Jeff, Get yourself a camera, maybe just a 4 megapixel point-and-shoot like
Khanh Tran uses to take eye-popping photos.



I can only suggest the possibility of an unusually orange female purplish
copper. I saw two purplish coppers at the Point Brown Sewage treatment plant
last Saturday. They're flying right now and they're one of the better
distributed butterflies in our region. They look somewhat similar to the
lustrous copper. However, if you had a really convincing picture, you'd
probably get some butterfly aficionados running out there in no time to
figure out what's going on.



Kelly McAllister

Who likes pictures, regardless



From: tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu
[mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Jeff Gibson
Sent: Thursday, May 14, 2015 2:47 PM
To: tweeters
Subject: [Tweeters] Butterfly Question



Just back from the dunes of Point Wilson here in Port Townsend, where on a
bug/flower/whatever watching tour I noted a new to me butterfly. It was
snooping about the blooming Grey - leaved Beach Pea ( Lathyrus littoralis).
Sand Verbena is also blooming down there now.



Anyhoo, I got a real good close-up view of the critter with my super-dooper
close focusing binocs, and made some field notes. Rushing back to the ranch
(where I've recently been reunited with my butterfly books that I'd had back
in Everett) , I was able to definitively ID the bug as a Lustrous Copper -
all the little details matched the photo in Mister Pyle's excellent
butterfly bible to a T.



Alas, the Lustrous Copper is a life form that aint supposed to be around
here. Yet, at least based on the photo in the book, that's what I saw. While
not much of a butterflier, I have been watching them for years and am
familiar with the general categories of those bugs.



So my question is - has anyone else seen a Lustrous Copper out of range, or
is there something else I could have confused it with around here? Like I
said, the size (about an inch wingspan) and all the details match the photo
in Pyle, page 172! Any comments would be appreciated.



Jeff Gibson

bugging you from

Port Townsend Wa