After four nights with our family, and with an interesting group of butterflies in the bag, Sandra and I headed east to Bend. Truth be told, we were a little disappointed with our lack success in the Metolius Preserve. Because of the cold June, spring was creeping in and the explosion of butterflies had yet to occur. We were hopeful that Tumalo Creek near Bend would provide a spectacular lepidopteran experience.
 |
| Hoary comma, P, gracilis Tumalo Creek, June 2022 |
We arrived at Tumalo Creek about 10 AM Sunday morning. The sky was blue and the morning warm, and the little river burbled happily less than a fifty yards from where we parked. This sounds idyllic, right? Unfortunately Tumalo Creek is the outflow of Tumalo Falls, which is a major tourist attraction. To reach the falls, you leave the macadam, cross a small bridge and drive hell bent for election five miles down a gravel road. We were parked in the shade in a pull out with cars racing by and raising dust about once every minute.
It was more peaceful down by the creek, where we found two species of blues, Boisduvals and greenish. The former is quite drab and the latter has the a distinctive pattern of spots, as we discussed previously. Tiger swallowtails were flying up and down the creek, but not much else on our side.
Sandra was getting discouraged, and plagued by mosquitoes, she went to the car for a break. I went to a small fenced interpretive site which bore three posters dealing with creek restoration. As I left the area, marked by a handsome split rail fence, a medium sized orange butterfly flew by. I got lucky and netted him on my first effort. In fact, he virtually flew into the net.
 |
| Under glass. Hoary Comma, ventral view with comma. |
In my mind, at least for the next few hours, this would be known as the Golden Swipe, for in the net was a nice big angelwing, satyr or comma, for these peculiar butterflies claim all three monikers. After netting a butterfly, the lepidopterist grabs the net below his quarry, creating a classic pose. So as Sandra saw me approaching the car, she popped right out. By this time we had become quite the team, transferring our prize to the wine glass and getting some pictures with the glass resting on a book covered with a blue towel.
Following the photo shoot, Sandra gathered the glass and held it on her palm. To our amazement, the comma settled down on her hand, wings up in resting position. If one looks at pictures of butterflies on the internet, it is fairly common to see pictures of butterflies on hands. I suppose we had thought that through incredible serendipity, these butterflies just happened to land on the outstretched hand. Now we had a more reasonable explanation. We removed the glass with care and the butterfly remained on Sandra's hand for a minute or more, during which I snapped away. Look at this fantastic result!
After our butterfly flew into the pines, we repaired to Pyle and LaBar and found our critter, the Hoary Comma Butterfly. Because the angelwings are so visually interesting, I have been making paper mache models of the Green Comma for two years. I had not appreciated how different the four species that occur in the Pacific Northwest are. It was easy to pair the Hoary Comma with the picture in the book.
 |
| Abandoned train tunnel on the Mecca Flats Road. |
Off we went to the Bend Holiday Inn Express where we worked on our pictures and prepared for the next day, when we would drive from Bend, over Mount Hood, and on to PDX, hopefully encountering some butterflies on the way.
Unlike birds, butterflies are late risers. If one leaves at the crack of dawn he will arrive at his hunting area long before the butterflies set off for work. Thus we were able to enjoy a leisurely breakfast, leaving Bend around 8:30, and arriving at Warm Springs around 10 AM. We had been advised that the Indians in the Warm Springs Reservation were not friendly towards us Caucasians, and were pleased to find that until you cross the Deschutes River, you are not on the reservation. There is a boat launch right by the road, run by Oregon State Parks. It is a small area and we saw no butterflies. However, we did meet a state park employee who gave us a hot tip. Just before the bridge is a turn off that puts you on a gravel road leading to a BLM campground on the river. Mecca Flats, he said, is where he goes fly fishing and would be excellent for entomology. Such a big word for someone cleaning the out houses!
 |
| Green Comma Butterfly, P. faunus, Mt Hood Meadows, June 2022 |
Our tour director had added a caveat, "The road looks like something you don't want to drive on." he said. The implication was that it was OK to drive on the road. But for us in our Mazda 3, it was, indeed, something to which we did not want to expose our tires and under carriage; a narrow one lane of sharp rocks on top of a ridge. We turned around at the first opportunity.
Just across the river, on the Warms Springs Reservation, we made a fruitless stop at a wood products company that occupied a charming spot on a creek that emptied into the Deschutes. Then ensued a long drive over the prairie and into the pine forest that heralds Mount Hood. Still hoping for one more butterfly, we opted to go to the promising sounding Mount Hood Meadows. Moist meadows, after all, are frequently associated with western butterflies. Mount Hood Meadows, on the other hand, is a ski resort, possibly the most popular of these on the eponymous mountain. At 5,536 feet we found an enormous parking lot and one lift still in operation. About 200 yards across the car park from the lodge, we found a service road leading into the forest.
 |
| Green Comma Ventral, Mount Hood Meadows 2022 |
Near the car park, we found patches of snow and some moist ground supporting willows. We saw one orange butterfly in the willows, but he escaped. Off we went up the service road bordered by Whitebark Pines, tall, beautiful relatives of the ponderosa. About a hundred yards up the road, Sandra spotted an orange butterfly on a stump. Binoculars revealed it to be an angelwing. Our patience was rewarded and he flew down to the road. We both missed on our first opportunities, but on my third try, chasing willy nilly down the road, I netted him.
Having transferred him to a plastic bag, we embarked on the drill Back in the car park, the bright sun created too much glare, so we took our butterfly under glass back into the shady pines. There we were able to get some adequate pictures. Then, to our delight, the butterfly perched on Sandra's hand. As on the previous day we were able to remove the glass and enjoy a minute or so of superb photographic conditions.
What we had was a green comma, the butterfly I have been modeling for several years. You can see that his dorsal pattern is very similar, but clearly different, from the hoary. And if you look carefully, you will note that the "comma" on the ventral wing, is also different.
What a happy end to our butterfly expedition.
It is a 35 mile drive downhill from Mount Hood Meadows to Hood River. About 15 miles above the Columbia, we were treated to spectacular views of Mount Adams. From Portland / Vancouver, we don't get much of a view of Adams. From this vantage point the mountain is gorgeous. If you happen to be in Hood river with an hour or so on your hands, a fifteen mile drive up Oregon 35 would definitely be worth your while.
 |
| Mount Adams, June 2022, as seen from Oregon 35 SKG photo |
Long ago, the Great God Sahale, sent three demigods to Oregon. There was the beatiful Loowit, and two brothers, Klickitat and Wy'Easat. The two boys fought over the lovely maiden, creating lava fields of destruction. Before they could cause more trouble, Sahale turned them into mountains. Loowit became Mount St. Helens, Wy'East became Mount Hood and Klickitat, was turned into Mount Adams. Legend from the Multnomah Indians.
Fifty years ago, languishing in our unreconstructed darkness, we were unaware of Wy'East. Now, in this age of enlightenment, it is a common place name in the greater Portland area. Wy'East Vineyards, above Hood River, is a good place to nab a view of both Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams.
jeff
No comments:
Post a Comment