I’ve seen and photographed Pale Swallowtails on Platanthera dilatata, but I can’t remember whether I’ve seen Western Tiger Swallowtails on them, although I well may have. The big swallowtails also like Aquilegia formosa and Delphiniums, plants with larger spurs that are too deep for the little guys.

Many butterflies seem happy to nectar on whatever is around, but there are some species that seem to favor certain plants. Horsemint (Agastache urticifolia) is invariably frequented by fritillaries. Whenever I’m lucky enough to see female great-spangled fritillaries, they are on mountain thistle (Cirsium remotifolium). Many of my photos of elfins are on Lomatiums, but that may just be because that is one of the few nectar plants out early in the spring. It is fascinating to watch butterflies and look for these associations. You might also want to look at my butterfly photo gallery (http://westerncascades.com/photos/butterflies/) where you’ll find additional photos, at least one for each species I’ve seen in the Western Cascades.

I rarely see Golden Hairstreaks far from chinquapins (Chrysolepis chrysophylla), so it was unusual to see them nectaring near the ground. They do, however, nectar on the chinquapins themselves. Their late summer emergence seems timed well for the unusually late bloom of the chinquapins in August and September.