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Here is a pdf for those looking for information about our book on the Butterflies and Skippers of Joshua Tree National Park. To order, click here. If you have questions, email me at denbugg AT hotmail.com.


bullet pointMay 29, 2023 - Went to Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties and found a new one for me: the small blue from the Lompoc area named Euphilotes speciosa purisima. While I was leaving there I noticed a west coast lady ovipositing on apricot mallow, so I got some photos of the egg. I've been photographing caterpillars of what I'm reasonably sure are west coast ladies, but in the early instars especially they are easily confused with painted ladies, so I'll rear them to adults to be sure. I probably have scores of photos of both species from the last month, and I'm interested in the differences of their immature stages, so I should have something on that here eventually. After getting the small blue in Lompoc, I moved on to the Elfin Forest in Los Osos, San Luis Obispo County. There I found a few fresh Satyrium saepium caliginosum, which are on the local ceanothus shrubs, a subspecies with a very limited distribution. I've seen something close to these a few miles inland but this is the real deal. I also visited Gordon Pratt and came home with some goodies; I've been updating some pages as well, so check out the Sara orangetip page, which now has all four stages; the Behr's hairstreak (not really updated except that I added a cool caterpillar); and the desert black swallowtail, to which I've added the brown-form pupa.

bullet pointMay 7, 2023 - Lots going on in our deserts and the mountain foothills. I've updated the page for the gray marble - Anthocharis lanceolata australis - with a shot from Seven Oaks near Big Bear from a recent daytrip. I've also changed out the photos and revamped the page for the dainty sulphur - Nathalis iole. I added photos of an egg and a chrysalis as well.

bullet pointApril 5, 2023 - Updated the page for Neumoegen's sagebrush checkerspot. So far things look to about a month behind out in the deserts, but things are picking up.

bullet pointMarch 17, 2023 - This promises to be a fantastic year for butterflies in southern California due to the regular rainstorms we've been getting. When it warms up I expect to be out regularly, particularly in the deserts. In the meantime, here is a chrysalis of the desert black swallowtail, given to me by Gordon Pratt the other day. This species of swallowtail was hilltopping at Cactus Spring Trail early in February during a relatively warm period. Caterpillars of checkerspot Euphydryas chalcedona had also emerged to resume feeding on the Keckiella. But just as the area was beginning to stir, a new wave of storms and freezing temperatures hit the area. But April to June should be fantastic there.


bullet pointOur book on the butterflies of Joshua Tree is officially available, and the feedback has been fantastic. For the time being, I'm trying to avoid selling it on sites such as Amazon and would prefer to sell directly. It's also available at the Joshua Tree National Park kiosks (see above!), such as the one on Park Blvd., and is also available at several other small bookshops.

Click on the image above or here to order.

Written by Dr. Gordon Pratt, this book covers the National Park and environs. Legendary lepidopterist Dr. Paul Opler contributed the preface, and there are approximately 620 photographs; I contributed ca. 500 of them, designed the book, and oversaw the printing process. Joe Zarki - who worked for years at the National Park as a ranger involved in public education - added his expertise as the book's editor. Much of the research in both the field and lab involved the late Dr. John Emmel, whom Gordon worked closely with for decades. Photographs were also contributed by Gordon and Joe, as well as Jim Brock, Greg Ballmer, June Marjorie Pratt, Alice Abela, Greg Chatman and Gene Hanson.

Here's a sample spread that's pretty typical. There is a lot of information on larval food plants and the immature stages of 98 species. Besides an Introduction, there are also separate discussions of Euphilotes blues and the mormon metalmark complex in our area, topics on which Dr. Pratt is the leading authority. This project is something we've been working on for a few years, and we are happy with how it turned out. It's much more than just a guide, especially since Gordon sees butterflies as more than just the adult stage, and thus there is detailed information on the life cycle as a whole, strategies to get through the freezing winters and times of heat and drought, as well as the plant relationships crucial to each species. So while it is a useful guide for those seeking to identify butterflies in the Joshua Tree area (and there are a lot of tips on telling apart similar species), it is also a valuable resource for those who wish to go deeper. And, of course, much of what one learns about butterflies in this area will translate to butterflies elsewhere, even in our own backyards.


bullet pointOctober 8, 2022 - At Joshua Tree National Park the other day I was able to find caterpillars of the little skipper called Pyrgus scriptura apertorum, the small checkered skipper, as well as those of Chlosyne californica, the California patch.

bullet pointSeptember 30, 2022 - Gordon Pratt asked whether I wanted to photograph Atlides halesus immatures that he had found on his property, and of course I did. So here is a Great Purple Hairstreak caterpillar, plus prepupae and a pupa.

bullet pointAugust 27, 2022 - After a good day photographing purplish coppers near Lake Hemet, I decided to replace the photos on that page with the new ones. Thanks to Bruce Watts for the heads up that they were flying; I'd checked this spot a month or so ago without seeing any. I had to get there early enough to avoid imminent thunderstorms. I stopped at Cactus Spring Trail on the way back around noon and watched sprinkles turn into heavy rain in the desert heat.

bullet pointMay 8, 2022 - Found more variegated fritillaries from the New York Mountains. I've also added photos of the caterpillar of the Edith's checkerspot that flies around Big Bear, and caterpillars of Neumoegen's sagebrush checkerspot from Joshua Tree that I found on April 29th during the annual butterfly count there.

bullet pointApril 18, 2022 - Finally found the variegated fritillary, Euptoieta claudia, in the New York Mountains. Transient populations of this butterfly in this area are mentioned in the Emmels' 1973 book The Butterflies of Southern California.

photo of Atlides halesus, the Great Purple Hairstreak, from the Mojave National Reserve

bullet pointApril 10, 2022 - Here's a plant I've been looking for: Senna covesii. I also found larvae of the blue butterfly known as Icaricia icarioides evius, Boisduval's blue. This is a good time to check lupines for them, as they are exiting diapause and feeding before the upcoming flight (mid-May?). News about a book soon.

bullet pointApril 5, 2022 - Coming soon: first hint above.

bullet pointMarch 27, 2022 - I've added photos of a few things. First, I've wanted to see Euphydryas chalcedona hennei at its type locality, Box Canyon in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, for a long time and finally did. I usually see them at Cactus Spring Trail, but that is really more of a blend zone. Days later I headed to the Granite Mountains northeast of Apple Valley hoping for the local Indra there - fordi. I saw a single adult and got some good photos. The next day I went to the Mojave Preserve and found a couple of giant skippers - Megathymus yuccae martini.

bullet pointFebruary 17, 2022 - I have been busy with other projects - details forthcoming I hope - but thought I would share a photo from the Mojave Preserve. That's where I found quite a few Atlides halesus males hilltopping (and a female taking nectar at lower elevations). I'll put it here because that page doesn't need more images. I'm hoping for a good season in the deserts but we could use more rain soon. It was beautiful in the Mojave last Sunday. Species flying already besides Great Purple Hairstreaks were Anthocharis cethura mojavensis, Euchloe hyantis lotta, Papilio polyxenes rudkini, and Pontia protodice.

 

 

butterfly photo

 

Introduction

Nearly all these photographs of butterflies and their host plants were taken either in my garden, the local park, or (most often) in wild areas within a few hours of my home in Long Beach, California. Butterflies are a life-long interest of mine, and I started photographing them seriously beginning in the summer of 2005. I've listed on six pages - one for each family represented locally - all the butterflies in my area (to subspecies level) and their larval food plants, with links to pages I've created for each butterfly. Some of these are rarely seen and/or are endangered species, and thus a challenge to find and photograph, but I've included them on the list if they fly in this region (as a breeding resident). In fact, the challenging or obscure butterflies are often the most interesting. There are, of course, various difficulties with creating a comprehensive list to subspecies level, and so it tends to evolve as I learn more or with taxonomic changes*.

In my garden I may see fifteen or so different species in a typical year (I've seen twenty-five species there over the years). But by day-tripping to various places no more than a few hours' drive from my house, I can multiply this number many times over. In fact, there currently are 279 different butterflies that I've listed for our area. My goal is eventually to see and photograph them all (I have 215 of 279 as of May 2023), as well as most of their larval food plants. Some butterflies that are very rare or only occasionally stray into our area may be common in Arizona, and I've included a few photographs from there.

The past few years I've become more interested in all the stages of the butterfly life cycle, so there has been more emphasis lately on eggs, caterpillars, and chrysalises. After all, a butterfly is more than just the adult stage of its life cycle. Documenting the life history of different species photographically is fun, and learning how each butterfly has evolved in order to survive the challenges living things face is always enlightening.

Southern California is an incredibly diverse place to explore and enjoy the natural world. Mountain forests and meadows, beaches and wetlands, grasslands, our high and low deserts, even islands - all are within reach with their various lepidopterous inhabitants. I've learned to appreciate these places, and I hope my photographs help convey some of the richness of our native flora and fauna.

map of southern California

* As of October, 2019, I've thoroughly revised my lists based largely on Ken Davenport's publication Butterflies of southern California in 2018: updating Emmel and Emmel's 1973 Butterflies of southern California. I've omitted butterflies listed in Ken's book that are outside my definition of southern California, such as those in Tulare Co. and Death Valley, as well as most non-resident strays, and extirpated or extinct taxa. My northern boundary is the nearly-straight trio of northern county lines from San Luis Obispo to Kern and San Bernardino counties.

Feel free to e-mail me: denbugg @t hotmail dot com.

 

butterfly photo

 

Acknowledgments

Thanks to everyone for all the help and encouragement I've received over the years. Special thanks to John F. Emmel, Gordon Pratt, Ken Davenport, Jim Brock, Bill Gendron, Joe Zarki, Fred Heath, Koji Shiraiwa, John Pasko, Chris Henzlik, Mark Walker, David Horner and Andrew Kim for particularly valuable help with identifications, locations, suggestions, etc. Now that I am occasionally adding original descriptions and information about types to my pages, the work of Jonathan Pelham has been absolutely invaluable and his catalogue has been a favorite, much-appreciated resource. This website wouldn't exist without the help of a lot of dedicated people who have shared some of their hard-won knowledge, and I feel deeply indebted to them all.

Since April 2007.

Guide to CST

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