MatBio: BUTTERFLIES & MOTHS - Matanzas Biodiversity
Welcome to our series of field guides - part of the MatBio Initiative at the Whitney Laboratory of Marine Bioscience! Our guides document the plant and animal species living in the Matanzas Basin, a coastal ecosystem stretching from St. Augustine to Palm Coast in NE Florida. They are works in ...more ↓
Cactus Moth
Cactoblastis cactorum, commonly known as the Cactus Moth, South American Cactus Moth, or Nopal Moth, is native to Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and southern Brazil. It is one of five species in the genus Cactoblastis that inhabit South America, where many parasitoids and pathogens control the expansion of the moth's population. This species has been ...more ↓
Luna Moth
Actias luna, commonly known as the Luna Moth, is a lime-green, Nearctic Saturniid moth in the family Saturniidae, subfamily Saturniinae. It has a wingspan of up to 114mm (4.5 inches), making it one of the largest moths in North America.
Polyphemus Moth
The Polyphemus Moth (Antheraea polyphemus) is a North American member of the family Saturniidae, the giant silk moths. It is a tan colored moth, with an average wingspan of 15 cm (6 inches). The most notable feature of the moth is its large, purplish eyespots on its two hindwings. The eye spots are where it gets its name – from the Greek myth of the Cyclops Polyphemus. ...more ↓
Io Moth
The Io Moth (Automeris io) is a very colorful North American moth in the Saturniidae family. It ranges from the southeast corner of Manitoba and in the southern extremes of Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick in Canada, and in the US it is found from Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, east of those states and down to the ...more ↓
Pink-spotted Hawk Moth
The Pink-spotted Hawkmoth or Sweetpotato Hornworm (Agrius cingulata syn. A. cingulatus) is a species of moth in the Sphingidae family.
Virginia Creeper Sphinx Moth
The Virginia creeper sphinx (Darapsa myron) is a moth of the Sphingidae family. It lives from Maine south to south Florida; west to North Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, and Texas. It also can be found in Mexico.
Tersa Sphinx Moth
The Tersa Sphinx (Xylophanes tersa) is a moth of the Sphingidae family. It is found from the United States (Massachusetts south to southern Florida, west to Nebraska, New Mexico and southern Arizona), through Mexico, the West Indies and Central America and into parts of South America (including Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil). An occasional stray can be found as far ...more ↓
Rosy Maple Moth
The Rosy Maple Moth (Dryocampa rubicunda) is a North American moth in the Saturniidae family. Males have a wingspan of 32–44 mm; females of 40–50 mm. They have reddish-to-pink legs and antennae, yellow bodies and hindwings, and pink forewings with a triangular yellow band across the middle. Males have bushier antennae than females. As the name implies, rosy maple moths mainly ...more ↓
Scarlet-bodied Wasp Moth
Cosmosoma myrodora, the Scarlet-bodied Wasp Moth, is a moth of the Arctiidae family. It was described by Dyar in 1907. It is found in Florida and from South Carolina to Texas. The habitat consists of coastal plains.
Host plant: climbing hempweed Mikania spp.
Polka-Dotted Wasp Moth
The Polka-Dot Wasp Moth (Syntomeida epilais) is a species of moth thought to be native to the Caribbean. The species is also called the Oleander Moth after the Oleander plant, from which its young feed. Like most wasp moths, these moths are day fliers.
Bella Moth
The Bella Moth, Ornate Moth or Rattlebox Moth is a moth of the Arctiidae family. It is aposematically colored ranging from pink, red, orange and yellow to white coloration with black markings arranged in varying patterns on its wings. It has a wingspan of 33–46 mm. Moths reside in temperate midwestern and eastern North America as well as throughout Mexico and other parts ...more ↓
Saddleback Caterpillar Moth
The saddleback caterpillar, Acharia stimulea (formerly Sibene stimulea), is the larva of a species of moth native to eastern North America. The species belongs to the family of slug caterpillars, Limacodidae.
Silver-spotted Skipper
The Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus) is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is claimed to be the most recognized skipper in North America.
Southern Cloudywing
The Southern Cloudywing (sometimes spelled Southern Cloudy Wing), Thorybes bathyllus, is a North American butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. There are two main reasons why Southern Cloudywings can be difficult to identify: one is individual variation and the other is confusing seasonal forms. In the south, where it has two broods per year, there are two seasonal forms. Spring ...more ↓
Confused Cloudywing
The Mexican Cloudywing, Mountain Cloudy Wing or Nevada Cloudy Wing (Thorybes mexicana) is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is found in the high elevation mountains of the western United States south into Mexico.
Dorantes Longtail
The Lilac-banded Longtail or Dorantes Longtail (Urbanus dorantes) is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is found from Argentina, north through Central America, Mexico, and the West Indies to southern Texas and peninsular Florida. Strays can be found as far north as northern California, southern Arizona, southern Missouri and southern Georgia.
Long-tailed Skipper
The Long-tailed Skipper (Urbanus proteus) is a spread-winged skipper butterfly found throughout tropical and subtropical South America, south to Argentina and north into the southern part of the United States of America. It cannot live in areas with prolonged frost. It is a showy butterfly, with wings of light brown tinted with iridescent blue, and two long tails extending from ...more ↓
Sleepy Duskywing
E. brizo is a species of Hesperiidae that occurs throughout North America and is commonly confused with E. juvenalis and E. lucilius.
Horace's Duskywing
Horace's Duskywing (Erynnis horatius) is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is found from Massachusetts, west to eastern South Dakota, south through most of the eastern United States to Florida, the Gulf Coast, and southern Texas, south in the west through south-eastern Utah, Colorado, north-eastern Arizona, and New Mexico. Fringes are brown. Upperside of male forewing is ...more ↓
Juvenal's Duskywing
The Juvenal's Duskywing (Erynnis juvenalis) is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family.
Zarucco Duskywing
Zarucco Duskywing (Erynnis zarucco) is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is found (rarely) from southern Ontario to southeastern USA.
White Checkered-Skipper
The White Checkered Skipper (Pyrgus albescens) is a species of skipper (family Hesperiidae). It is found on low altitudes in southern California, southern Arizona, southern New Mexico, west and south Texas, Florida and Mexico. A rare stray to southwest Utah and central Texas.
Tropical Checkered Skipper
The Tropical Checkered Skipper (Pyrgus oileus) is a species of skipper (family Hesperiidae). It is found from Peninsular Florida, the Gulf Coast, and southern Texas, south through the West Indies, Mexico and Central America to Argentina.
Hayhurst's Scallopwing
Hayhurst's Scallopwing (Staphylus hayhurstii) is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is found from eastern Nebraska east across the southern Midwest to southern Pennsylvania and south to Florida, the Gulf states and central Texas.
Delaware Skipper
The Delaware Skipper (Anatrytone logan) is a North American butterfly in the family Hesperiidae (skippers), subfamily Hesperiinae (grass skippers). This skipper ranges from the southern Prairies in Canada and southern Ontario and southwards through the midwestern and eastern states in the US.
Least Skipper
The Least Skipper (Ancyloxypha numitor) is a North American butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. They have a weak, satyr-like flight.
Sachem
Atalopedes campestris (called the Sachem in the United States) is a small skipper. It is just over 1 inch long and is orange and brown. Females are slightly larger and have paler markings on the wings.
Brazilian Skipper
The Brazilian Skipper, Larger Canna Leafroller or Canna Skipper (Calpodes ethlius) is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is found from southern Florida and southern Texas, south through the West Indies, Mexico, and Central America to Argentina. Strays and temporary colonies can be found north to southern Nevada, northern Texas, Illinois and ...more ↓
Southern Skipperling
The Southern Skipperling (Copaeodes minima) is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is found from Arkansas east to North Carolina, south through Florida, the Gulf states, Texas, and Mexico to Panama.
Dun Skipper
The Dun Skipper, Sedge Witch or Dun Sedge Skipper (Euphyes vestris) is a species of butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is found from Nova Scotia west across southern Canada to southern Alberta, south to Florida, the Gulf Coast and eastern Texas. There are disjunct populations in the high plains and Rocky Mountains and along the Pacific Coast.
Fiery Skipper
The Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus) is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae and are approximately 1 inch (2.5 cm) long. The males are orange or yellow with black spots while the females are dark brown with orange or yellow spots. The caterpillars are greenish pink with a black head. The caterpillars are often considered pests and can feed on bermudagrass, creeping bentgrass, ...more ↓
Clouded Skipper
The Clouded Skipper (Lerema accius) is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is found in the United States from Georgia west to Texas, south to Florida, and south through Mexico and Central America to Venezuela and Colombia.
Eufala Skipper
The Eufala Skipper or Rice Leaffolder (Lerodea eufala) is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is found from the coast of Georgia, south through Florida and west across the southern United States to southern California, south through Mexico and Central America to Patagonia. In the summer, it expands its range north to central California, North Dakota, southern ...more ↓
Ocola Skipper
The Ocola Skipper or Long-windged Skipper (Panoquina ocola) is a species of butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is found in Paraguay north through tropical America and the West Indies to South Texas. Strays north to southeast Arizona, west Texas, central Missouri, Ohio, central Pennsylvania, and Long Island.
Salt Marsh Skipper
The Salt Marsh Skipper (Panoquina panoquin) is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is found along the Atlantic Coast of North America, from New York south to Florida and the Florida Keys, west along the Gulf Coast to southern Texas.
Crossline Skipper
The Crossline Skipper (Polites origenes) is a butterfly in the Hesperiidae family. It is found in the eastern United States, excepting Florida, southern Ontario, and Quebec.
Tawny-edged Skipper
The Tawny-edged Skipper (Polites themistocles) is a North American butterfly in the family Hesperiidae.
Whirlabout
The Whirlabout (Polites vibex) is a butterfly in the Hesperiidae family. It is resident from southeastern U.S. to the West Indies and Argentina, migrating northward to Ohio and Connecticut, and rarel in Ontario.
Byssus Skipper
The Byssus Skipper or Bunchgrass Skipper (Euphyes bayensis) is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is found along the Atlantic coastal plain of North America, from North Carolina south to Florida and the Gulf States and from northern Indiana west to Iowa and south to Missouri and Kansas.
Northern Broken-Dash
The Northern Broken Dash (Wallengrenia egeremet) is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is found from southern Maine and southern Ontario, west across the Great Lakes states to south-eastern North Dakota, south to central Florida, the Gulf Coast and south-eastern Texas.
Southern Broken Dash
The Southern Broken Dash (Wallengrenia otho) is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is found from eastern Texas and the south-eastern United States, south through the West Indies and Central America to Argentina. Strays can be found as far north as central Missouri, northern Kentucky and Delaware.
Yucca Giant-skipper
Megathymus yuccae, commonly known as the Yucca Giant-Skipper, is a rare early season butterfly that is widespread across the southern United States. It belongs in the family Hesperiidae, subfamily Megathyminae.
Twin-spot Skipper
Oligoria is a genus of skippers in the Hesperiidae family. It contains only one species, the Twin-spot Skipper (Oligoria maculata) which is found along the coast of North Carolina south through Florida and west along the Gulf Coast to east Texas. Strays can be found as far north as Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey.
Pipevine Swallowtail
The Pipevine Swallowtail or Blue Swallowtail (Battus philenor) is a swallowtail butterfly found in North America and Central America. The butterflies are black with iridescent blue hind wings. They are found in many different habitats, but are most commonly found in forests. The black or red caterpillars feed on Aristolochia species, making them poisonous as both ...more ↓
Polydamas Swallowtail
The Gold Rim Swallowtail or Polydamas Swallowtail (Battus polydamas) is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae.
Zebra Swallowtail
The Zebra Swallowtail (Protographium marcellus, formerly listed under genera Eurytides, Iphiclides, Graphium and Papilio by some authorities) is a swallowtail butterfly native to the eastern United States and southeast Canada. Its distinctive wing shape and long tails make it easy to identify, and its black and white-striped pattern is reminiscent of ...more ↓
Eastern Black Swallowtail
The (eastern) black swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes), also called the American swallowtail or parsnip swallowtail, is a butterfly found throughout much of North America. It is the state butterfly of Oklahoma. An extremely similar-appearing species, Papilio joanae, occurs in the Ozark Mountains region, but it appears to be closely related to Papilio ...more ↓
Spicebush Swallowtail
The Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus) is a common black swallowtail butterfly found in North America, also known as the Green-Clouded butterfly. It has two subspecies, Papilio troilus troilus and Papilio troilus ilioneus, the latter found mainly in the Florida peninsula. The spicebush swallowtail derives its name from its most common host plant, the ...more ↓
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) is a species of swallowtail butterfly native to North America. It is one of the most familiar butterflies in the eastern United States, where it is common in many different habitats. It flies from spring to fall, during which it produces two to three broods. Adults feed on the nectar of many species of flowers, mostly from those of ...more ↓
Palamedes Swallowtail
The Palamedes Swallowtail (Papilio palamedes sometimes called the Laurel Swallowtail) is a North American butterfly in the family Papilionidae.
Sleepy Orange
The Sleepy Orange (Eurema nicippe) is a North American butterfly in the family Pieridae.
Great Southern White
The Great Southern White (Ascia monuste) is the only species of butterfly of the genus Ascia of the Pieridae family. In this species the sexes may differ with the female being either light or dark colored. It is found from the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States, south through tropical America to Argentina. Migratory along the south-eastern coast of the ...more ↓
Orange Sulphur
The Orange Sulphur (Colias eurytheme), also known as the Alfalfa Butterfly and in its larval stage as Alfalfa Caterpillar, is a butterfly of the family Pieridae, where it belongs to the lowland group of "clouded yellows and sulphurs" subfamily Coliadinae. It is found throughout North America from southern Canada to Mexico, but is absent from the central and ...more ↓
Barred Yellow
The Fairy Yellow, Barred Yellow or Barred Sulphur (Eurema daira) is a butterfly of the Pieridae family. It is found from Argentina north to the southern United States. Strays can be found up to southern Arizona, South Dakota, southern Texas and even Washington D. C.
Dainty Sulphur
The Dainty Sulphur or Dwarf Yellow (Nathalis iole) is a North American butterfly in the family Pieridae.
Orange-barred Sulphur
The Orange-barred Sulphur (Phoebis philea) is a species of butterfly found in the Americas including the Caribbean.
Cloudless Sulphur
The Cloudless Sulphur or Cloudless Giant Sulphur (Phoebis sennae) is a midsized butterfly in the family Pieridae found in the New World. There are several similar species such as the Yellow Angled-sulphur (Anteos maerula), which has angled wings, or other sulphurs, which are much smaller.
Cabbage White
The Small White (Pieris rapae) is a small- to medium-sized butterfly species of the Yellows-and-Whites family Pieridae. It is also known as the Small Cabbage White and in New Zealand, simply as White Butterfly. The names "Cabbage Butterfly" and "Cabbage White" can also refer to the Large White.
Checkered White
The Checkered White (Pontia protodice), also called Southern Cabbage Butterfly, is a common North American butterfly in the family Pieridae. Its green larva is a type of cabbage worm.
Little Yellow
The Little Yellow, Little Sulphur, or Little Sulfur (Eurema lisa) is a species of Coliadinae that occurs in Central America and the southern part of North America.
Southern Dogface
The Southern Dogface, Colias cesonia, is a North American butterfly in the family Pieridae, subfamily Coliadinae (until recently the species was sometimes placed in the related genus Colias instead of Zerenia).
Great Purple Hairstreak
The Great Purple Hairstreak (Atlides halesus), also called the Great Blue Hairstreak, is a common gossamer-winged butterfly species in parts of the United States. It is actually a Neotropical species; its North American range only includes the warm-temperate and subtropical parts of that continent, and it ranges southwards almost to the Isthmus of Panama. The type ...more ↓
Red-banded Hairstreak
The Red-banded Hairstreak (Calycopis cecrops) is a butterfly native to the southeastern United States. It feeds on fallen leaves of sumac species and other trees. Its size ranges from 0.9–1.25 inches (23–32 mm). It lives near coastal areas and edges.
Oak Hairstreak
The Oak Hairstreak or Southern Hairstreak (Satyrium favonius) is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found from southern New England and the Atlantic Coast south to peninsular Florida and west to central Illinois, south-eastern Colorado and the Gulf Coast.
White M Hairstreak
The White M Hairstreak, Parrhasius m-album, is a species of butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found in Connecticut west to southeast Iowa and Missouri south to east Texas the Gulf Coast, and peninsular Florida. On rare occasions some stray to Michigan and Wisconsin.
Striped hairstreak
The Striped Hairstreak (Satyrium liparops) is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found in North America, from the Rocky Mountains south from southern Canada to Colorado, east to Maine and south to Florida.
Gray Hairstreak
The Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus), is one of the most common hairstreaks in North America, ranging over nearly the entire continent. It occurs also throughout Central America and in northern South America.
Ceraunus Blue
Hemiargus ceraunus, the Ceraunus Blue, is a butterfly in the Lycaenidae family. It is found in the south-western United States, southern Texas, Florida and the Florida Keys south through the West Indies, Mexico and Central America to South America. Strays may be found in North Carolina, Missouri, Kansas and Nevada. The habitat consists of open woodland, desert scrub, ...more ↓
Cassius Blue
Leptotes cassius, commonly known as the Cassius Blue or Tropical Striped Blue, is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found in Florida and the Keys, Texas south through the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America to South America. Strays can be found in New Mexico, Kansas, Missouri and South Carolina.
Gulf Fritillary
The Gulf Fritillary or Passion Butterfly (Agraulis vanillae) is a bright orange butterfly of the family Nymphalidae and subfamily Heliconiinae. It was formerly classified in a separate family, the Heliconiidae or longwing butterflies, and like other longwings this species does have long, rather narrow wings in comparison with other butterflies. It is not closely related ...more ↓
White Peacock
The White Peacock (Anartia jatrophae) is a species of butterfly found in the southeastern United States, Central America, and throughout much of South America.
Hackberry Emperor
The Hackberry Emperor (Asterocampa celtis) is a North American butterfly that belongs to the family of brushfooted butterflies, Nymphalidae.
Tawny Emperor
The Tawny Emperor (Asterocampa clyton) is a species of brush-footed butterfly. It is native to North America, especially the eastern half from Canada to northern Mexico.
Common Wood Nymph
The Common Wood-nymph (Cercyonis pegala) is a North American butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is also known as the Wood-nymph, Grayling,Blue-eyed Grayling, and the Goggle Eye.
Gemmed Satyr
The Gemmed Satyr (Cyllopsis gemma) is a species of butterfly of the Nymphalidae family. It is found in the South-Eastern United States and North-Eastern Mexico.
Queen
The Queen Butterfly (Danaus gilippus) is a North and South American butterfly in the family Nymphalidae with a wingspan of 70–88 mm (2.8–3.5 in). It is orange or brown with black wing borders and small white forewing spots on its dorsal wing surface, and reddish ventral wing surface fairly similar to the dorsal surface. The ventral hindwings have black veins and small white ...more ↓
Monarch
The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae) in the family Nymphalidae. It may be the most familiar North American butterfly. The monarch butterfly is not currently listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) or protected specifically under U.S. domestic laws. Its wings feature ...more ↓
Variegated Fritillary
The Variegated Fritillary (Euptoieta claudia) is a North and South American butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. Even though the Variegated Fritillary has some very different characteristics from the Speyeria Fritillaries, it is still closely related to them. Some of the differences are: Variegated Fritillaries have 2–3 broods per year vs. one per year in Speyeria; ...more ↓
Zebra longwing
The Zebra Longwing or Zebra Heliconian (Heliconius charithonia) is a species of butterfly belonging to the subfamily Heliconiinae of the Nymphalidae.
Carolina Satyr
The Carolina Satyr (Hermeuptychia sosybius) is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family. It is found from southern New Jersey south along the coast to southern Florida, west to south-eastern Kansas, central Oklahoma and central Texas. It is also found in Mexico.
Common Buckeye
The common buckeye or simply, buckeye, (Junonia coenia) is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in southern Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia and all parts of the United States except the northwest, and is especially common in the south, the California coast, and throughout Central America and Colombia. The sub-species Junonia coenia bergi is ...more ↓
Mangrove Buckeye
The Mangrove Buckeye or West Indian Buckeye (Junonia evarete) is a neotropical nymphalid butterfly found from Florida and the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, to tropical and subtropical South America. The type locality is Surinam, and numerous subspecies have been described. The synonymy is extensive, and older literature must be used with caution.
American Snout
The American Snout or Common Snout Butterfly (Libytheana carinenta) is a member of the Libytheinae subfamily, in the brush-footed butterfly family Nymphalidae. This species is found in both North and South America. The larval host plants are Celtis spp. on which the eggs are laid singly. Massive migrations of this species often attract attention in the Texas ...more ↓
Viceroy
The Viceroy (Limenitis archippus) is a North American butterfly with a range from the Northwest Territories along the eastern edges of the Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada mountains, southwards into central Mexico.
Red-spotted Purple
The White Admiral or Red-spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis) is a polytypic species of North American brush-footed butterfly, common throughout much of the eastern United States. L. a. astyanax has red spots on its underside and the top of the wings are notable for their iridescent blue markings. L. a. arthemis on the other hand has a large white band ...more ↓
Little Wood Satyr
The Little Wood Satyr (Megisto cymela) is a species of Satyrinae that occurs in North America.
