Where to find a rare butterfly
The endangered Point Reyes Silverspot butterfly (Argynnis zerene ssp. puntareyes) is at peak numbers in July so now is a great time to spot one in Point Reyes. The adult flight season ranges from late June to early September. This butterfly is only found in California where it’s currently limited to four places north of the San Francisco Bay Area including Point Reyes. They have been observed on iNaturalist in the dunes and coastal scrub at Abbotts Lagoon, North Beach, and Bull Point. Some of their favorite nectar flowers are gumplants (Grindelia), yellow sand verbena (Abronia latifolia), coyote mints (Monardella spp., especially the curly-leaved variety M. undulata), and seaside daisy (Erigeron glaucus). Walk to the dunes at one of these spots, find a sunny resting place protected from the wind near flowers and watch for Silverspots. You’ll recognize them by their fuzzy orange bodies and the light-colored spots on the underside of their orange & black wings.
Get quick facts and a video on the Point Reyes Silverspot butterfly at the bottom of the Bull Point Trail page.
photo: Chris Pincetich on iNaturalist. Point Reyes Silverspot on curly-leaved coyote mint (Monardella undulata) in Point Reyes
photo: icosahedron on iNaturalist. Point Reyes Silverspot (Argynnis zerene ssp. puntareyes) in North Beach, Point Reyes.
Silverspot Hot Spots
The best spots to visit Point Reyes Silverspot butterflies are the dunes and coastal scrub at Abbotts Lagoon, North Beach, and Bull Point Trail.
Between March and September, the beach and dunes are closed for snowy plover nesting from the north end of North Beach to the south end of Abbotts Lagoon so head north into the dunes at Abbotts or visit the dunes at Bull Point. See instructions for how to find the off-trail dunes at the bottom of on the Bull Point Trail page.
Favorite Nectar Flowers
Update: In March 2023, the taxon changed in iNaturalist from Speyeria zerene puntareyes to Argynnis zerene puntareyes.
Update 7/24/22: I noticed observations for Myrtle’s Silverspots and for Point Reyes Silverspots in Point Reyes. I wondered what the difference was between these two Zerene fritillary butterflies? Was this the same butterfly? I took this question to iNaturalist and got a quick response.
The short answer is it’s the same butterfly. The naturalist who goes by the handle Icosahedron explained “The Zerene fritillaries are divided into an unwieldy number of subspecies, all subject to review and change. Myrtle's Silverspot was described in San Mateo county, and until recently the zerene in Point Reyes were included. That's why records of North Bay fritillaries were all called Myrtle's Silverspots. The current thinking is that Myrtle's is extinct, and the Marin/Sonoma coastal zerene are subspecies puntareyes. Somewhere North of the Russian River you'll run into Behren's Silverspot, and at the Oregon border, the Oregon Silverspot.”