Scotts Bluff National Monument Butterfly Guide 🦋

Wingspan: 1 3/4 - 3 inches (4.5 - 7.6 cm)
Host plants: Purpletop (Tridens flavus) and other grasses
Overwintering stage: Caterpillars hatch but do not feed, instead hibernating until spring.
Mate-Location system: patrolling
Flight: One brood from late May-October. Females emerge later than males

Source: https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Cercyonis-pegala less ↑

Wingspan: 3 3/8 - 4 7/8 inches (8.6 - 12.4 cm)
Host plants: common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), swamp milkweed (A. incarnata), and showy milkweed (A. speciosa); and milkweed vine in the tropics.
Overwintering stage: Adults make massive migrations from August-October
Mate-Location system:
Flight: In North America during spring and summer there may be 1-3 broods in the north and 4-6 broods in the south. May breed all year in Florida, South Texas, and southeastern California.
Conservation status: G4 (Apparently secure globally), S2 (Imperiled in NE)
Source: https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Danaus-plexippus less ↑

Wingspan: 2 1/4 - 4 inches (5.7 - 10.1 cm)
Host plants: Willows including black willow (Salix nigra), weeping willow (S. babylonica), and silky willow (S. sericea); also American elm (Ulmus americana), cottonwood (Populus deltoides), aspen (P. tremuloides), paper birch (Betula papyrifera), and hackberry (Celtis occidentalis). Older caterpillars wander about and may be found on plants that they do not eat.
Overwintering stage: adults
Mate-Location system: perching
Flight: June-July

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Nymphalis-antiopa less ↑

Wingspan: 2 1/2 - 3 3/8 inches (6.3 - 8.6 cm)
Host plants: Trees in the willow family (Salicaceae) including willows (Salix), and poplars and cottonwoods (Populus).
Adult food: Early in season - aphid honeydew, carrion, dung, and decaying fungi. Later generations feed more often at flowers, favoring composites including aster, goldenrod, joe-pye weed, shepherd's needle, and Canada thistle.
Overwintering stage: third stage caterpillar
Mate-Location system: perching and patrolling
Flight: 2-3 broods from May-September in most of its range

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Limenitis-archippus less ↑

Wingspan: 1 3/4 - 3 1/8 inches (4.5 - 8 cm)
Host plants: maypops (Passiflora incarnata), may apple (Podophyllum peltata), violets (Viola), purslane (Portulaca), stonecrop (Sedum), and moonseed (Menispermum)
Adult food: Nectar from several plant species including butterflyweed, common milkweed, dogbane, peppermint, red clover, swamp milkweed, and tickseed sunflower
Overwintering stage: overwinters only in the south; flies north each spring and summer
Mate-Location system: patrolling
Flight: 3 broods from April-October in the north, four broods from February or March-November or December in the south.

Source: https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Euptoieta-claudia less ↑

Wingspan: 2 - 2 7/8 inches (5.1 - 7.3 cm)
Host plants: More than 100 host plants have been noted; favorites include thistles (Asteraceae), hollyhock and mallow (Malvaceae), and various legumes (Fabaceae).
Overwintering stage: Adults hibernate only in the South and in mild winters
Mate-Location system: perching and patrolling
Flight: One to three flights in the East from May-October

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Vanessa-cardui less ↑

Wingspan: 2 5/8 - 3 7/8 inches (6.7 - 9.8 cm)
Host plants: herb Asclepiadaceae (Milkweeds)
Overwintering stage: N/A
Mate-Location system: patrolling
Flight: July-August

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

Wingspan: 1 3/4 - 3 inches (4.5 - 7.6 cm)
Host plants: various plant from nettle family (Urticaceae)
Adult food: fermented fruit, asters, milkweeds
Overwintering stage: adult
Mate-Location system: perching
Flight: Two broods from March-October in the north, winters from October-March in South Texas

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Vanessa-atalanta less ↑

Wingspan: 2 1/2 - 3 3/8 inches (6.3 - 8.6 cm).
Host plants: Violets including Viola nuttallii and V. adunca.
Overwintering stage: First-stage unfed caterpillars
Mate-Location system: patrolling
Flight: late June - early September

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Speyeria-edwardsii less ↑