FLIGHT PERIODS OF CALIFORNIA BUTTERFLIES FOR "RESIDENT SPECIES", SUBSPECIES AND MOST STRAYS TO THE STATE.

Normal flight periods and early/late records for resident species, subspecies and regular strays of butterflies of California are presented below.. Many subspecies or populations in the state are distinctive and may prove to merit species recognition by specialists in the future. Introduction: The serious worker is well aware that many butterflies live in specialized habitats where hostplants and suitable conditions occur. Others occur in more general habitats through much of the state. Butterflies may have long flight periods over much of the year or may have very brief flight periods of only a few days or weeks. Life spans of adult butterflies vary from a very few days in some species to nearly a full year in others. Some of the relatively long lived species may "hibernate" through the winter and not be seen during that time, except on rare warm winter days. Many species have a single brood each year while others have an extended flight period because it may have two or more broods. In many cases overlaps in such flights may make it appear a flight is nearly continuous. In others, flights may be markedly divided as with a species that flies in the spring and then again in the fall. Flights may vary from year to year based on yearly weather patterns (temperature and timing and amounts of rainfall or drainage). Some species in arid regions of the state may have limited emergences or forego emergence in unfavorable years to await years with good rainfall and hostplant growth. Many early records have been taken in lowlands or near the coast with late records often from the highest elevations the butterfly inhabits. Such records are also influenced by yearly weather patterns of drought, heavy rainfall or unseasonable warm or prolonged cold temperatures The person seeking to find specific butterflies must know not only where to look, but must know when to look for them. History and methods: J. W. Tilden started working on an early/late list of California butterflies many years ago. Robert L. Langston and Ray E. Stanford (both Season Summary Coordinators) continued Tilden's work and Kenneth E. Davenport also began working on this project in 1983. Museum collections were consulted, Season Summary records provided data, lists of early and late records were sent to many knowledgeable workers who were asked to provide records. Many private collectors and observers contributed records. Published literature including scientific papers, books and other publications were examined to find records. Davenport, Stanford and Langston's first published list in 2005 was primarily at the species level with some additional well differentiated subspecies included. The current list includes most subspecies as well