Epargyreus clarus Silver-spotted Skipper

5 July to 11 August, common. Look for this large skipper in the vicinity of its local larval host plant, black locust (Robinia pseudo-acacia); nectaring observed on white sweet clover; lower road about 4 km west of the 7 mile dam has a vehicle pull-out area and nearby viewing of this species. An interesting story is that this easy to see species was unknown in the west Kootenay area until my arrival here in the spring of 1997. Besides finding it in the study area; I have seen it at my home, at the office in Castlegar, at Murphy Creek, flying across the highway between Genelle and Trail and also at the McDonalds restaurant in Trail. I also received a telephone report of this species at Nelson.

Erynnis icelus Dreamy Duskywing

9 May to 12 June. Common in areas with deciduous trees or shrubbery.

Erynnis pacuvius Pacuvius Duskywing

9 May to 5 July, uncommon. Watch for this species in the vicinity of Ceanothus plants. The species name is based on butterflies that occur in New Mexico. Our local butterflies do not look the same and range maps in Opler and Wright (1999) show a significant disjunction between nominate pacuvius and the putative subspecies lilius. So I am left wondering if we really have the species pacuvius in BC.

Erynnis persius Persius Duskywing

26 April to 21 July, common. This ‘species’ could easily be a ghost, at least in western North America, because a) it was described from extreme eastern North America and its continental range has a very suspicious discontinuity between eastern and western representatives, and b) the most recent ‘revision’ of Erynnis that I could find is Burns (1964). Surprisingly he did not revise this species but, to his credit, refers to the persius complex and makes the observation that "Obviously, without extensive biologic data, it is impossible to set the limits of any forms of the "persius" complex even approximately." So until someone musters the time, resources and intestinal fortitude to venture into this untrodden territory; we will continue to pretend that we have an Erynnis here that is the species persius but without really being at all sure that this is so. News Flash: As I am finishing this report; I hear from Don Lafontaine who kindly took a couple of interesting study area Erynnis to Washington for examination by John Burns. I asked for another opinion on these specimens because they look indistinguishable from the summer form of Erynnis afranius that I am familiar with from the Alberta prairies and they look nothing like the "normal" persius in this area. Based on genitalic characters, John places these as persius. But assuming that the genitalic features in fact have taxonomic significance; this resulted in some collegial musings about perhaps these being the real persius and the other more widespread phenotype in western Canada being something else again ! Stay tuned for further exciting developments as butterfly people try to sort this one out.

Pyrgus ruralis Two-banded Checkered Skipper

29 April to 23 May. Locally common along the road in early spring; this species flies earlier than the generally similar-looking Pyrgus communis, which helps with identification without resorting to netting of individuals.

Pyrgus communis Common Checkered Skipper

29 May to 2 August, uncommon. This species is known from relatively few locations in BC but can be regularly seen in the study area.

Carterocephalus palaemon Arctic Skipper

9 May to 9 July. Common but seems to seldom stray far from moist grassy forest or shrubbery; Layberry et al. (1998) state that only subspecies mandan occurs in North America. I do not agree with this because a) it is totally inconsistent with my own field observations in western Canada, and b) it is inconsistent with the perspective provided by Mattoon and Tilden (1998). In fact, there are five named subspecies in North America. One of these, mackenziei (Wyatt 1965), was treated as a synonym of mandan by Ferris (1989) and left with an unresolved status by Mattoon and Tilden - because they did not have the original description, did not know where the type locality was and consequently could not conduct a comparative review of topotypical material. It just so happens that I do have a copy of the original description and thus am able to report that Wyatt described a phenotype that is clearly not the same as mandan. So what does this have to do with this species in the study area ? Two things: the valley does not have subspecies mandan and some work is needed before a defensible subspecies assignment can be made.

Oarisma garita Garita Skipperling

21 June to 12 July. Common at the meadow near Tillicum Creek but very easy to overlook as it flits about among the tall grasses.

Hesperia comma Common Branded Skipper

5 July to12 September. I actually wrote the Hesperia accounts last because this is a group of species that is fraught with taxonomic and nomenclatural uncertainties. Hesperia taxonomy in western North America is very much an evolving scene which is not at all clear. Recent literature suggests I could be finding two species here and that the best names to use are those that you see before you. My preliminary observations on local study material support the idea of two species. At least you will see two phenotypes of Hesperia here: one that might fit best under the present concept of Hesperia comma but not under the subspecies name of manitoba. Review of the literature and a color image of the lectotype of manitoba provided by Don Lafontaine suggests that the name manitoba is inappropriate to use for these darker butterflies with a ventral hind wing that is distinctly shaggy in appearance and with a very sharply pointed fore wing. I have not yet found an existing name that is a really good fit with the appearance of these butterflies.

Hesperia colorado Western Branded Skipper

Also flying here during the same time window noted above is a phenotype that is smaller, paler on the dorsal surface and with a smooth light greenish ventral hind wing. These appear to fly more abundantly in August, whereas the previous phenotype is showing up more in July. These smaller, lighter, later morphs can be called colorado for the time being but the truth is that these butterflies are difficult to toss into existing taxonomic pigeon holes. This could mean that they are all one and the same amazingly variable species that flies in many habitats over a very long flight period but could also mean we have not yet established the right pigeon holes. These two Hesperia are not uncommon in the valley but they seemingly fly at the speed of sound when it is warm and they are usually difficult to net for close examination.

Polites mystic Long Dash Skipper

12 & 13 July. Uncommon and most likely to be seen in moist grassy areas.

Atalopedes campestris Sachem

9 July. This species is only known from a few records in Canada because it is a migrant rather than resident species.

Ochlodes sylvanoides Woodland Skipper

13 July to 12 September, abundant, in fact more than abundant. In 1999 I witnessed huge swarms of this skipper in the study area and other locations in the west Kootenay area; they avidly puddle and nectar or perch on flower heads including knapweed.

Amblyscirtes vialis Roadside Skipper

9 May to 12 July. Common but you will need to look closely to see this very small dark skipper.

Parnassius smintheus Smintheus Parnassian

8 & 20 July, rare. Breeds at higher elevations where stonecrop grows in patches but wandering individuals can be seen in the study area.

Papilio zelicaon Anise Swallowtail

29 April to 1 August, common. Like the other swallowtails, it can be seen puddling. This species seems to spend more time flying close to the ground in comparison to the other swallowtails and its dark wing bases make it easy to identify at a distance.

Papilio rutulus Western Tiger Swallowtail

21 May to 1 August, common. It is impossible to separate from the next species unless viewed closely.

Papilio multicaudatus Two-tailed Swallowtail

	21 May to 24 July, common. It must be seen closely to separate it from the preceding species. No subspecies have been recognized in this species until recently. If you want to hang a subspecies name on loc
	al populations; it would be pusillus (Austin and Emmel 1998b).

Papilio eurymedon Pale Swallowtail

9 May to 24 July, common. The whitish appearance makes it easy to identify at considerable distances.

Neophasia menapia Pine White

17 August, rare. I only found it once but it is likely to be more abundant. This species spends much time up in the pines, not down at human eye level; look up, look way up !

Pontia beckerii Becker's White

8 August. Definitely rare and it may be a visitor to the study area rather than a regular resident.

Pontia occidentalis Western White

28 May to 22 August, uncommon. This species is more easily encountered at higher elevation hill tops.

Pieris marginalis Margined White

17 April to11 September, common. Under very warm conditions I most often saw this species in and near shaded areas. See the Discussion section story of the phantom white. The study area sports butterflies which fall within the subspecies reicheli and also those that match the description of the summer form pallidissima of the subspecies mcdunnoughi. These pallidissima phenotypes are not to be confused with the white summer broods of reicheli - because they are also present in the spring ! This is a most curious situation without a definitive answer. One unproved interpretation is to treat this as individual variation while another, equally unproved interpretation is to view these phenotypes as distinct species.

Pieris rapae Cabbage White

26 April to 12 September. It was abundant during the hot, dry summer of 1998 but uncommon in the cool wet season of 1999. Most butterflies appear to be less active when it is really hot but this species gets very active and flies considerably faster in the heat. No need to visit the study area for this butterfly; just check your garden in the summer. It is that critter some people refer to as the "cabbage moth".

Euchloe ausonides Large Marble

21 to 28 May. Uncommon in the past and has not been recorded in recent years.

Anthocharis stella Stella Orangetip

17 April to 11 June. It is abundant in the spring and very easy to identify by its highly visible orange wing tips. Study area Anthocharis are quite variable. Some specimens resemble the Sierra Nevada phenotypes of stella; while others fit nicely into a study series of the subspecies browningi which was described from Utah. At this time it is impossible to say with certainty whether the study area population is simply showing a high level of individual variablity or the differing phenotypes have taxonomic significance. Taxonomy of the Anthocharis ‘sara’ complex in western North America is under active debate and it is unclear at this time how things will play out in terms of recognizing one or more than one species.

Colias philodice Clouded Sulphur

9 May to 12 September. This species was abundant in 1998 but only common in 1999. Available literature suggests I should report the butterflies I found here as subspecies eriphyle. But Edwards (1876) described eriphyle as a species distinct from C. philodice. I see butterflies here that agree with the concept of eriphyle and those that agree with nominate philodice. Maybe this is proof that they are the same species after all but then maybe it proves the opposite. I am not aware of any published data that necessarily supports either interpretation. The name eriphyle has bounced around in the literature as either a full species, a subspecies of philodice, or as a subspecies of eurytheme. But then it was not that many years ago when the literature treated both philodice and eurytheme as one species. Additional work on this group is certainly in order.

Colias eurytheme Orange Sulphur

21 May to 12 September, abundant in 1998 but uncommon in 1999. The best place to view this and the preceding species in numbers is at the alfalfa field beside the road near Waneta Dam, but it is best to time your visit when the alfalfa is in flower and before it is mowed.

Colias alexandra Queen Alexandra's Sulphur

12 June to 26 July, uncommon. Seldom previously reported from the west Kootenay area; this is another local butterfly that does not want to cooperate with what contemporary literature says it should look like - but because other researchers are actively working on this one and it is top secret; I cannot say more.

Lycaena heteronea Blue Copper

12 June to 12 July. Uncommon in the study area, where it is most likely to be seen near the Eriogonum plants in the Waneta Dam area. It is common at higher elevations in the west Kootenay area and will fly considerable distance to puddle; A brief scan of recent literature (Emmel and Pratt 1998), coupled with personal field work in southern BC and southern Alberta suggests that there may be another "taxonomic rat" lurking in the weeds. Future literature that you see may use the name heteronea for these butterflies but then again it may not. The mere fact that two butterflies are generally bluish on top and generally whitish underneath does not necessarily mean that they are the same subspecies or same species. It is the assumption that superficial similarity necessarily equates to one species that sits behind the stories of the phantom white and phantom blue later in this report.

Lycaena helloides Purplish Copper

9 May to 12 September. Likely common but the taxonomic issues and lack of time to fully curate study material makes this a wild guess only. Western North American representatives of the helloides and dorcas complexes are in need of further research. Various workers have placed western mountain populations either as subspecies of dorcas or as subspecies of helloides (eg. Ferris 1977, Scott 1978). Unless I have missed something in the literature; it appears that past work has suffered from the starting assumption that there are only two species. It is equally plausible that there are more than two species in the western range of this group of Lycaena. All that I can say about the present study area (and other parts of southern BC) at this time, is that there are too many individuals with florus/dorcas characteristics showing up in study samples to write them off as aberrant helloides specimens without further investigation. Even the nominal species helloides needs some attention. A scan of 14 butterfly books shows that helloides supposedly occurs from sea level to high elevations in mountains, in a vast array of ecosystems and across a large area of North America. Depending on the book you consult; you will be informed that the ventral hind wing is ochre or pale violet brown or gray or dull yellowish brown or pinkish tan or light tan or orange brown or warm gray ochre or yellow ochre or orangish ochre. You can be forgiven for wondering if these descriptions all refer to the same species.

Lycaena nivalis Lilac-bordered Copper

1 August. More than one record is certainly available but given the large number of interesting phenotype shenanigans in Pend-d’Oreille butterflies, I have not had time to properly curate all study material. Newcomer (1963) provided an interesting overview of this nominal species. Dornfeld (1980) commented on two phenotypes. Mostly I agree with the comment made by Ferris and Brown(1981) where they refer to "the chaos that is presently nivalis". Study area material and material from other areas of the west Kootenay area does not agree with browni (dos Passos 1938) or bichroma (Emmel and Pratt 1998). Nor does it agree entirely with nominate nivalis, warnermontana (Emmel and Pratt 1998) or praetexta (Austin 1998); although they appear to be allied with this latter group. The available literature suggests there are two basic phenotypes of the nominal species nivalis: one with a strongly bicolored ventral hind wing and one that has a ventral hind wing that is weakly bicolored or even not bicolored at all. This deliberately simple and partial characterization of nivalis phenotypes should not cause you to view this as a simple color morph issue. But I do not think these are subspecies at all since there is no published evidence to support such an approach and I have found two phenotypes flying sympatrically at Phoenix ski hill near Greenwood. Sympatric occurrence of two phenotypes has also been reported by Dornfeld (1980) and Hinchliff (1994,1996). Sympatric occurrence of two dramatically different phenotypes normally suggests that species rather than subspecies may be at play. Possible host plant differences also support this line of thinking. Polygonum douglasii is reported as the host plant for the phenotype with the strongly bicolored ventral hindwing. But in BC this species is red or blue listed (depending on subspecies) and I have not seen Polygonum in most places where I have found the local phenotype. A candidate host plant for these butterflies is a plant that looks suspiciously like Rumex acetosa ssp alpestris. Thus, it may be that BC actually has two species presently placed under the nominal species nivalis. It is also interesting to note that Jones (1951) reported nivalis as present in the Kootenay area, even though this has not been reported in more recent literature.

Lycaena mariposa Mariposa Copper

7 July &1 August. Only seen a couple of times but this species seems to be abundant at higher elevations nearby.

Satyrium californicum California Hairstreak

7 June to 20 July. Few records but interesting insofar as this one was not previously known east of the Grand Forks area. Other writers have speculated that this nominal species may be a species complex or stated that revision is needed, so do not be surprised if in the future you see this BC butterfly surface with a shiny new name. James Scott advises that he has found these butterflies to be conspicuous during the daily mate-locating period which in his area was late afternoon. So maybe the difficulty in seeing some hairstreaks has to do with not looking for them at the right time of day.

Satyrium sylvinum Sylvan Hairstreak

5 & 13 July. Few records but since some hairstreaks seem to spend more time walking about in the shrubbery than flying where observers can see them, any abundance assessment is pure conjecture - certainly they are not very ‘observable’. The subspecies name nootka has recently been provided by M. Fisher in Scott (1998b).

Satyrium saepium Hedgerow Hairstreak

12 June to 2 August, common. This hairstreak is far more cooperative with butterfly watchers and is more frequently visible while perching on shrubs or visiting flowers.

Satyrium titus Coral Hairstreak

20 June to 2 August, common and frequently seen. A small hill top above Waneta Dam is a good place to find 5 species of hairstreaks - and test your eyesight as well.

Callophrys affinis Immaculate Green Hairstreak

21 May, rare. Not seen in recent years; this and the next species may have been adversely affected by the knapweed invasion.

Callophrys sheridanii Sheridan's Hairstreak

21 May, rare. If you want to see this and the preceding species, just hang around Eriogonum patches in the spring.

Callophrys rosneri Rosner’s Hairstreak

26 April to12 July. This small hairstreak is certainly common but understandably difficult to see high up in the western red cedar trees which it uses as a larval host plant. Best to loiter near cedars where there are flowers and wait for them to come down to eye level for nectar.

Callophrys augustinus Brown Elfin

22 April to 5 July. Common, especially near Ceanothus plants. The nominal species Callophrys augustinus is another taxon that needs considered research to determine if it really is only one species or if some of the named subspecies are in fact distinct species. Southern BC material is usually placed in the subspecies iroides. Unfortunately the material I collected in the study area and nearby Columbia River valley does not agree with the syntype illustrated by Emmel et al. (1998a). Neither do they agree with the description of iroides provided by Dornfeld (1980). I compared local specimens with study material from the general area where the neotype of nominate augustinus was collected (dos Passos 1943) to see if the nominate subspecies name could be used here. What I discovered was that the readily observable phenotypic differences are highly suggestive of species level differences. All I can say with certainty is that local butterflies are generally similar to the nominal species augustinus as presently constructed in the literature but they do not fit the description of either nominate augustinus nor subspecies iroides.

Callophrys polios Hoary Elfin

22 April, rare, not seen in recent years. Look for this butterfly early in the spring in the vicinity of its larval host plant, bearberry (Arctostaphyos uva-ursi). I may have accidentally violated the rules of zoological nomenclature by calling this polios rather than polia. If so, I may be shot at sunrise by the name police. But seriously; I do recognize that names should be standardized - if for no other reason than the advent of those dumb computers that think the words polios and polia in a database are different species.

Callophrys eryphon Western Pine Elfin

9 May to 11 June. Common but this is another species that spends much time higher up in the trees. Pines are used as host plants.

Strymon melinus Gray Hairstreak

24 April to 12 September. Abundant and easy to see because it is fairly active. Seemingly multi-brooded, with freshly emerged individuals to be found from early spring to late summer.

Everes comyntas Eastern Tailed Blue

13 May to11 September. Another local species that has been overlooked in the past. It was previously only known in BC from a few specimens collected some years ago in the East Kootenay area. I have found it to be common in the study area and have also found it at Brilliant and Genelle. Dyar (1904) suggests it was found at Kaslo at the turn of the century. The plot thickens however, when one realizes that at least these local butterflies do not look the same as eastern specimens. In fact the level of phenotypic difference I see is consistent with the level of difference in two species of Everes in Europe. Fortunately, the chaos that is Everes in North America is under study by Jeffrey Oliver so we can remain hopeful that the present taxonomy based on assumptions and opinions will either be confirmed as a wise choice or amended with a foundation of substantive data, clear thinking and field work. This butterfly and the next one are presently suffering from the unproved assumption that there are only two species of Everes to contend with and everything that we see must be slotted into one pigeon hole or the other.

Everes amyntula Western Tailed Blue

12 June to 26 July. Apparently uncommon but this may simply be an untrue impression due to not spending enough time in the right habitat during the flight season. This species is single brooded here, whereas the Eastern Tailed Blue is at least two brooded and may even be three brooded here based on flight dates.

Celastrina ‘echo’ Western Azure

17 April to 22 July. See the story of the phantom blue in the discussion section of this report for more fascinating information on the taxonomy and nomenclature of this butterfly. Recent literature reports Celastrina ladon nigrescens as the subspecies to be expected here and Celastrina ladon echo west of the Okanagan. However, I know from personal field work and viewing of specimens collected by Dave Threatful that the taxa nigrescens and echo are not the same species as the more northerly Celastrina ladon lucia. I have been advised that yet to be published electrophoretic data lends support to the obvious phenotypic differences. Pavulaan (1995) and Nielsen (1999) have correctly separated the taxa ladon and lucia as full species so we cannot justifiably use ladon as the species name for our western Celastrina. Wright (1995) presents observations that indicate true ladon is a uniquely eastern North American beast. More work needs to be done of course but my preliminary observations point to the possible presence in the study area of two species of Celastrina: a single brooded phenotype for which the name nigrescens is available; and a double brooded phenotype apparently related to the western ‘echo’ group of Celastrina. Since the ‘echo' phenotype is not the same as nominate echo; the use of this name is a matter of not having a definitive name available and once the necessary work has been done, it may be that the name bakeri (Clench 1944) will appear in the future as the best name to use either as a subspecies or as a species.

Euphilotes battoides Square-spotted Blue

21 May to 3 June, local and uncommon. This is another species to watch for around Eriogonum patches.

Glaucopsyche piasus Arrowhead Blue

21 to 29 May, rare. So far only found at lupines in the Waneta Dam area.

Glaucopsyche lygdamus Silvery Blue

24 April to 30 May; a common spring species where lupines grow; the work of Dirig and Cryan (1991) combined with my personal observations in western Canada suggest that there are potentially profitable avenues of research to be pursued and that the notion of a nominal species lygdamus in western Canada may not be the reality of the future. At least my observations do not agree with placement of all populations under the subspecies name couperi as suggested by Layberry et al. (1998).

Lycaeides idas Northern Blue

23 July, rare. It is unclear if the one individual wandered down from higher elevations to puddle or if there is an as yet unknown breeding population in the study area. The single specimen collected is representative of what is treated in the literature as subspecies atrapraetextus of the species idas. But atrapraetextus was originally described as a distinct species. My preliminary observations based on local field work in the west Kootenay area and Okanagan highlands suggest that distinct species status could be correct. Work is underway to formally reconsider the best taxonomic placement. It seems Nabokov (1949) decreed that atrapraetextus is a subspecies rather than a species but darned if I can find any evidence in his paper to support that view. Layberry et al. (1998) suggest that I should use the subspecies name ferniensis for the butterfly I found in the study area and also for other southern BC populations. All I can say at this time is that my recent field studies strongly suggest that the situation is considerably more complex than this. In fact I have begun exploring the hypothesis that rather than one subspecies, there could be three full species.

Plebejus saepiolus Greenish Blue

12 June to 23 July, uncommon in 1998 but common in 1999. Look for this widespread species wherever low clovers grow.

Icaricia icarioides Boisduval’s Blue

13 May to 5 July. Common where the lupines grow.

Icaricia lupini Lupine Blue

13 May to 12 June. Common where its host plant, Eriogonum, grows. Note the ridiculous common name for this butterfly that does not feed on lupines. The subspecies present in the study area has historically been viewed as a subspecies of I. acmon. Scott (1998) has reassigned the subspecies lutzi to the species lupini. I agree with this change; as do Opler and Wright (1999).

Speyeria leto Leto Fritillary

20 June to 12 September. A common, large and colorful species that is easy to see in the summer; especially while it is nectaring on thistles or knapweed flowers. This western butterfly has been treated as a subspecies of the distinctly different eastern species S. cybele ever since dos Passos and Grey (1947) presented this interpretation - without supporting rationale. Layberry et al. (1998) suggest this should be reconsidered. In fact I looked into this, both in the field and in specimen collections, many years ago. More recently Ted Pike of Calgary, Alberta has looked for evidence to support the traditional taxonomy and so has Steve Kohler in Montana. We have not been able to find any support for treating leto as a subspecies of cybele so it seems kind of silly to keep using an arrangement published in a list more than 50 years ago when there is no contemporary evidence in support of the old arrangement.

Speyeria zerene Zerene Fritillary

4 July to12 September. Common, but presence of two phenotypes here and elsewhere in southern BC, southern Alberta and western Montana leaves me with an uneasy feeling about the adequacy of present taxonomy. This phenomenon has also been noticed by Ted Pike and Steve Kohler. At the very least it creates difficulty in providing coherent descriptions for beginning butterfly students.

Speyeria atlantis Atlantis Fritillary

26 July and 1 August. Uncommon and more likely to be seen in moister habitats and higher elevations in this area.

Speyeria hesperis Northwestern Fritillary

5 July to 1 August. Uncommon and like the previous species this one may also find the study area climate unappealing at lower elevations.

Speyeria hydaspe Hydaspe Fritillary

21 June to 8 August. Common but not nearly so in comparison to moister forest areas nearby.

Boloria selene Silver-bordered Fritillary

9 May to 19 August, common but very local. It is two brooded, with a spring flight and a summer flight. Look for this butterfly in very moist areas without a tree canopy.

Boloria epithore Pacific Fritillary

23 May to 7 July, uncommon. This is a very characteristic moist forest species in southern BC and since I tend to not spend much time in moist shaded forests, it took many years before I finally saw this species in BC. So why do I avoid moist shaded forest when I am looking for butterflies ? Well because – they are pathetic in terms of butterfly diversity. But do not accuse me of dumping on such habitats because I do know that they contain many other fascinating plant and animal groups.

Chlosyne palla Northern Checkerspot

12 June to 2 August, common. Modern literature assigns material from southern BC to the subspecies calydon, described from Colorado. Both calydon and nominate palla (from California) are reported to have cream to yellow colored bands on the ventral hind wing. Examination of study area specimens and specimens from other southern BC localities reveals that some do fit this description but also reveals that many specimens have a distinctly clean white to silvered white banding on the ventral hind wing. No defensible explanation can be offered for this curious phenomenon at this time. Individual variability or differences with taxonomic implications; take your pick.

Phyciodes cocyta Pearl Crescent

13 May to 22 August. Abundant wherever asters grow.

Phyciodes pulchella Field Crescent

9 May to 20 June. Common but not as widespread as the previous species. If you look at various books you will see that this butterfly has been victimized by nomenclatural football precipitated by people prying into old literature and applying the rules of nomenclature. One older name you will see is campestris. Another, more recent, name that appears is pratensis. A few years ago, Scott (1994) plumbed the depths of the old name sewer, did a very comprehensive investigation, applied the rules and concluded that pulchella is the correct name to use. I recently reviewed the differing views again. Without boring you with all the sordid details; I concluded that Scott’s analysis is compelling and appears to be compliant with the rules. I will, of course, cheerfully eat crow and change my mind on this name issue if a more compelling case can be brought to my attention. Local populations have been assigned to the subspecies owimba (Scott 1998a).

Phyciodes mylitta Mylitta Crescent

29 April to 12 September, common and widespread. It seems to be at least two brooded here.

Euphydryas anicia Anicia Checkerspot

9 May to 20 July, abundant. This and the next "pseudospecies" can be seen very abundantly during their peak flight, especially in puddling areas.

Euphydryas chalcedona Chalcedona Checkerspot

This is not a definitive taxonomic assignment; rather it is a communications assignment to alert the reader to the fact that you will see two phenotypes of Euphydryas here - one that fits nicely into the species concept of anicia and another that agrees nicely with the taxon Euphydryas chalcedona wallacensis. Four butterfly people have examined study material and opinions are evenly divided between those who see one species and those who see two species. The taxonomy of the Euphydryas anicia/chalcedona complex in North America is a Gordian Knot of epic proportions. The final word has not yet been said on whether the various taxa and populations are best viewed as one, two or more than two species. And then I see a two month flight period over a trifling elevation range and continue to wonder.

Polygonia satyrus Satyr Comma

17 April to12 September, common. Watch for this and the other Polygonia sitting on the road and loitering about streamside areas. If you want to find caterpillars of this butterfly; check out the stinging nettle patches - but carefully. Cris Guppy tells me that the caterpillars hang out in leaves that are folded over and hanging downward.

Polygonia faunus Green Comma

29 March to 30 August, common. A widespread species about which I cannot think of anything interesting to say except that subspecies level variation in North America does not seem to have been adequately documented.

Polygonia gracilis Hoary Comma

29 March to11 September, uncommon. Study area individuals are quite grey on the ventral surface and thus best wear the subspecies name zephyrus. I hasten to add however, that regional phenotypes from different parts of the range of this species in North America, and even in BC, are quite dramatically different. These have never been fully described or illustrated so by all means have fun getting published illustrations to always neatly agree with the butterflies you see in various areas.

Polygonia oreas Oreas Comma

29 May, rare. Only seen once.

Nymphalis vau-album Compton Tortoiseshell

17 April to11 September. Recent research suggests that the genus name for this butterfly should be Roddia. Some researchers have suggested that the species name is a nomen nudum but this matter remains to be fully elucidated. This butterfly experiences episodes of unusual abundance, such as in 1999 when it was exceedingly abundant and hundreds could be seen along short stretches of forest roads. Highway carnage was also visible in a number of areas in the west Kootenay area.

Nymphalis californica California Tortoiseshell

20 July to 12 September, uncommon. This species appears to be a regular migrant to the valley.

Nymphalis antiopa Mourning Cloak

11 April to 23 July, common. This species and some other large nymphalids like the Polygonia have an interesting life cycle. Unlike most temperate area butterflies that spend the cold months in egg, larval or pupal stages; these have a natural antifreeze in their system which allows them to over winter as adults. The adults then emerge early in the spring to mate and continue the life cycle.

Nymphalis milberti Milbert's Tortoise Shell

11 May to 12 July. Uncommon in this warm dry area.

Vanessa cardui Painted Lady

21 June to 12 September. Common in 1998 but not seen in 1999. This species is known for its migrations from more southerly areas. Literature suggests this may be on a more or less 7 to 10 year cycle (see for example Myres 1985). It has even been known to experience population blooms sufficient for the caterpillar frass to contaminate crops (Byers et al.1984).

Limenitis lorquini Lorquin's Admiral

11 June to 12 September, abundant. At least two brooded, this colorful species can be reliably seen in the study area.

Coenonympha california Western Ringlet

9 May to 13 July, common. This species has been variously listed as C. tullia or C. ampelos in the literature. My reasons for assigning the Pend-d’Oreille material to the species C. california are similar to deciding whether to use tullia or inornata during writing of Alberta Butterflies (Bird et al. 1995). There appears to be no evidence to support the notion that C. tullia is present throughout the entire range of ringlets in North America. A paper by Davenport (1941) is sometimes cited as evidence (most recently by Webster 1998) that we should call all our North American material tullia but this evidence seems to consist of a casual statement that the populations on the opposite sides of the Bering Strait "are hardly to be considered distinct". It is noteworthy that Davenport plainly states "… I have purposely neglected to separate the Coenonympha of the New World from those of the Old…". In fact, nothing has ever been published to connect these far northwestern populations with taxa such as inornata or ampelos. In the case of southern BC, Porter and Geiger (1988) provide compelling evidence that the butterfly previously treated as the species ampelos is in fact correctly placed as a subspecies of C. california.

Cercyonis pegala Common Wood Nymph

4 July to 12 September. This nominal species is also displaying some highly suspicious characteristics in the study area and elsewhere in southern BC. The name boopis has historically been used as the subspecies name of choice for southern BC. However, I reviewed relevant literature (Austin 1992; Brown 1965; Emmel et al.1998b; Hinchliff 1996) and comparative study material from Vancouver Island, northern BC and southern Alberta. This brief review has caused me to conclude that the best subspecies name to use for one of the pegala phenotypes of the study area is ariane - at least for those butterflies that have the appropriate features of brown coloration, striated ventral hind wing and multiple ocelli on the ventral hind wing. The situation is clouded by the sympatric presence of another pegala phenotype which is distinguished by its darker greyish brown appearance, less ocellated ventral hind wing and ‘smooth’, non-striated distal portion of the ventral hind wing. This interesting situation might only be an undocumented level of variability in the species but it could just as easily signify the presence of two species in the nominal species pegala.

Cercyonis sthenele Great Basin Wood Nymph

22 July. Hinchliff (1996) reports C. sthenele within a few miles of the study area in Washington State. So it is not surprising that this species would show up in Canada. What is interesting is that this butterfly is not subspecies paulus as reported by Hinchliff for Washington and Layberry et al. (1998) for other areas in BC. Austin and Emmel (1998a) have recently described subspecies sineocellata. A fresh study area male is an excellent fit in size and appearance with the holotype illustration in the original description. Austin and Emmel also point out that subspecies paulus is a Great Basin endemic. This, in conjunction with the advent of sineocellata, leaves the Okanagan and Fraser valley populations without a subspecies name. I know from personal field work in BC and Nevada that these populations are not the same as paulus. The Cercyonis populations of the study area are fiendishly interesting. I must confess that I almost missed this interesting situation by assuming that there was "nothing interesting" going on with these butterflies. More research is needed.

Cercyonis oetus Small Wood Nymph

13 July and 7 August. Common in grassy openings at higher elevations but seldom seen in the valley bottom; Layberry et al. (1998) suggest that I should attach the subspecies name silvestris to this species, but once more I must respectfully differ because they do not look like silvestris and those people who have been studying silvestris in its homeland place it as a subspecies of sthenele (Emmel et al. 1998c).

Erebia epipsodea Common Alpine

9 May to 11 June, common. The genus common name ‘alpine’ is a misnomer for this species in Canada. Although it does fly in some high elevation areas it is predominantly a species of moist grasslands at low elevations. The subspecies hopfingeri was described from Okanagan County, Washington (Ehrlich 1954). Hinchliff (1996) shows this subspecies as being present adjacent to the study area, so this could be an appropriate subspecies name to use here. I have to be vague once again because I simply have not had time to do the necessary work to form a definitive personal opinion.