Butterflies Archives - The Source

An Extraordinary Event of Summer

Tortoiseshells and other butterflies are welcome visitors in Central Oregon

Jim AndersonJuly 17, 2019July 16, 2025

Oh, boy, are we having fun! Right now, during these warm first weeks of July, the California tortoiseshell butterfly, one of the more dashing of the nymphalids, is popping out by the hundreds of thousands—if not millions —in the foothills of the Cascades, known as the Skyline Forest. This beautiful butterfly has been flitting around […]

Outside

Why Count Butterflies?

Pretty pollinators play a key role in ecosystems

Jim AndersonAugust 10, 2016August 16, 2023

Over the last couple of months, my wife, Sue—a long-time member of the North American Butterfly Association (NABA) and student of the beauty and ecology of butterflies—has conducted several butterfly counts in the region. She counts them because their numbers are vital to knowing what’s going on in our world, and she loves to teach […]

Outside

The Monarch Miracle, Part Two

Jim AndersonMay 18, 2016August 16, 2023

Since the recent story I wrote on the plight of the monarch butterfly in which I encouraged the residents of Central Oregon to create monarch waystations, I’ve been reminded by more than one person that I left out a couple of salient facts about the life history of monarchs: time and metamorphosis. Thus, regarding the […]

Outside

Plight of the Monarchs

Jim AndersonMay 4, 2016October 23, 2024

Monarch butterflies, once found throughout North America in the billions, are in the news because the species is faltering, and according to several insect specialists, is threatened with extinction. Adult monarchs do not hibernate; they MUST migrate to southern climes where they winter over in enormous numbers. Therefore, thousands of monarchs found in the eastern […]

Outside

Float Like a Butterfly

It’s the season to count Checkerspots, Buckeyes and Swallowtails

Jim AndersonJuly 16, 2014July 17, 2024

For 28 years, my wife Sue, our family, and her team of volunteer helpers, have been counting butterflies in Central Oregon for the North American Butterfly Association (NABA). The season begins with the Ochoco Count in late June, when the team conducts a day-long search in a 15-mile circle that includes Big Summit Prairie, east […]

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