First Successfull Butterfly Identification! Introducing, Ms Stella ...

I never knew identifying butterflies could be such a joy! After finding this amazing guide Butterflies of British Columbia by John Acorn and Ian Sheldon, I have begun painting and identifying the butterflies I find. There is hardly anything more enjoyable than identifying new plants and insect friends, learning about them, and being able to identify them easily.

And so, in celebration of my first ever successful capture and identification (and of course, kind release), I shall make a quick post! For documentation, and for the joy of sharing <3

Without further ado, I introduce to you all Ms Stella Orangetip! Otherwise known as Anthocharis stella or Pacific Orangetip;

This pretty butterfly is the kind I actually painted and showed off in my last post, but female. It seems to be a pretty common and easily recognized type, and a good introduction into Lepidopterology, the study of moths and butterflies.

I found her, and another one of her kind in our lawn that is blooming with dandelions. After chasing them both around a bit, I finally caught her! After about half a minute of frantic fluttering, she calmed down and we had a photo shoot on Ryans finger.

According to my guide, this beauty likes to flutter around in brushy forest clearings or alpine tundra, and flies in April and early summer in higher areas. Also, to distinguish her from the nearly identical Sara Orangetip, I found that the Stella prefers the habitat of the Interior of BC and the Rocky Mountains, whereas the Sara stays close to the coast. Since we indeed are in the Interior (the Okanagan specifically), I deduced this is the Stella Orangetip, as otherwise there are pretty much no clues to tell them apart at all, other then one has more of a green tinge, sometimes.... Yet they are separate species according to science by Hansjurg Geiger and Arthur Shapiro in 1986. I also learned that the caterpillars feed on Brassicas (particularly rock cress) so watch out broccoli! Luckily mine seem to be intact completely... and the adults don't eat them at all.

If you would like to learn more, check out this webpage at Butterflies and Moths!

Anyways, that is all for now, however I will be back later to share my adventures with lilac! Thank you as always for joining me on my explorations and adventures, it is always a pleasure, and I hope to see you soon!