How and why do butterflies get their names?

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Butterfly enthusiasts across the United States recognize many species, such as the Zebra Swallowtail, Texan Crescent and Common Buckeye, by their English names rather than their scientific names.

Why do butterflies have those names, and, who names them?

The short answer to the first part of the question is butterfly marketing. Butterflies get their common names as part of a butterfly promotion effort.

In 1874, one of the leading entomologists of the day, Samuel Hubbard Scudder, proposed a system for naming butterflies that would appeal to the average American.

He said, "In our own country all the common birds and flowers have also received such names, and it is my belief that the study of butterflies would be far more popular, if they also had common names." (source: Psyche: A Journal of Entomology)

Today, thanks in part to Scudder's vision, butterflies are the most popular insects in the United States.

Since 1874, approximately 750 different butterfly species have been given common names, based primarily on the butterfly's physical characteristics or geographical location.

As the number of still to be discovered butterfly species decreases, the butterfly naming competition heats up.

In 2007, The University of Florida held an auction for the rights to name a newly discovered owl butterfly species. A winning bid of $40,800, was received to name the butterfly the Minerva owl butterfly, in memory of Margery Minerva Blythe Kitzmiller of Ohio. The proceeds of the auction help fund continued research about butterfly species in Mexico.

© 2008 Patricia A. Michaels