Peterson Prairie: A Butterfly Extavaganza in Skamania County

   Our dialogue with Caitlin LaBar, dealing mostly with the Great Spangled Frit in Western Washington concluded with me confessing  that she was dealing with a couple of geriatrics who don't hike long distances and wondering if she would recommend a good spot in the highlands of Skamania County.  To my surprise she responded with the following:

       For mormonia and zerene, get over to Peterson Prairie within the next two weeks for the most amazing display you'll ever see! 

Zerene Fritillary, Skamania Co.  August 2022

     She went on to provide precise instructions to the location, 7 miles west of Trout Lake, Washington.  We received this email around 8:30 in the morning and with little additional preparation ,we hopped into the car and drove willy nilly to Trout Lake.     Another fifteen minutes got us to the Peterson Prairie Campground.  

    The problem was, the campground was in a dense Lodgepole Pine forest, with no prairie to be seen.  Being totally befuddled, we sought out the campground host.  The nice lady stood on the porch of her  enormous trailer and told us that there had been a spectacular lightening storm the night before; it had only stopped raining a few hours earlier.   As the roadway was still wet, this wasn't a surprise, although we hadn't expected rain this far east. She then instructed us to drive another quarter mile west on the paved road to the meadows.   Once there things were just as Caitlin had described.  

A Zerene Fritillary frolics among the wildflowers.

    It was easy access from good roads into both meadows.  As the morning tuned into early afternoon, the numbers of butterflies increased.  Although the identification of fritillaries relies on heavily on the ventral hind wing, what we saw as we walked through the short grass and numerous wildflowers were the bright orange dorsal wings, which are similar in both species, Mormon and Zerene.  Luckily the Zerene is much larger than the Mormon.  Caitlin LaBar confirmed that the size difference is so great that in this instance it is a valid tool for identification.  We were able to net both species, but only brought one home.  We were having a heck of a time identifying the butterflies in the field.  Only after picture taking and further consultation were we comfortable naming our prize a Zerene Fritillary.

    There were zillions of Common Wood Nymphs, as well.  Far from being limited to the meadow, they fluttered around the car, parked on the side of the road by the pine forest.  We got a few good looks at the two eye spots on the ventral forewing with binoculars and we netted a few, taking one wood nymph home for photography.  

Mount Adams just before the rain.

    A boy that grows up in Portland knows when it is about to rain.  It had been cloudy all day, and by one o'clock the air was heavy, ready to unload.  Not wanting to get caught on a flooded road, we bid Peterson Prairie farewell.  On our way back to Trout Lake, we nabbed a few pictures of Mount Adams, as he poked his head above the trees and into the clouds.

   The next morning we removed our butterflies from the refrigerator.  We had picked a well lit fence post as our studio.  First up was the Common Wood Nymph.  Sandra placed him on the post, I fiddled with the camera for about five seconds and off he flew.  I still have the image in my mind's eye, of the dark butterfly ascending into the branches of  the pine tree.  Bummer.  In lieu of my picture (which doesn't exist)  I am showing you a picture lifted from Pyle and LaBar of the Dark Wood Nymph.  Although Caitlin is definite that these were common, they were mighty dark and I do not have a photo to dispute her.  At any rate, what we saw looked  something like this.  

Dark Wood Nymph, courtesy Pyle and LaBar

 The Zerene Butterfly was much more cooperative.  The thing to look for on this butterfly are the relatively large white spots.  There are several similar butterflies and if one intends to identify them in the field, he or she must really know what to look for.

     With luck, the next animals we have for identification will be easier.  Its unlikely that we will see them in as pretty as spot as Peterson Prairie. 

jeff

   

The Great Spangled Fritillary Butterfly in SW Washington

         This week Sandra and I returned to Dougan Falls.  Not only is it a spot of surpassing beauty, but it is the only place nearby where we have dependably found a variety of interesting butterflies.  When one arrives at Dougan falls, he has a choice.  He can turn right, through a small gravel car park and proceed on a bumpy road up the Washougal, at this point a more of a stream than a river, with a series of delightful waterfalls.  In the summer this area is well known to locals and where ever there is a spot to park one finds numerous cars.  Peer over the edge into the canyon and you will see bathers draped over the smooth river rocks, washed by the flow of the playful stream.

Possibly the Woodland Skipper

   Alternatively , one can progress straight ahead.  This road is a bit smaller, used less frequently, and for the first couple miles borders Dougan Creek.  Dougan Creek is is a  modest flow of clear water, surrounded by firs and alders.  The creek winds around river rocks, creating numerous pools, until it empties into the Washougal just below Dougan Falls. Unlike the Washougal, this small flow is relatively undiscovered and one can frequently have a spot to himself,  in the shade, right down by the stream.  Even in the middle of summer.  

    A week ago Sandra and I went first to Dougan Creek.  Parking at our usual spot we wandered down to the creek.  There we found a large number of tiny skippers.  Skippers are lesser butterflies; although it probably isn't true, they seem transitional to moths.  And these guys, in addition to being skippers, were really small.  Less than half an inch in length.  We got a couple pictures and then spent ten minutes trying to catch one.  The best I can say of this experience is that neither of us tuned an ankle chasing over the river rocks. 

 

    Adding insult to injury, despite what I thought was a pretty good picture, we were unable to identify the diminutive insect.  Expert opinion names it Ochlodes sylvanoides, the Woodland Skipper.  Not a very interesting way to start a blog.

Great Spangled Fritillary Butterfly, female Skamania, Co.

   We then made the turn back at the car park and headed on out the Washougal.  This time we went half a mile further than we usually go and ended up in a small parking area noted as the Yacolt Burn State Forest on Google maps.  As we parked the car, two large orange butterflies zoomed over us. Wow!  

   We disembarked, armed with the tools of the trade and found these two large orange butterflies flying around and around, occasionally alighting on thistles that were growing  on the edge of this artificial clearing.  By stalking the butterflies patiently we could get a look when they paused to dine on the purple flowers.  After about five minutes of this, one flew over the edge of a large berm, created by a bulldozer when clearing the car park.  I climbed the berm and on the other side, to my delight, was possibly the best butterfly I have seen in the Northwest. 

      The butterfly was large.  It had a dark chocolate center, almost black, a fine median band of creamy white freckled with chocolate spots and a black margin.with creamy spots.  It was perched on a thistle, presumably eating, turning ever so slowly.  I was able to take several photos and a short video, limited only by the distance from the berm to the thistle, which was about ten feet.  As I watched, I  was unable to put a name on this beauty. but in fifteen minutes time, as we began our drive home, I was pretty sure that this was a female Great Spangled Fritillary.

    My identification was encouraged by a number of  looks at the  male butterflies, which perched on the thistles.  There were two bright orange males and they, too, stopped to dine,  but never for more than a handful of seconds   I chased them around and around, during which time Sandra threw up her hands and retired to the car.  One has to assume that if Sandra had been taking a movie of a geriatric fool chasing back and forth with his butterfly net it would have been far more amusing that  the video of the butterfly.  Maybe I could go viral on Youtube!

    I never got in a successful swipe with the net, but I had a couple quick looks with binoculars and was able to take two inferior pictures from about fifteen feet.   I finally retired to the BOT-mobile, where Sandra was waiting patiently in air conditioned comfort.  

Distribution of the Great Spangled Frit

      As soon as we got to the field guide, we were able to verify that these were Great Spangled Frits.   Up to this point I had thought that one needed to go to the Cascades to see this species.  But the field guide showed otherwise.  In the Portland area we are on the edge of the range drawn by Pyle and LaBar.  This sighting stretches their map just a little.  To the right I'm showing you the distribution map for the GSF from Pyle and LaBar.  Obviously this species is more widely distributed than I thought.

    This week, while my son and lovely daughter in law are river rafting in Idaho, the Redoubtable SKG and I are taking care of our foster grand puppy.  Thus we were positioned to plumb the stomping grounds of Caitlin LaBar, in the shadow of the Silver Star Mountain in Clark county.  Since we netted the Margined White there,  back in the spring, we have had little luck.  This may be attributed to the cold early summer.  We would go out looking for butterflies and at noon the external temperature, as measured by the Bot-mobile would be 64.  On this Sunday morning at 10:30 it was 84, an ideal temperature for hunting cold blooded bugs.

Great Spangled Frit, male, Clark Co. August 2022

    Being creatures of habit, we returned to the Cold Creek Campground, where we had found the Margined White.  If there was one native butterfly, I reasoned, there must be native plants, potentially host plants for other species of butterflies.  

  Upon arriving in the Day Use Area, where we had netted the Margined White, we discovered that even this early in the day there were several SUVs already parked. As we disembarked we watched three generations climb out of a recent arrival.  There were at least three older kids, two dogs, a mother, father and a granny.  Sort of like Granny Clampett.  As they wandered down to the small creek, which wound its way through fir forest, we could hear one of the ladies screaming, over and over again, at Dan'l, which was either the teenage boy or the large chocolate lab that seemed to be everywhere.  

     With that auditory backdrop we started looking for butterflies.  Soon I saw a Clodius Parnassian which virtually flew into my net.  Immediately another butterfly flew into our area and I netted him, as well.   Well, I now had two fine butterflies in my net.  I had intended to let the Clodius go, and I got him out while retaining the magnificent large butterfly in the net.  

Or is it a Northwestern Fritillary , S hesperis ?

   We transferred him to the wine glass and, although he was remarkably unsettled, we got some good looks.  He was big, citrus orange over the dorsum darker towards the body.  His ventral hind wing, which is key to identifying fritillary butterflies, was fascinating.  He had a dark chocolate disc,  a creamy median band and a brown margin.  in addition to the white spots, there were several spots that looked like shiny pewter or oxidized silver.  I had not seen anything like it before.  

    We didn't catch anymore butterflies, although we saw a sulfur that eluded us and a few more clodius.  In searching we had a chance to meet that big chocolate lab on the trail.  He apparently had no interest in wallowing with his family in Cold Creek.  Perhaps he found their continued screeching as off putting as we did.

   Back at the ranch, I decided that this big butterfly must be a Northwestern Butterfly, Speyeria hesperis.    Also known as the Mountain Silverspot, which sports a "disc...deep chocolate brown with spots mostly silvered"  and a "buffy yellow submarginal band".

    Our butterfly beat his brains out in the glass and the bag, and after dinner, as he chilled out in the refrigerator, Sandra put a bag of of leftover salad on him.  Never the less, these are still pretty good pictures, albeit with bits of wing missing here and there,  The range for S. hesperis is not as extensive as the GSF, does not quite reach into Clark County, and so I wrote to Caitlin LaBar.  I was pleased that she wrote back immediately, but her news was not great.   

Hi Jeff,

The “hesperis” is another Great Spangled, note the widely spaced small silver spots.

Great Spangled Fritillary,  Pyle and LaBar

 

 

     To be fair to both of us, these butterflies look very similar. And I didn't know that the GSF had silvered spots. (those silvered spots don't photograph well, but to the eye they are stunning)  I'm showing you the plate from Pyle and LaBar.  Looking at the picture of the female GSF, and my "hesperis",  I can't tell them apart. However,  there is remarkable sexual dimorphism  in the Great Spangled Fritillary.

 

      The butterfly we pictured, with the citrus orange dorsum was definitely a male. And the VHW disc in the male is cinnamon, in my paint box we call it chestnut, more red than dark chocolate.  So I remain unconvinced.Or do we call it confused?    

 

   At the end of the day Caitlin LaBar is the expert with extensive local knowledge.  And as Jeff Pippen says,  "Frits out west can be very tough to ID, and local knowledge is key." But its sad that I don't seem to be able to key out my own butterflies.

 

   On the bright side, Caitlin  gave us a super tip which will be the subject of my upcoming blog.  With any luck, someone will give you a great tip and make your day.

 

jeff  

The Checkerspot Butterflies of SW Washington or Gun Play on the Washougal

Possibly Queen Alexandra;s Sulfur,  Dougan Falls, July 2022

        Before leaving for Mount Rainier, Sandra and I visited Dougan Falls.  This idyllic spot has become our go to butterfly area by default; it is the only place nearby where we can find a variety of butterflies.

  On this day, as we arrived at the falls,  we chose to head up the Washougal, looking for butterflies in all the usual spots.  Even though it was the middle of the week, the weather was fine and there were lots of cars parked where people could descend into the canyon, down to the river where they could splash around in the cool clear water or sun themselves on the adjacent boulders.  This meant that some of our favorite butterfly spots were unavailable. We weren't in competition with a gaggle of similarly minded naturalists, there simply was no place to park.

     And so we made it all the way out to Reeder Falls before we stopped to look for butterflies.   This is an extremely picturesque spot with a view of the falls from the small wooden bridge.  

Edith's Checkerspot  Dougan Falls, July 2022

    Before long Sandra had captured a medium sized yellow butterfly.  the picture doesn't do it justice..it was a soft, buttery yellow, the color more intense towards the wing margins.  We transferred her prize to a bag and moved the car into the shade in order to keep both us and the butterfly cool while we looked at the field guide.  

   While we were discussing the merits of the sundry sulfurs, a large pick up pulled up beside us. The driver was a lady at least ten years my junior and who outweighed me by at least six stone.  In a rural twang she warned us that this wasn't a good place to park.  She went on to say that the owner of the land watches the spot with video and will come down and accost what he deems as trespassers.  In fact, she said, recently her husband was parked in essentially the same spot that we occupied and the man came down and not only threatened him with a gun but actually fired off a shot to emphasize his point.  Welcome to Skamania County!

Edith's Checkerspot, ventral side, July 2022

       The picture you see was taken the following morning with the assistance of some cooling.  The closest we can come to an identification is Queen Alexandra's Sulfur.  We are in range for this species, but sadly our butterfly lacks a white spot in the middle of the ventral hind wing.  Perhaps it is a Duchess Alexandra.  Seriously, for the moment it must go unnamed.

    On that same day we wandered back around to Dougan Creek, enjoying lunch in our favorite creek side shade.  There were relatively few butterflies on this day, but I was able to catch a small dark butterfly that (the next morning)  was revealed to be Edith's Checkerspot. As the butterfly rests on Sandra's hand, you get a clear idea about the size of this tiny gem.

    Last year we photographed a Snowberry Checkerspot on the Washougal side.   Being parvenues of the first order, we did not realize that it was not Edith's until corrected on the NW Butterfly facebook page.  In our defense, the snowberry was not pictured in the inferior field guide that we were using at that time. Now we are older and wiser.  I believe this handsome fellow will pass muster.

    I'm including here the pictures we took of the Snowberry checkerspot a year ago.  suffice it to say, we are still mighty proud of these images, taken en plein aire, sans réfrigération.    for the beginner these butterflies look so similar that its hard to believe they are not the same species.  Careful comparison, however, points up some definite differences.  

   As we say in the bird watching world,  "Tick it off!"

   Just last week we made it back to the falls area.  On the creek side we were enjoying a resurgence of Clodius parnassians with a few

Snowberry Checkerspot, Dougan Falls, 2021

Lorquin's Admirals flying by.  As it happened, there was a discarded tissue in the road not far from where we had parked.  Just as we were getting ready to leave,  this tired warrior  landed in the road and started creeping, such as old butterflies do, towards the tissue.  I managed to net him and he came home for a photo session.  As ragged as he was, this might have been one of his last days.  As it was, he got his picture taken and fluttered back into the SW Washington sky.

     Now that you have the necessary materials, I leave it to you to make the identification.

    Well, you guessed it...Snowberry.  So we have two tiny checkerspots living along Dougan Creek.  Not surprisingly, the snowberry uses the eponymous plant as a host.  Edith's may use a variety of plants, but favors snapdragons.  I like snapdragons, as well.  And I think its pretty cool that they are a native plant.  So the next time you see them growing beside a stream, you won't have to wonder who planted them.  (It was Mother Nature.)

      Thanks for playing and leave those soiled tissues for the butterflies.

jeff

Name that checkerspot, win a soiled tissue!

  

Captain Checkerspot cleared for take off!