Acadia National Park Butterfly Guide 🦋

aka Carterocephalus palaemon

Color: Upperside is black with squarish orange spots. Underside of the forewing is orange with black spots; underside of hindwing is red-orange with cream spots outlined in black.
Wingspan: 1 - 1 1/4 inches (2.5 - 3.2 cm)
Host plants: Grasses including purple reedgrass (Calamagrostis purpurascens) in California, and bromes (Bromus) in Europe; probably others.
Overwintering stage: fully-grown caterpillars
Mate-Location system: perching and sometimes patrolling
Flight: May-July

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Carterocephalus-palaemon less ↑

Color: Wings are bright yellow-orange. Upperside has black borders and black veins near the margins; forewing has a black bar at the end of the cell. Females have wider borders and darker markings than males. Underside has no markings but may have darker orange veins.
Wingspan: 1 - 1 11/16 inches (2.5 - 4.3 cm)
Host plants: Various grasses including big bluestem (Andropogon gerardi), switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), and wooly beard grass (Erianthus divaricatus).
Adult food: Nectar from pink and white flowers including swamp and common milkweeds, shrub houstonia, mountain mint, marsh fleabane, sweet pepperbush, buttonbush, thistles, and pickerelweed.
Overwintering stage:
Mate-Location system: perching
Flight: July-August in the north

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Anatrytone-logan less ↑

Color: Upperside is reddish brown with pale spots; male forewing has a black stigma. Underside of hindwing is light gray-green with a pale postmedian band.
Wingspan: 1 - 1 3/16 inches (2.5 - 3.1 cm)
Host plants: Bluegrass (Poa pratensis), Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans and S. secundum), and Indian woodoats grass (Chasmanthium latifolia).
Adult food: Nectar from flowers including viburnum and blackberry.
Overwintering stage: larvae, possibly first-stage
Mate-Location system:
Flight: April-July

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Amblyscirtes-hegon
Scott, 1986 The Butterflies of North America less ↑

Color: Forewings are pointed, fringe is white. Underside of head and body are white. Upperside is dark brown; male forewing with reddish orange patch, female forewing with 2 pale spots. Underside of hindwing is orange-brown with pale veins and a white anal fold.
Wingspan: 1 1/4 - 1 5/8 inches (3.2 - 4.2 cm)
Host plants: Hairyfruit sedge (Carex trichocarpa).
Adult food: Nectar from flowers including pickerelweed, sweet pepperbush, blue flag, common milkweed, and spiraea.
Overwintering stage: Half-grown caterpillars
Mate-Location system: perching
Flight: June-July in the north

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Euphyes-bimacula less ↑

Color: Wings are rounded. Upperside of male is yellow-orange with irregular black borders and no stigma; underside of hindwing has purple-gray on the inner margin. Female has 2 forms: Upperside of normal form is duller and has less orange than the male; underside of hindwing is orange with purple-gray at the inner margin. Upperside of "pocahontas" form is purple-black with some dull white spots on the forewing; underside is purple-black with the pattern obscured.
Wingspan: 1 - 1 11/16 inches (2.5 - 4.3 cm)
Host plants: Various grasses including panic grasses (Panicum) and bluegrasses (Poa).
Adult food: Nectar from flowers including common milkweed, henbit, viper's bugloss, and blackberry.
Overwintering stage:
Mate-Location system: perching
Flight: April-July

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Poanes-hobomok less ↑

Color: Upperside of head and thorax is yellow-orange. Wings are brown-black; male forewing has a black stigma, female forewing has very small cloudy white spots.
Wingspan: 1 1/8 - 1 3/8 inches (2.9 - 3.5 cm)
Host plants: Various sedges including chufa flatsedge (Cyperus esculentus) and sun sedge (Carex heliophila).
Adult food: Nectar from white, pink, or purple flowers including common milkweed, purple vetch, selfheal, peppermint, dogbane, New Jersey tea, and viper's bugloss.
Overwintering stage: Third-stage caterpillars
Mate-Location system: perching
Flight: June-early August in the north

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Euphyes-vestris less ↑

aka Silver Spotted Skipper

Color: upperside of females darker than males
Wingspan: 1 1/8- 1 1/4 inches (2.2 - 3.0 cm).
Host plants: Various grasses and sedges
Adult food: Nectar from many flowers including asters, goldenrods, and blazing star
Overwintering stage: (except in the Arctic) eggs
Mate-Location system: perching
Flight: mainly July-August

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Hesperia-comma less ↑

Color: Upperside is dark brown with reddish to yellowish orange markings. Forewing of female has a broad black patch at the base; male forewing has a long, slightly curved stigma which may be connected to the dash near the apex (creating a "long dash"). Underside of hindwing is orange-brown with a curved band of equal-sized yellow spots.
Wingspan: 1 1/8 - 1 1/2 inches (2.9 - 3.8 cm)
Host plants: Bluegrasses (Poa species).
Overwintering stage: Fourth-stage caterpillars
Mate-Location system: perching
Flight: late May-early August

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Polites-mystic less ↑

aka European Skipper

Color: Wings are brassy burnt orange; upperside of both wings with black borders and black on the outer portions of the veins. The male forewing has a narrow black stigma. A pale form (pallida) is very rare.
Wingspan: 1 - 1 1/8 inches (2.5 - 2.9 cm)
Host plants: Timothy (Phleum pratense) and other grasses.
Adult food: Nectar from low-growing flowers including orange hawkweed, thistles, ox-eye daisy, fleabane, white clover, red clover, selfheal, Deptford pink, common milkweed, and swamp milkweed.
Overwintering stage: eggs
Mate-Location system: patrolling
Flight: mid-May to mid-July

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Thymelicus-lineola less ↑

Color: Upperside of male is brown with clear spots, indistinct dark markings, and scattered white hairs; female has larger markings and spots. Underside of hindwing has 2 round pale spots below the apex. Male has a costal fold containing yellow scent scales; female has a patch of scent scales on the 7th abdominal segment.
Wingspan: 1 1/4 - 1 15/16 inches (3.2 - 4.9 cm)
Host plants: Tree and shrub oaks (Quercus species).
Adult food: Nectar from flowers of winter cress, dandelion, wild plum, wisteria, blueberry, Carolina vetch, redbud, and lilac.
Overwintering stage: fully-grown caterpillars
Mate-Location system: perching
Flight: April-June

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Erynnis-juvenalis less ↑

Color: Upperside is black with a few small white spots at the tip of the forewing. Underside is dark brown with violet-gray at the forewing tip and the outer half of the hindwing.
Wingspan: 7/8 - 1 1/4 inches (2.2 - 3.2 cm)
Host plants: Various grasses including wild oats (Avena), bent grass (Agrostis), bluegrass (Poa), Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon), and Indian woodoats grass (Chasmanthium latifolia).
Overwintering stage: caterpillars
Mate-Location system: perching
Flight: March-July

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Amblyscirtes-vialis less ↑