Caterpillars

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Skipper

Identifying features:  Large butterfly with yellow wings, black markings and two tails at the bottom of the lower wing.

This is the largest of our butterflies, the females tend to be paler than the males. The most common species in our area is the Western Tiger Swallowtail.  Females of this species scatter their eggs, laying them one at a time on Big-leaf maples, Willows, and Cottonwoods.  The larvae are green and the front end is larger than the rear and has a false eye which the caterpillar hopes will scare away birds. If that does not work it has a small structure on its back which can spew a liquid which is nasty to smell and taste.   There are three species of Swallowtail in the lowlands, The Western tiger, the Pale and the Anise.  The males fly back and forth in an area searching for females.  Swallowtails often congregate around puddles, absorbing micronutrients from the wet soil.  In our area Swallowtails start showing up in late May but they are most abundant around the 4th of July.  They can live for 4 or more months, one of the longest lived of the butterflies.
 

Identifying features: Black butterfly with row of  large white spots and orange wing tips.

This is a summer butterfly although a warm spring may bring them out earlier. They are generalists in habitat although they typically lay their eggs on willows, laying one egg at a time on the very tip of a willow or cottonwood leaf.  The small greenish tan caterpillars build little piers of silk off the leaf  which soon become thick with frass. 

Identifying features: Dark brown wings with a broad cream colored edge which is bordered by blue ovals.

This is another early spring butterfly, it overwinters in tree bark and emerges on sunny warm days as early as late March.  Eggs are lain on Willows, maples, roses, apples and many other trees and shrubs.  Mourning cloaks sometimes gather sap from sapsucker wells and in the fall can sometimes be found in great numbers on fallen apples.

Identifying features: Orange wings with a pattern of spots and bars.

There are many species of Fritillary in our region, but only a couple are commonly seen in the lowlands.  Fritillaries lay their eggs on violets, such as the yellow or purple violets and some garden violets as well.  The caterpillar is small and black.

Identifying features: Orange butterfly with large black markings on the forward edge of the front wing with a dark border around the whole wing.

This butterfly overwinters as adults in our area and can be some of the first butterflies to appear in the early spring. These butterflies can have large population explosions and this causes this butterfly to migrate in sometimes spectacular numbers over the mountains into our area.  They lay their eggs on plants of the genus Ceanothus,  and so it is not likely that they breed in our area.

Identifying features: Orange winged butterfly with very jagged edges to the wings. Underside of wings brown with small white comma.

Identifying features:  Orange butterfly with large black area on wingtips with white spots, black border on lower wing with black spots above the border.

This is an uncommon butterfly in WA but more common south of the Columbia River,  showing up occasionally on lilacs and butterfly bush in gardens.  Eggs are lain on Pearly everlasting. Most often seen in August and September, sometimes very faded and worn.

Identifying features: Small brown butterfly with two wing pairs, one often held at a V-shaped angle, hairy body.

Skippers get their name from their bouncing flight pattern. They fly in the warm summer months and especially congregate on garden Lavender plants.  The eggs are laid on grasses or sedges, sometimes the larvae curl the leaf to make a small shelter of silk where they feed and then pupate.  There are many kinds of skippers but most of them prefer drier habitats.  The Woodland skipper is the most common in our area, but there are at least 3 other species that can be found in our wetside meadows: The field skipper which is found south of the Columbia River, the Sonoran Skipper, and the Dun Skipper.

Identifying features: Small blue butterfly with black dots on the underside of the wing.

These are among the smallest butterflies in our area and emerge and fly starting on the first warm days of April and sometimes as early as March. They lay their eggs on a wide variety of plants including Red osier dogwood and Red Elderberry. They most often lay eggs on or near the flower buds.  The larvae of early spring may produce a second generation of adults, the later larvae will over winter in cocoon on a branch.  There are many kinds of blues, the most common in the lowlands include the Silvery blue and the Western tailed blue, which has small little tails coming off the bottom of the lower wing.

Identifying features: White butterflies with various amounts of black spots or markings on the wings

These butterflies are common in gardens and flowery meadows. Cabbage whites  often have one or two distinct dots on each wing and lay their eggs on members of the Brassica family, with a special fondness for Broccoli.  Other common whites in our area include the Pine white, the Western White and the Margined white.

Identifying features: Small brownish butterfly with purple hues on the upperside of the wing towards the body. A band of orange at the edge of the lower wing.

This small brown butterfly is part of a large group known generically as coppers.  The females lay eggs starting in June on Knotweed and Dock, often laying eggs on the lower stem or in the leaf litter of the ground. There are two generations each year, the latter generation overwinters as eggs.  These butterflies are often low to the ground.

Identifying features: Pale green moth with checkered fringe around the wings.

You find this moth most often under house lights.  The colors fade as it ages. The larvae are brown and stick-looking inch worms and can be found in the fall and spring, the larvae over winter. In may they pupate and the adult emerges in July.  Host plants include  Blackberry, Beaked Hazelnut, red flowering currant. and willow.

Identifying features: Dark gray-black wings with red margins on the edges and red spots. The hind wings are almost entirely red when open.

This is an introduced moth, the caterpillar feeds on Tansy ragwort, a noxious weed.

Identifying features: Large, pale fuzzy moth with spotted wings and a yellow fuzzy abdomen.

Adults are found in forests and forest edges, like most moths readily come to porch lights. They fly in July and August.

Identifying features:  Stout, hairy, with brown and gray camouflage pattern on wings

This is a typical example of a family of moths called the Noctuidae. There are many kinds, they often have gray and brown patterned wings which enable them to disappear when they land on tree bark.  Because of their large size and slow flying these are a favorite of the local bats.

Identifying features:  Stout bodied moth, green wings with black lines, checkered fringe.

This moth is an invader from Europe.  The caterpillar which emerges in April eats the flowers and leaves of apple trees and other rose family plants. 

Identifying features:  Ghostly white, sometimes pale green  with butterfly-like wings.

This is a moth of deciduous forests, often it stands out with its pale colors. Larva are inch worms, brown and well camouflaged, they feed on Willows, Red alder and Beaked hazelnut.  larvae are found in April and May, adults fly in July and August.

Identifying features: Triangular outline, brown and tan bands, lands with wings flat, pointed head.

These moths are not  the ones which damage clothes and carpets but a group which has banded wings and lands with their wings flat to the surface they land on.  The inch worm caterpillars eat a variety of types of leaf. 

Identifying features:  Stout moth, golden brown with black spots, thorax behind head furry.

This is the adult form of the well known and loved Wooly bear caterpillar. Adult moths emerge in July and can be found at lights.   The caterpillars are commonly seen, especially in fall.  They can be active even in Jan and February and have a built in anti-freeze which allows them to emerge during winter dry days. The caterpillars have a protective oil on their hairs which can cause irritation if you handle one and then rub your eyes or if you have particularly sensitive skin. They feed on Plantains, dandelions and lupines.