Welcome to the Alabama Butterflies section. Temporarily putting the skipper butterflies into a bracket, Alabama has a very rich butterfly history with about ninety different species that can be found throughout the entire year.
Butterfly identification historically started with experts comparing and contrasting the physical features, i.e., wing color, patterns and size of the butterflies in question. The recent introduction of DNA identification analysis helps clarify, and perhaps change the way butterfly subfamilies and genera get reorganized.
That being said, the average enthusiast interested in butterfly identification can use the physical features of butterflies as the basis for their hobby. The video at the top of the page of the Gulf Fritillary highlights both a top down view of the wings and a size view of the wings. The side view shows the large white spots on the underside of the wings that defines the members of the fritillary genus. Using both the top and side views of the wings and taking into account wing patterns is sufficient for identifying the four Alabama fritillary butterflies.
This introduction to Alabama butterflies provides additional identification clues for all the butterfly families.
Visitors interested in additional videos, pictures and identification tips for additional butterfly species can press the green butterflies button.
Brush-Footed Butterflies
Alabama has an affinity for butterflies. They named the Monarch butterfly their official state insect. It’s one of many dazzling Alabama butterflies in the brush-footed family.
The picture shows the Alabama relative of the Monarch butterfly, the Queen butterfly. Because the two pictures show a side view of the butterflies, it’s easy to identify each species based on that simple comparison. The arrow on the bottom wing points to the presence of more white spots on the side wing.
The Common Buckeye
Goatweed Leafwing
Mourning Cloak
Four different butterflies in the Vanessa genus visit gardens across the United States. Three of them go by the common name, lady. This is the American Lady
Side American Lady
Painted Lady butterfly
Painted Lady caterpillar.
Painted Lady side
Red-spotted Purple Admiral
Common Wood Nymph
Carolina Satyr
Northern Pearly Eye
Southern Pearly Eye
Pearl Crescent
Phaon Crescent
Additionally, some groups of Alabama brush-footed butterflies can be initially identified by size. The crescents, for example, tend to be the smallest of the brush-footed butterflies. The satyrs and wood-nymphs tend to have brown wing colors with eye spots compared to the orange wing color of most brush-footed butterflies.
Butterflies: Whites and Yellows
The picture shows a Cabbage White butterfly, a ubiquitous butterfly seen around gardens across the United States. It’s probably the most widely distributed of the Alabama white butterflies. The Great Southern White is the most common white butterfly in the Southern part of the state. The blue antenna tips are a great field ID clue.
Like many southern states, yellow butterflies abound in Alabama.
Dainty Sulfur
Sleepy orange butterflies are a bit larger in size than the Little yellow and Dainty. The bright yellow wings help identify the butterfly. During the winter season the bottom wing loses the yellow color and transitions to various shades of brown.
Blues, Hairtreaks and Coppers
White-M Hairstreak
Edward’s Hairstreak
King’s Hairstreak
Oak Hairstreak
Striped Hairstreak
Coral Hairstreak
Seven blue butterflies appears like a nice diversity in the state. The Eastern Tailed-blue and the Azures are the most wide ranging of the blue butterflies. The Cassius Blue and the Reakirt’s Blue are fairly rare species in the state.
Skipper Butterflies
Whirabout
Firey Skipper
Southern Skipperling
Alabama Butterflies: Swallowtails
Alabama’s warmer climate makes it hospitable for eight different swallowtail butterflies. Most of the species can be found in the southern areas from February through November and possibly December.
Demonstrating the population’s affinity for butterflies, the Eastern tiger swallowtail stands as the official state butterfly, complimenting the monarch as the official state insect.
They do lack the Parnassian species, because they are the more cold hardy of the swallowtail family species. The picture shows a Zebra Swallowtail. The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail is the official state butterfly.
- Pipevine Swallowtail
- Zebra Swallowtail
- Black Swallowtail
- Appalachian Tiger Swallowtail
- Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
- Spicebush Swallowtail
- Palamedes Swallowtail
- Giant Swallowtail
Alabama Butterflies: Metalmarks
Metalmarks are mostly a southern species, however Alabama only host two. The picture shows a Swamp Metalmark.