Butterfly Pictures and Information

Butterflies are probably American's favorite insects, with wild butterfly identification studies continually gaining adherents.

Searching for butterflies can be a fun pastime becasue butterflies enjoy sunny days above 60^o F. Anyone who enjoys those weather conditions can get out and look for them.

This section of the website provides articles and pictures of many common butterflies and moths, with special attention given to providing field identification suggestions.

The North American Butterfly Association (NABA) suggests that the average person might be able to find up to one hundred different butterfly species within driving distance of their home. Getting pictures of those one hundred species is an altogether different matter.

The articles:

• Types of Butterflies
• Blue Butterfly Identification
• Hairstreaks
• Fritillaries
• Crescent Butterflies and
• Comma Butterflies

are good starting points for those interested in help with field identification.

The links in the box at the bottom of the page point to pictures and descriptions of specific butterfly species common in the Western and Southwestern United States. Because butterfly species tend to slightly change appearance based on age and geographical location, the listed butterfly species provide helpful comparisons.

Along with identification, the butterfly section offers other materials, including images.

The Moth Pictures, Butterfly Clip Art, and Caterpillar Clip Art sections, for example, provide some usuable art for students. The moth pictures album also shows that not all moths have dull colors.

A couple of additional articles address very common butterfly issues.

Battle Over Butterfly Releases
Because of the potential to wreck havoc on agricultural products, commercial butterfly breeding for release is regulated by both state and federal agencies.

How and why do butterflies get their names?
Examining the practice of naming butterflies.

Improving Rural Butterfly Habitat
Tips for increasing butterfly populations in rural areas.

New World Tropical Butterflies
New world tropical butterflies share many characteristics with their North American counterparts. A changing climate means that some species migh one day show up in the United States.

Orange Butterfly Quiz
Test you orange butterfly identification skills.

What Do Butterflies Eat?
Here's an answer to a very popular question (species continued below)

Lycaenidae Blues Acmon Blue Boisduval's Blue Greenish Blue Lupine Blue Northern Blue Reakirt's Blue Silvery Blue Spring Azure Tailed-Blues Hairstreaks Behr's Hairstreak Brown Elfin California Hairstreak Golden Hairstreak Gray Hairstreak Hedgerow Hairstreak Juniper Hairstreak Sheridan's Hairstreak Coppers Edith's Copper Lilac-bordered Copper Mariposa Copper Purplish Copper Tailed Copper Pieridae Whites Cabbage White Checkered White Great Southern White Margined White Orangetip Pine White Western White Sulfurs Dainty Sulfur Orange Sulfur Sleepy Orange Southern Dogface Tailed Orange

Brushfooted Butterflies Admirals American Snout Checkerspots Common Buckeye Empress Leila Monarch Butterfly Queen Butterfly Tortoiseshells Comma Butterflies Gray Comma Green Comma Hoary Comma Satyr Comma Crescents California Crescent Field Crescent Mylitta Crescent Texan Crescent Fritillaries Great Spangled Fritillary Gulf Fritillary Hydaspe Fritillary Mormon Fritillary Pacific Fritillary Satyrinae Common Ringlet Common Wood Nymph Great Arctic Small Wood Nymph Riodinidae Metalmark Butterflies

Spreadwing Skippers Arctic Skipper Common Checkered-Skipper Erichson's White Skipper Funereal Duskywing Propertius Duskywing Silver-spotted Skipper Two-banded Checkered-Skipper Swallowtails Anise Swallowtail Clodius Parnassian Eastern Black Swallowtail Giant Swallowtail Pale Swallowtail Pipevine Swallowtail Spicebrush Swallowtail Western Tiger Swallowtail Zebra Swallowtail Moths Cinnabar Moth Corn Earworm Moth Polyphemus Moth (Giant Silkworm Moth) Ranchman's Tiger Moth Underwing Moths Western Sheep Moth White-dotted Prominent