LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Butterflies and moths, with their seemingly endless variations of markings and colorations have long captured the imaginations of adults and children alike.

Lake and Mendocino counties are home to hundreds of species, and the team at Lake County’s Agricultural Center have announced an exciting new educational display.

County residents and visitors are encouraged to visit 883 Lakeport Blvd. in Lakeport, to view an astounding 325 specimens and 254 different species.

Twenty different butterfly and moth families are represented, including bird-like sphinx moths, flashy and delicate gossamer-winged butterflies, beautiful swallowtails, exotic tiger moths and soft, cloudlike white and sulphur moths.

Butterfly specimens in this collection range in size, from the twin-tailed swallowtail butterfly, at over three inches across, to the western pygmy blue butterfly, the smallest in the world at ½ inch across.

Moth specimens range from the ceanothus silk moth, at over four inches across, to the Microhelia Angelica, spanning less than ½ inch across. Some moths even have clear wings, mimicking wasps.

This unique and remarkable project was started in 2019 by Steven Hajik, Lake County’s agricultural commissioner/sealer of weights and measures from 2002 to 2022, and completed shortly before his retirement in 2022.

The display could have not been completed without significant contributions from the UC Davis’ Bohart Museum of Entomology.

Special thanks are due to Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum, for her insightful assistance in this endeavor.

Agricultural Center staff look forward to sharing this extraordinary work with you; the collection is viewable Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information, or to plan a group visit, please call 707-263-0217.