Butterflies in January?

Gary Knowels

Gary Knowels

Hack of all trades
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I was hiking yesterday near Mt. Rainier and stopped to eat lunch at about 4500 feet. There was a strong inversion and it was pushing 60 degrees up there despite a couple feet of snow on the ground. As I was eating an orange and black butterfly flew by and landed on a standing dead tree. By the time I got my phone out to take a picture, it had flown away.

It sure seemed unusual to me to see this time of year. Any thoughts on that or what species it may have been?
 
Seems unusual to me, too, much like almost 60 degrees anywhere near Mt. Rainier in January. Nature is full of surprises.
 
Gary Knowels said:
As I was eating an orange and black butterfly flew by and landed on a standing dead tree. By the time I got my phone out to take a picture, it had flown away.

It sure seemed unusual to me to see this time of year. Any thoughts on that or what species it may have been?
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Orange and black is going to describe a lot of butterflies. That said, the Tortoiseshell butterflies (Compton, California, Milbert's) are often active earlier than some others. (Not saying January is normal, just that that they're often a bit ahead of the masses.) That said, their dark color is more a dark brown than true black.
 
tkww said:
Orange and black is going to describe a lot of butterflies. That said, the Tortoiseshell butterflies (Compton, California, Milbert's) are often active earlier than some others. (Not saying January is normal, just that that they're often a bit ahead of the masses.) That said, their dark color is more a dark brown than true black.
Click to expand...
After looking at a bunch of pictures of the 3 tortoiseshell species you listed, it seemed most similar to a California Tortoiseshell. Thanks!
 
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