While I do not qualify as an expert, I do own a copy of Dornfeld's
_Butterflies of Oregon_ (1980). The photographs of flora and stella
differ only in size. The markings are essentially the same.

>From Dornfeld:
"Anthocharis sara Lucas, 1852
Sara Orange Tip

"A wide ranging Western butterfly, the Sara Orange Tip occurs in the
Rocky Mountains from Wyoming to New Mexico, and extends westward to
the coast from Alaska to southern California. Eight or nine partially
intergrading subspecies have been recognized, of which at least two
can be identified in Oregon.

"The largest of the subspecies is _A. sara flora_ Wright, 1905. It
inhabits the Willamette Valley and the adjoining slopes of the
Coast Range and Cascades. Appearing in March, it is one of the
first butterflies of the season and may be found to mid July,
generally in abundance. The large size and intense color dimorphism,
with white males versus yellow females, are striking, as is the bold
red-orange apical patch of the males.

"East of the Cascades the Sara orange Tip is smaller in average size,
and while similar to the Rocky Mountain subspecies _julia_ Edwards,
this race is usually known as _A. sara stella_ Edwards, 1879. The
females are yellow, as in _flora_, but in some specimens the
yellow color of the forewings grades into white toward the inner
border. The eastern and western populations are not sharply separated,
the change from flora to _stella_ being a clinal one with evident
intergradation. The taxonomy of sara populations needs much more study.

"The spindle-shaped and ridged egg of the Sara Orange Tip is yellow.
The mature green larva, dorsally tinged with yellow, has a whitish
lateral line and transverse rows of black papillae. The chrysalis,
with its elongated beak-like palpal case, is brown and marked with
a dark lateral stripe. The larvae feed on _Arabis_, _Sisymbrium_, and
other members of the mustard family."


Sherry Hagen wrote:
>
> Since butterflies have been mentioned..... I have a question. I just started
> trying to identify butterflies last summer and have several books
> (Peterson's Western and NAS Field Guide of NA for two). I was in the Spokane
> valley last weekend (7th & 8th) and saw a small white butterfly with bright
> orange outer parts on the upper wings (haven't learned the terms yet) and it
> was bordered by black. In the Peterson's Guide the picture of the Pacific
> Orangetip (Anthocharis sara) is what it looked like but according to the
> book it should only be on the west side of the state and there has been a
> split but the one for that area (Stella Orangetip) doesn't have that much
> black. In the NAS Field Guide it lists it as Sara Orangetip (also
> Anthocharis sara) with no splits listed. Do any of you experts know what is
> right or does it really matter since there is no ABA for butterfly
> listing???? How can one get the update on names and areas?
>
> O> Sherry Hagen
> _/_)_ Vancouver, WA
> / birder at webcombo.net

--
Mike Patterson Alas, to wear the mantle of Galileo,
Astoria, OR it is not enough to be persecuted
celata at pacifier.com by an unkind establishment,
you must also be right.
---Robert Park
http://www.pacifier.com/~mpatters/bird/bird.html