University:
Washington State University
Course:
ENTOM 101 | Insects and People: A Perspective
Academic year:

2020
Views:

455

Pages:

1
Author:

Athena Harrison

Some of the Most Common Butterflies of the Pacific Northwest The following set of pictures depicts some of the most common butterflies in thePacific Northwest. These butterflies are frequently submitted to the Puyallup Plant Clinic.While some of these adult butterflies are familiar to the public, the caterpillars (larvae) are virtually unknown to most people. Even many entomologists have trouble identifying larvae, since so few information sources and images are available to assist in connecting immature forms with the adult forms. In several cases when the association between life stages is certain, the pictures of larvae or pupae are included with the adult image on the fact sheet. Family Nymphalidae is the most abundant in diversity among the butterfly fauna. Butterflies are related to moths. The most reliable way to distinguish butterflies from moths is to examine their antennae. Butterflies display thread-like antennae that end with a slight knob. Moths, on the other hand, exhibit virtually every other antennal arrangement except that one. A third group of closely related insects are the skippers (Fig. 19). They have butterfly-like antennae, but the knobbed end curves into a slight hook. Fig. 1. A tiger swallowtail (family Papillionidae). Several species of these butterflies dwell in our area. By A.L. Antonelli. Fig. 2. A swallowtail pupa. By A.L. Antonelli.