Butterflies of Oregon: an updated atlas

NOW AVAILABLE...if you are at all interested in the butterflies of Oregon, this is must-have book! It is jam-packed with information and extremely useful maps. It is a 2-volume set, sold together for $95 by the lead author, Jeffrey C. Miller. Because it is self-published, it is only available through him, details below. As a self-publishing author myself, I know how hard (and expensive) it is to produce something like this. This 2-volume set is well worth the price!

Volume 1 contains single-page profiles of each butterfly species known to occur in Oregon, with a map showing dot records color-coded by subspecies, a representative dorsal and ventral photo of the species, and a short summary of information about it.

Volume 2 contains several map illustrations of geographical patterns, a number of maps with both butterfly and hostplant distribution records (much to my geography- and butterfly-rearing delight!) and so many other bits of information that I can't wait to read (I just got the book yesterday...).

Volume 1 cover

Volume 2 cover

Here are the details:

VOLUME 1: Oregon Butterflies: An Updated Atlas Honoring John Hinchliff volume 1 Species Distributions.
Authors: Jeffrey C. Miller, Paul C. Hammond, Dana N.R. Ross, and Neil H. Bjorklund.
Date: 2026.
Contents: Species Pages, Nomenclature and ledgers.
Main features: all 177 of Oregon's butterfly species are each presented as 6x4.5 inch color dot-maps including subspecies and population segregates with current taxonomic epithets accompanied by 354 2x2 color images revealing dorsal and ventral aspects of the wings; appendix listing every subtaxon by County.
Format: 8x11.5 landscape layout, 11.5 font, soft cover, spiral binding, 218 pages+15 pages of front papers.

VOLUME 2: Oregon Butterflies: An Updated Atlas Honoring John Hinchliff volume 2 Synthesis.
Editors: Jeffrey C. Miller, Dennis A. Albert, and Paul C. Hammond.
Date: 2026.
Contents: A Virtual Road Tour To Explore Oregon Butterflies, Butterflies and Oregon's Environment, Counts of Butterfly Site Records, Ecoregions and Butterfly Distributions, Geographical Patterns of Shared Butterfly Distributions, Geographical Patterns In Species Richness of Oregon Butterflies, Caterpillar Foodplant Relationships. Appendices: number of records for nominate species and subtaxa, caterpillar and their foodplant Genera.
Main Features: 45 color dot-maps illustrating shared distributions and coincidence between butterfly caterpillar-foodplant geographical distributions.
Format: 8x11.5 portrait layout, 11.5 font, soft cover, spiral binding, 190 pages+9 pages of front papers.

Price: $95, includes volumes 1 & 2, not sold separately, both self-published by JCM.

To purchase, send Jeffrey C. Miller an email via the address oregonbutterflyatlas@gmail.com using subject line 'atlas inquiry' to receive an auto-reply email on how to order the 2-volume set of books.

Sample from Volume 1: Habrodais grunus species page

Sample from Volume 1: Pieris marginalis species page

Sample from Volume 1: Speyeria callippe species page

Sample from Volume 2

Sample from Volume 2: butterfly (large black dots) and larval food plant (small dots) records.

Pocket Guide availability

Happy Spring!

I'm starting to get some requests for my Pocket Guide so just wanted to post a short update. The Washington Butterfly Association has some copies they will sell at select events, so that's one way to look for it. For individual purchases, I can take cash, check or PayPal, please contact me at the email in the info bar on the right of my blog for details.

NWB storefront closed until further notice

I have decided to close the NorthwestButterflies.com online store for the foreseeable future. It is becoming increasingly difficult and time-consuming to jump through all the hoops of managing the website and payment processing on top of my "regular life", especially when I only currently have one book to offer. I am retaining the domain name in case I decide to start up an online store again once I've had time to produce additional books. In the meantime, I still have plenty of Pocket Guides and bookmarks in stock that I will offer for sale at the occasional in-person meeting, or email me for purchase requests.

I apologize for the inconvenience, and very much appreciate the support over the last few years!

To be clear, this blog (northwestbutterflies.blogspot.com) isn't going anywhere, it's stress-free and doesn't cost anything. Please check back here for any updates.

Who knows, maybe I'll even get around to posting on here more often :)

Snowberry Clearwing...or is it?

Few people know that the clear-winged little bumblebee sphinx moths (genus Hemaris) have dark scales covering their wings when they first emerge from the pupa. Even fewer people have ever had the chance to see this! Once the moth takes flight, they quickly shed all those loose scales. I have only seen this once, when I acquired two pupae and saw the newly-emerged adults, but I wasn't able to capture good photos of them. Yesterday, on a cool and cloudy day out at the Bald Hills southeast of Olympia (part of a multi-agency tour), I didn't expect to see any Lepidoptera. Looking down on a clump of plantain, I noticed a large black antenna and leg, which at first I thought might be a some kind of beetle. Upon closer examination I was thrilled to find this freshly emerged Snowberry Clearwing (Hemaris thetis). I couldn't find the pupal shell, it was probably well hidden under the thick moss. Larvae of this species, as the name implies, feed on snowberry bushes.

Snowberry Clearwing (Hemaris thetis) freshly emerged.

Snowberry Clearwing (Hemaris thetis) freshly emerged.

Snowberry Clearwing (Hemaris thetis) freshly emerged.

Snowberry Clearwing (Hemaris thetis) freshly emerged.

Snowberry Clearwing (Hemaris thetis) specimen showing the clear wings.

Bald Hills habitat with a patch of snowberry in the foreground.

Greeting Cards now available

The bookmarks have done so well so that I decided to try out another new product: blank greeting cards! Please check out my storefront at Northwest Butterflies for these and other items. Orders $35+ get free shipping!