Thanks for visiting Kansas butterflies.
The top picture shows a Gray Hairstreak, one of approximately thirty species that are common in butterfly gardens around the Kansas City area.
A quick glance at the Kansas butterfly list shows quite an impressive diversity. Looks can be a bit deceiving.
Kansas hosts close to two hundred butterfly species, however almost one-third of them arrive accidentally. When storms roll across the state during the season, they bring in stray species fro neighboring areas. Visitors to Kansas can keep this in mind when they are out and about on butterfly excursion.
Skippers, not listed on this guide, constitute about one-third of the total Kansas butterflies population.
Anyone looking for butterfly identification help can press the green butterfly button for more information.
Butterflies: Whites and Yellows
Kansas butterflies include many in the family with white wings and yellow wings. The picture shows a Western White Butterfly. Here’s a list of the rest of the white butterflies and yellow butterflies documented in the state.
Falcate Orangetip
Olympia Marble
Florida White
Cabbage White
Checkered White
Western White
Great Southern White
Giant White
Clouded Sulphur
Orange Sulphur
Southern Dogface
White Angled-Sulphur
Cloudless Sulphur
Large Orange Sulphur
Orange-barred Sulphur
Statira Sulphur
Lyside Sulphur
Mexican Yellow
Tailed Orange
Little Yellow
Mimosa Yellow
Sleepy Orange
Dainty Sulphur
Blues, Hairtreaks and Coppers
There’s a nice balance of blues, hairstreaks and coppers in the state. The picture is of a Dusky Blue Groundstreak.
Cassius Blue
Marine Blue
Western Pygmy-Blue
Eastern Tailed-Blue
Spring Azure
Summer Azure
Silvery Blue
Ceraunus Blue
Reakirt’s Blue
Melissa Blue
Acmon Blue
Lupine Blue
Great Purple Hairstreak
Juniper Hairstreak
Henry’s Elfin
Oak Hairstreak
Coral Hairstreak
Acadian Hairstreak
Hickory Hairstreak
Edwards’ Hairstreak
Banded Hairstreak
Striped Hairstreak
Soapberry Hairstreak
Red-banded Hairstreak
Dusky-blue Groundstreak
Gray Hairstreak
Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak
Gray Ministreak
White-M Hairstreak
Harvester
American Copper
Gray Copper
Bronze Copper
Purplish Copper
Brush Footed Butterflies
Kansas is ideally situated to host a variety of Southern and Eastern Brush Footed butterfly species. Visitors could spend a couple of weeks tracking them all down. The picture shows a Ruddy Daggerwing, one of the few Brush Footed species with extended appendages at the bottom of the wings, much like the Swallowtails.
American Snout
Monarch
Queen
Tiger Mimic-Queen
Gulf Fritillary
Julia Heliconian
Banded Orange Heliconian
Isabella’s Heliconian
Zebra Heliconian
Variegated Fritillary
Diana Fritillary
Great Spangled Fritillary
Aphrodite Fritillary
Regal Fritillary
Edwards’ Fritillary
Red-spotted Purple
astyanax Astyanax’ Red-spotted Purple
Viceroy
Arizona Sister
Many-banded Daggerwing
Ruddy Daggerwing
Hackberry Emperor
Tawny Emperor
Common Mestra
Florida Purplewing
Fulvia Checkerspot
Silvery Checkerspot
Gorgone Checkerspot
Bordered Patch
Graphic Crescent
Painted Crescent
Phaon Crescent
Pearl Crescent
Field Crescent
Texan Crescent
Baltimore Checkerspot
Common Buckeye
White Peacock
Malachite
Question Mark
Eastern Comma
Hoary Comma
Gray Comma
Milbert’s Tortoiseshell
Mourning Cloak
Red Admiral
Painted Lady
West Coast Lady
American Lady
Tropical Leafwing
Goatweed Leafwing
Northern Pearly-eye
Creole Pearly-eye
Gemmed Satyr
Little Wood-Satyr
Red Satyr
Carolina Satyr
Common Wood-Nymph
Butterflies: Swallowtails
The picture shows a Pipevine Swallowtail. Identifying it starts by noticing the single row of large orange spots on the under hindwing. Similar swallowtail species with dark wings have either two rows and/or additional spots near the body.
- Pipevine Swallowtail
- Zebra Swallowtail
- Old World Swallowtail
- Black Swallowtail
- Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
- Two-tailed Swallowtail
- Spicebush Swallowtail
- Thoas Swallowtail
- Giant Swallowtail
- Ornythion Swallowtail
- Ruby-spotted Swallowtail