The Latest

May 19, 2013 - Another trip to Catalina Island meant another search for the endemic Strymon avalona, the Avalon Scrub Hairstreak. Got it this time, just above Two Harbors.

May 11, 2013 - Thanks to a tip from Andrew Kim, I found the subspecies of Arrowhead Blue called "umbrosa" - Glaucopsyche piasus umbrosa - in good numbers in a patch of their host plant, Summer Lupine (Lupinus formosus).

March 9, 2013 - A surprise trio of Cloudless Sulphur larvae were wandering in my backyard looking for places to pupate. What made this interesting was that these were different from any of the scores of caterpillars of this species I've seen; they are the green form and very striking. It's amazing how different they are from the usual yellow form.

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 host plants, with links to pages I've created for each butterfly. Some of these are rarely seen and a few are even endangered species, and thus a challenge to find and photograph, but I've included them on the list if they fly in this region. In fact, the challenging 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 are 224 taxa that I've listed for our area (photos of 171 as of May 2013). The lists on this site are all of these butterflies - those I'd like to photograph that are in my area or a reasonable drive from where I live. My goal is eventually to see and photograph them all, as well as their host plants. Some that are rare or only occasionally stray into our area are common in Arizona, and I've included a few photographs from there.

Southern California is an incredibly diverse place to explore and enjoy the natural world. Mountain forests, beaches, wetlands, grasslands, deserts, meadows, even islands - all are within easy 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.

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

Acknowledgments

Thanks to John F. Emmel, Jim Brock, Ken Davenport, Bill Gendron, Gordon Pratt, Fred Heath, John Pasko and Chris Henzlik for all the invaluable help with identifications, locations, suggestions, etc. Any mistakes are my own.