Oregon and Washington Butterfly Photos - Hairstreaks<
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
Lycaenidae - Gossamer-wings
Theclinae - Hairstreaks
| Golden Hairstreak (Habrodais grunus) One of the most-desired species on my Oregon trip, I was very pleased to discover a good-sized colony (at least 12) of these gold-colored beauties near Santiam Pass. Spectacular! |
| Golden Hairstreak (Habrodais grunus) There seemed to be a few around every Golden Chinkapin (Chrysolepis chrysophylla) tree. This one is basking on a chinkapin leaf. Another common name for this species is Chinkapin Hairstreak, which you can see is quite appropriate, at least here in Oregon. They also use oaks and Tanoak in California. Since I didn't have directions to a good spot for finding Golden Hairstreak, my strategy was to find the host plant (which is fortunately very distinctive, especially in flower) and closely inspect the shortest trees. I found hairstreaks on most trees I stopped to inspect. For more photos, see my page on Golden Hairstreak (Habrodais grunus). |
| Behr's Hairstreak (Satyrium behrii) |
| Sagebrush Sooty Hairstreak (Satyrium [fuliginosum] semiluna) The appropriately named Sooty Hairstreak is a very unusual Satyrium species - tailless and sooty gray. They're quite common above Timberline Lodge at Mt. Hood, where their caterpilar host plants, lupines (Lupinus) grow. This is an unusually well marked, fresh individual. For more photos, see my page on Sagebrush Sooty Hairstreak (Satyrium [fuliginosum] semiluna). |
| Sylvan Hairstreak (Satyrium sylvinus) Sylvan Hairsteaks sometimes lack tails, as you can see on the fresh individual on the left. The one on the right is tailed, as seen in a photo I took from the opposite direction. |
| Hedgerow Hairstreak (Satyrium saepium) Common and widespread in the western US, the caterpillar host plant is Ceanothus. This one is nectaring on Giant Chinkapin (Chrysolepis chrysophylla). More photos of Hedgerow Hairstreak (Satyrium saepium). |
| Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus) Perhaps the most common and widespread hairstreak in the U.S. |
| Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus) See also my page on Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus). |
Swallowtails and Whites | Coppers | Hairstreaks | Blues | Nymphalids | Skippers
Comments? Questions? E-mail me at cwcook@duke.edu