Black Butte 2026....the Butterflies

         Our first morning at Black Butte we headed out to watch butterflies.  As it turned out (please see the previous blog along with the cartoon that was added the morning after the blog was initially published) the yearling bear was the highlight of the trip. After seeing the bear, we headed to Wizard Falls Fish hatchery, which had been recommended a few years ago and was less than a half hour drive from the Metolius Preserve.  

California Tortoiseshells puddling  7/26

    After talking to the folks in the adjacent SUV, we had a choice...walk upstream or downstream.  We chose to walk on the trail through the Ponderosa Pine forest going upstream.   Being in the forest, we didn't see any butterflies or birds.  Soon, we had a glimpse of the river with a fly fisherman in waders.  I suppose this is what many people who vacation along the Metolius think of as they plan their trip.

   A bit further on, another trail lead down to the river.  There I saw this group of California Tortoiseshells puddling.  There must have been ten or so.  This is far from an uncommon species this year, but as I have never seen them puddling before I'm including this photo.  I don't know if one should keep a separate list for species seen engaged in this activity, puddling, but its food for thought.  

    At this same spot we saw a small blue in the streamside bushes, which evaded my netting, and a Silverspot Skipper, with two bright orange dabs on its front wing.  Our consultant is out of contact, but when she surfaces, she may have something to say about that skipper.

    A gentleman hiker told us that a quarter mile further upstream there was a boggy area at the falls.  We decided that we weren't up to that hike and headed back to the car park.  There we set up camp on a shaded picnic table where Sandra hung out while I explored the trail leading downstream.

The butterfly spot downstream at Wizard Falls

    About a hundred yards downstream I came upon a tail leading to the river. It was a beautiful spot and there were some butterflies.  I netted a larger pale butterfly and took him back. Having seen Great Arctic the previous year, and it being a pretty distinctive butterfly, we were able to identify it.

  Having secured that guy, I went back for a second try.  On the way, I saw a Lorquin's Admiral.    This butterfly is one of the quintessential species of the riparian Pacific Northwest.  The car park before the Wizard Falls bridge was the first place we saw one a few years ago.  

   At the river, I got an excellent look at a Snowberry Checkerspot perched in the grass away from the stream.   I tried to capture it and failed.  Immediately I saw a small blue in the flowering shrubs.  Its much easier to net butterflies when they are teed up like that.  In that situation, my catch rate goes up above 50%!  Which is to say, I'm not very good at this in any circumstance.   Oh well. 

   Before we get further afield, I want to tell you about that checkerspot.  When I had a chance to look at the field guide, I noted that there were two checkerspots that looked, to my novice eye, identical.  Snowberry and Anicia.   In fact, I decided that looking at one from above, so viewing the dorsal surface, almost nobody could tell the difference. There is too much overlapping variation. As it turns out, to make the identification you have to capture the checkerspot, take a picture of the ventral surface and look for the "Edith line" as it meanders through the columns of orange and cream colored spots.  Under the most controlled situation, I have yet to master the art of finding the Edith line.  

Great Arctic, Wizard Falls, July 2026

   Being a good lister, or collector, which is the root of birdwatching and related hobbies, I hoped for an Anicia.  Caitlin's text suggested that the Anicia was found on the east side of the Cascades, where we were now standing, And the snowberry might be found only on the west side.  Sadly, this was incorrect. iNaturalist, to which Ms. LaBar is an expert adjudicator, shows that snowberry has been collected at the nearby Metolius campgrounds. Unfortunately, for me, the lister, the Anicia is not found on the Metolius.  It is further east. Rats! 

   Anyway, I took the one back to Sandra, we got him in the bag and proceeded to have a nice lunch beside the fish hatchery car park.  This is pleasant place, but although we could hear the river, there was no view.  You can't have everything, can you?

   At this point, I'm going to show you our pictures taken back at the laboratory, which the funders of the blog kindly moved from Vancouver all the way up to Sisters.

Lupin or Acmon Blue, Wizard Falls, July 2026

    You will note that the Great Arctic has seen better days.  The previous year we saw this species a month earlier, so in mid-July we may have been near the end of its flying period.

    The second butterfly, as you can see, was either a Lupin or Acmon.  Unless I am mistaken, these two are almost identical.  Possibly entirely identical, which makes you wonder why there are two species.  Anyway, while we wait for Caitlin to resurface, I'm calling it Lupin and we both got this wonderful picture you see here.  

    A lister might hope for a Volcano Blue Butterfly, whose underside is similar and may be found nearby.  This butterfly had light blue dorsal surfaces...the Volcano is slaty blue, much darker, so this is definitely not that.

    Sandra and I took a day off to watch France fall to Spain in what is turning into Donald Trump's World Cup. In case you are wondering just how corrupt FIFA is, which given the nature of this blog may be the furthest thing from your mind, Donald Trump has become good friends, virtually a confidante, with Gianni Infantino, the head of the soccer ruling body. And Trump has made thirty rings for the winners,,,gold encrusted with dozens of diamonds.  I shit you not.

Western Sulfur, Metolius Preserve, July 2026

    Maybe you don't give a whit about soccer, but you'd like one of those rings.  After all, it's your tax dollars at work.  Well, he made a hundred extra rings, and if you're connected, you can buy one for an exorbitant price.  But we don't have enough money for Social Security and Medicare.  Perhaps Trump is going to give a ring to Stephen Miller.  

   Rumor has it that Trump made a ring for himself, only it very plain gold with curious writing on it.  One ring to rule them all...

    Then, on yet another beautiful Central Oregon morning, we drove back to Camp Sherman.  In the interim. some kind soul had sawed through the tree across forest service road and moved part of it, so we were able to get by.  Soon we were at the car park for the Metolius Preserve.  It was impossible not to notice that there were many cars here, so as we got our nets and binoculars out of the car, we got emotionally prepared for company.

     On the trail, saw butterflies right away.  Many of these were large orange fritillaries and soon we had a good look at the male Great Spangled Fritillary.  Between Sandra and myself, we never captured one of these beauties on this day, though we saw many. This is a later butterfly on the Washougal and we had not seen it here at the Metolius Preserve. This trip was a month later than our previous two visits, so there you have it.

Dark wood Nymph, Metolius Preserve, July 2026

    Shortly after that I captured a medium sized dark butterfly that landed in the lower branches of a fir.  I told Sandra that it was a duskywing, which as you will recall is a group of  dark, butterfly-like skippers.  When we got back to the laboratory, we discovered that I was wrong.  Shocking! It was a Wood Nymph, which is in a group of dark, skippper-like butterflies.  

   Our first photo, which you see here, did not completely identify it.  Luckily, it escaped and flew up into a window ten feet above us, where it continued to flutter for a good long while.  This afforded us the opportunity to get a good look at is front wings, the ocelli upon which serve to identify the species.  Although you can't see it in my mediocre picture, on the front wings there were two bulls-eye spots, the front much larger than the one behind.  Hence, it was a Dark Wood Nymph, a species we saw the first time we visited the preserve but not since.

    Soon, beside the trail, we netted a Western Sulfur, a butterfly we had seen here previously in this spot.

     There were lots of familiar butterflies...many California torts and some Lorquin's Admirals.  Under a pine tree, I had a good look at a Painted Lady.  Caaitlin promised us West Coast Lady this year, but it has yet to flop into our hands.

Professor Peabody leads his troop through the Metolius Preserve.  AI

    Above the ferns, which filled most of the space between the pines on this part of the trail, there were several Great Arctics flapping around in their desultory fashion. Though unrelated, they have that same awkward flight displayed by the Clodius Parnassian.  Apparently, it gets the job done, but it lacks a pleasing aesthetic. What was God thinking?

    We got a very good look at several orange frits, smaller that the Great Spangled, but I was unable to get a good look under their wings or get them in the net, so they will go unnamed. 

Western Tailed Blue, Metolius Preserve, 2026

   Finally, we crossed the bridge and made it to the meadow where we had some good luck in years past.  At this point, someone started complaining that it was too hot.  And it wasn't even 10:30 yet.!

    We crossed the meadow and stood in the shade of a couple stunted Lodgepole Pines.  And as in uffish thought we stood, we heard voices tracking us down from the tulgey wood.  Soon a group emerged into the meadow.  Remember those cars in the car park on arrival.?  We had suspected that such a group might exist.  

   The group was led by a smallish man in a safari get up.  He was a chubby old elf with shortish white hair, and a cute little beard that came to a point.  And he held a small pointer, the better to direct the attention of his minions to certain plants or whatever else he might deem important. 

Western Checkered Skipper, Metolius Preserve, 2026

   Following him were a group of young adults, a few men and a few young ladies, mostly wearing ball caps and carrying clip boards.  Despite being turned out for a walk in the woods, a couple of the girls looked borderline dishy. Maybe it was the hot sun playing tricks on the old Jeffer. 

    Noting our nets, one of the fellows asked if we were fishing.  This is one way smart asses annoy us butterfly watchers.  As my own dishy colleague had previously noted, it was getting hot and, commensurately, I was getting cranky.  "No we're catching butterflies, you moron!"  I retorted.  Actually, I left out the moron part, but it was understood.

   With that, Professor Peabody raised his baton and the troop marched off into the preserve. 

  As it was getting hot and someone had had about enough of this nonsense, we headed back to the car.  On the way I netted a small white butterfly.  This was a Western Tailed Blue, so identified by Ms. LaBar last year.  I never saw any blue and neither you nor I see a tail, but the spots are right and who are we mortals to dispute with Cait?  Am I right?

Thompson's Blue Butterfly, Metolius Preserve July 2026

   Being a veritable Chingachgook, I soon had my dishy colleague doing her crossword puzzle in the front seat with the air conditioning going.  And I was off to catch more insects.  Soon I had a small skipper that was nectaring on a thistle.

     Up to this point I haven't mentioned the thistles, but there were lots of them and you would have thought they would be the ideal bait for butterflies.  But this little skipper, who we later identified as Western Banded Skipper, was the only one we saw on one of these tantalizing purple blooms.

    I got one more small, plain blue which I am unable to identify in Cait's absence.  Since it is plain and gray, I'm going to call it Thompson's Blue Butterfly in honor of the illustrator at the Waikiki Aquarium who gat the plainest, grayest fish in Hawaii named for him.  I hope that the next butterfly you see is better looking than that!

One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them.
One ring to bring them all, and in the darkness
 bind them.