santiam Pass. Though most of them stayed in the treetops, a number came down to nectar, such as this individual nectaring on Giant Chinkapin (Chrysolepis chrysophylla). Chinkapin was the most popular nectar source in the area. The round thing is a gall.

Pine White (Neophasia menapia)

Pine White (Neophasia menapia)
Road to Round Lake, Jefferson Co., OR 8/1/06.

This one is nectaring on dogbane (Apocynum sp.), another one of the favorite local nectar sources.

Margined White (Pieris marginalis)

Margined White (Pieris marginalis)
Silver Falls State Park, Marion Co., OR 7/31/06.

One of about three species I saw on this sightseeing trip, Margined Whites were quite common here. I didn't come across any on the rest of the trip.

This species is often lumped into Mustard White (Pieris napi).

Margined White (Pieris marginalis)

Margined White (Pieris marginalis)
Silver Falls State Park, Marion Co., OR 7/31/06.

Margined White (Pieris marginalis)

Margined White (Pieris marginalis)
Silver Falls State Park, Marion Co., OR 7/31/06.

This one narrowly cheated death!

Cabbage White (Pieris rapae)

Cabbage White (Pieris rapae)
Tualatin NWR, Sherwood, Washington Co., OR 7/29/06.

This new refuge is very close to Sherwood, where I was visiting my sister. The first day of the trip I excitedly took a photo of the first butterfly I saw, hoping it might be some exotic Western species. Exotic it turned out to be... invasive exotic.

Cabbage White (Pieris rapae)

Cabbage White (Pieris rapae)
Tualatin NWR, Sherwood, Washington Co., OR 7/29/06.

Cabbage Whites are abundant in this former cow pasture. The brown spot is some sort of imperfection in the wing.

Sulphur (Colias sp.)
Camp Sherman, Jefferson Co., OR 8/2/06.

This is the only sulphur I saw on the entire trip that sat still long enough for a photo. Not in the best shape, but I'll take it! Jonathan Pelham says this does not look a Pink-edged (the VHW discal spot is wrong). It would have been nice to photograph the Pink-edged Sulphurs Dave McNeese and I found on a trip to Mt. Hood, but they could only be stopped by Dave's net.

Swallowtails and Whites | Coppers | Hairstreaks | Blues | Nymphalids | Skippers


Comments? Questions? E-mail me at cwcook@duke.edu

All photographs and text ©2013 by Will Cook unless otherwise noted.