RHH's photos with the keyword: blewett

We were up on the Old Blewett Road in eastern Washington several times recently and both times it was warm and sunny and the butterflies were everywhere. We had gone to see the orchids and the butterflies were an unexpected bonus. We managed to catch both in this shot. The Tall White Bog Orchis, Platanthera dilata var. dilatata is extremely fragrant and that in combination with the white flowers would suggest that butterflies such as these are the principle pollinators. In this case the butterfly's tongue can be seen reaching into the flower. There are two other varieties of this orchid, variety leucostachys and variety albiflora, distinguished by the length of the spur. In these flowers the spur is about equal in length to the lip as can be seen in the photo. In the other varieties the spur is longer or shorter. This was published as a two page center spread in the December 2012 issue of Orchids, the magazine of the American Orchid Society, along with a brief article on field photography. The photo was chosen from the AOS's photo of the week gallery. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/08/old-blewett...

This is another photo taken on the Old Blewett Road, between Ellensburg and Leavenworth, Washington. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/08/old-blewett...

A picture taken by my wife showing the Tall White Northern Bog Orchis growing on a very wet rocky outcrop and living up to its name "Bog Orchis." Taken in Blewett Pass in the North Cascades. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/08/old-blewett...

This is another shot of the Tall White Northern Bog Orchis which we found in abundance at the top of the Old Blewett Road on the east side of the Cascades. It is sometimes referred to as the Bog Candle for obvious reasons. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/08/old-blewett...

Taken along the Old Blewett Raod last summer, the butterfly is Euphydryas colon and the plant is Symphoricarpos hesperius. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/08/old-blewett...

This is the Small Wood Nymph, Cercyonis oetus (thanks, Marti, for the ID), on Creeping Snowberry flowers, photographed along the Old Blewett Road on the eastern side of the Cascades. I wish I had gotten a better photo, but this was the best of the lot. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/08/old-blewett...

We found this orchid also along the Old Blewett Road, but it is certainly not as showy as the Platanthera I've already posted. This has tiny green flowers on long slender stems. It's botanical name is Piperia unalascensis. The photo was taken by my wife. nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2012/07/w...

Just one more butterfly picture from the Old Blewett Road. This is the Snowberry Checkerspot, Euphydryas colon, on the Tall White Northern Bog Orchis, Platanthera dilatata var. dilatata. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/08/old-blewett...