Alpine Butterflies near Disappointment Lake

Earlier this month a handful of us from Fresno took a 35 mile hike just east of Courtright Reservoir (in Fresno County) in the Sierra Nevada of California. Along the way we saw several beautiful butterflies – some of which I was lucky enough to get pictures of.

These first two pictures are at Post Coral Creek where this lovely greenish blue (Plebejus saepiolus) was enjoying the sun and white daisy.

Further up the trail toward Disappointment Lake (the name of which is a clear misnomer) I found one of the butterflies in the arctic blue complex (Agriades franklinii) feeding on Western bistort (Polygonum bistortoides).

And then even further up the trail (actually on boulders where there was no trail) just below the LeConte Divide we spotted a handful of checkerspots (in the Edith’s checkerspot complex – Occidryas editha). This is an amzing place for butterflies – at 11,000 feet on a windswept ridge where trees don’t even grow. What a beautiful place.