Butterflies in El Dorado County, California
From trips to Traverse Creek, Iron Mountain Road, Carson Pass, and Wrights Lake, plus a few from the Yosemite area. Even if a photo was taken elsewhere, all of these species are listed as flying in El Dorado County. I will add that some are easily found, and some seem to avoid showing up anywhere near where I go looking. I try to visit different habitats but I see lots of the same characters and am stumped by how I'm missing so many? But I think that's part of the fun; If you could go to a butterfly zoo and see everything at once, that would take away the fun of finding the unexpected. At least that's what I’m currently telling myself.
Identifications were made with what I think is the best butterfly book for our area: Butterflies through Binoculars.
Five groups: Skippers | Brushfoots | Gossamer Wings | True Butterflies | White or Yellow
Click the thumbnail to see a larger image; √=identification verified by Arthur Shapiro, and all scientific name links go to the appropriate page on his website when possible, else to ButterfliesandMoths.com.
Hesperidae (Skippers)
Nyphalidae (Brushfoots)
√ Edith's CheckerspotEuphydryas editha
Note: rollover to read:E. editha is distinguished from E. chalcedona by the lack of white, off-center abdominal spots, and usually much black on the lower half of the antenna clubs.
QueenDanaus gilippus
Note: rollover to read:This was taken in Yuma but one was seen at Donner on August 23, 2008; a Southwest bug, maybe one will eventually fly into EDC airspace!
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Lycaenidae (Gossamer-Wing Butterflies)
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Papilionidae (True Butterflies)
Pipevine Swallowtail (f)Battus philenor
Females have white spots on the lower edge of the forewing.
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Pieridae (White or Yellow Butterflies)
...and I continue looking for more.
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