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Butterflies of the Upper Fraser Basin

Butterflies on the Upper Fraser Basin - pdf (10 megs)

This report is a pictorial summary of the 97 species of butterflies of the Upper Fraser River Basin, with a summary of the new information gathered as part of this project. Some highlights of the project include:

• first record for the central interior of the European Skipper (Thymelicus lineola, an introduced pest),
• second record for the central interior of the Thicket Hairstreak (Mitoura spinetorum),
• documentation of the range (100 Mile House to Fort St. James) of an unnamed subspecies of Western Elfin (Incisalia iroides),
• additional specimens of an unnamed subspecies of Square-spotted Blue (Euphilotes battoides) with a world distribution limited to a very small area near Riske Creek, and
• identification and documentation of an unnamed subspecies of Common Branded Skipper (Hesperia comma).

Prior to this study, three species, Jutta Arctic (Oeneis jutta), Dorcas Copper (Epidemia dorcas), and Atlantis Fritillary (Speyeria atlantis), were all thought to be rare in the central interior but were found to be quite common in association with wetlands.

The most notable range extensions identified during the project were published during 2002 in Boreus, the newsletter of the Entomological Society of British Columbia. Scientific papers are currently being prepared for publication in 2003 and 2004 naming the new subspecies and discussing some of the other new findings.

For further information on each butterfly please consult Butterflies of British Columbia (Guppy and Shepard 2001). If you are interested in obtaining a copy of you can order from the Royal Museum Shop.

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