[obol] B. Fly ID Off topic

[Mike Patterson]

These are probably not butterflies, but rather the small day-
moth _Mesoleuca gratulata_ (or one of the other _Mesoleuca_).

http://www.cbif.gc.ca/spp_pages/geometroidea/jpgs/image_e.php?image%5B%5D=107308.jpg%2CMesoleuca%2Bgratulata

> Al Ahlgrim wrote:
> 
> Each spring, sometimes as early as February, tiny, tiny bright white butterflies appear in
> the Willamette Valley and around our home.  They have several black cells at the tips and
> may have black along the front of the inner upper forewing.  A look at guide books and the
> internet leads me to Spring White Pontia sisymbrii.  But, the guides indicate Spring
> Whites are 1 to 1.5 inches in wingspan, and these little ones I see are typically closer
> to or less than .5 inches or 1 cm in span.  In flight the butterflies have a black/white
> checker board appearance and some are so small that I have at first glance mistaken them
> for falling blossom petals.  Are these small Spring Whites or any suggestions as to ID?
> Direct email ok for reply.
> 
> Thanks, Al Ahlgrim
> 


-- 
Mike Patterson               
Astoria, OR                    
celata at pacifier.com  
 
Dusty Book of the Month: _The Hawks of North America_
http://www.surfbirds.com/blogs/mbalame/archives/004483.html