Wildlife of Cherry Creek State Park

Comprised of an 880-acre reservoir and 3305 acres of upland, Cherry Creek State Park is the largest regional park and recreation area in the southeast Denver area. it was also the first park in the state park system. Located in the High Plains section of the Great Plains, the park sits on a ...more ↓

Ottoe Skipper

The Ottoe Skipper (Hesperia ottoe) is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family.

Uncas Skipper

The Uncas Skipper or White-vein Skipper (Hesperia uncas) is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is found from US midwest to southern portions of the three Canadian Prairie provinces, north as far as Edmonton, Alberta.

Peck's Skipper

The Peck's Skipper (Polites peckius) is a North American butterfly in the family Hesperiidae (skippers), subfamily Hesperiinae (grass skippers). This skipper ranges across Canada from British Columbia, as far north as Cartwright, Labrador; Moar Lake, Ontario; Leaf Rapids, Manitoba; and the Hay River area in Alberta. In the US, it ranges in most of the northern and central ...more ↓

Sandhill Skipper

The Sandhill Skipper or Saltgrass Skipper (Polites sabuleti) is a butterfly in the Hesperiidae family. It is found from southern British Columbia and eastern Washington, south through California and northern Arizona to Baja California and east to south-eastern Wyoming, central Colorado, and north-eastern New Mexico. It is an introduced species in Hawaii.

Tawny-edged Skipper

The Tawny-edged Skipper (Polites themistocles) is a North American butterfly in the family Hesperiidae.

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.

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.

Afranius Duskywing

Afranius Duskywing or Bald Duskywing (Erynnis afranius) is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is found from northern Mexico through central United States to southern Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.

Small Checkered Skipper

The Small Checkered Skipper (Pyrgus scriptura) is a species of skipper (family Hesperiidae). It is found from the Texas to Montana, southeastern Alberta, and southwestern Saskatchewan.

Common Sootywing

Pholisora catullus (the Common Sootywing or Roadside Rambler) is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is found from the central parts of the United States, south to central Mexico. Strays may colonizes up to southern British Columbia, northern Michigan, southern Quebec and southern Maine. It is not found on Peninsular Florida.

Viceroy

The viceroy (Limenitis archippus) is a North American butterfly that ranges through most of the contiguous United States as well as parts of Canada and Mexico. The westernmost portion of its range extends from the Northwest Territories along the eastern edges of the Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada mountains, southwards into central Mexico. Its easternmost range extends along the ...more ↓

Weidemeyer's Admiral

The Weidemeyer's Admiral (Limenitis weidemeyerii) is a butterfly from the Nymphalinae subfamily, in western North America.

Field Crescent

The Field Crescent (Phyciodes pulchella) is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family. It is found in the Nearctic ecozone.

Pearl Crescent

The Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos) is a butterfly of North America. It is found in all parts of the United States except the west coast, and throughout Mexico and parts of southern Canada, in particular Ontario. Its habitat is open areas such as pastures, road edges, vacant lots, fields, open pine woods. Its pattern is quite variable. Males usually have black antennal ...more ↓

Gorgone Checkerspot

The Gorgone Checkerspot (Chlosyne gorgone) is a species of Nymphalinae that occurs in North America.

West Coast Lady

The West Coast Lady (Vanessa annabella) is one of three North American species of brush-footed butterflies known colloquially as the "painted ladies". V. annabella occurs throughout much of the western US and south western Canada. The other two species are the cosmopolitan Vanessa cardui (Painted Lady) and the eastern Vanessa virginiensis (American ...more ↓

Painted Lady

Vanessa cardui is a well-known colourful butterfly, known as the Painted Lady, or in North America as the Cosmopolitan. This butterfly has a strange pattern of flying in a sort of screw shape.

American Lady

The American Painted Lady or American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis) is a butterfly found throughout North America.

Mourning Cloak

Nymphalis antiopa, known as the Mourning Cloak in North America and the Camberwell Beauty in Britain, is a large butterfly native to Eurasia and North America. See also Anglewing butterflies.

Eastern Comma

The Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma) is a North American butterfly in the family Nymphalidae, subfamily Nymphalinae.

Question Mark

The Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis) is a North American nymphalid butterfly. They live in wooded areas and city parks, or generally in areas which feature trees and free spaces. The adult butterfly has a wingspan of 4.5–7.6 cm (1.8–3.0 in). Its flight period is from May to September. "The silver mark on the underside of the hindwing is broken into two parts, a curved ...more ↓

Satyr Comma

The Satyr Comma (Polygonia satyrus) is a North American butterfly of the species nymphalid, primarily found in Western Canada, where it is locally common. It bears a resemblance to the Eastern Comma, with which it is frequently confused.

Milbert's Tortoiseshell

Milbert's Tortoiseshell (Aglais milberti), also known as the Fire-rim Tortoiseshell, is the only species of Aglais that occurs in North America.

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 ↓

Ridings' Satyr

Neominois ridingsii, Riding's Satyr, is a species of butterfly in the Nymphalidae family. It is found from southern Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba south to the Guadalupe and Catron counties of New Mexico, and west to the central Sierra Nevada of California and central Oregon. The habitat consists of short-grass prairie, intermountain areas and grasslands with some ...more ↓

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.

Aphrodite Fritillary

The Aphrodite Fritillary (Speyeria aphrodite) is a fritillary butterfly, from North America. This orange coloured fritillary has rows of dark dots or chevrons at the wing edges and black or brown lines more proximally. The ventral side of the wings are also orange with several rows of white dots. Its wingspan is between 51 and 73 mm.

Edwards' Fritillary

The Edwards' Fritillary (Speyeria edwardsii) is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family of North America. It is common from Alberta west to Manitoba and south as far as northern New Mexico.

Regal Fritillary

The regal fritillary (Speyeria idalia) is a striking nymphalid butterfly found among some of the remaining tallgrass and mixed-grass prairies in the east-central United States. This prairie-specialist butterfly has a characteristic deep orange color and unmistakable dark hindwings with two bands of spots (Brock 2003). On the female, both bands of spots are white. However, on the ...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 ↓

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 ↓

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 ↓

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.

Acadian Hairstreak

The Acadian Hairstreak (Satyrium acadica) is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found from British Columbia east to Nova Scotia and south to Idaho, Colorado, the northern Midwest, Maryland, and New Jersey.

Coral Hairstreak

The Coral Hairstreak (Satyrium titus) is a North American butterfly in the family Lycaenidae.

Ruddy Copper

The Ruddy Copper (Lycaena rubidus) is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found in the western mountains of North America.

Purplish Copper

The Purplish Copper (Lycaena helloides) is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found from Great Lakes area to British Columbia, south to Baja California.

Bronze Copper

Lycaena hyllus, the bronze copper, is a butterfly of the lycaenids family found in North America.

Marine Blue

The Marine Blue or Striped Blue (Leptotes marina) is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found in from South America through Mexico up to Southern Texas, Arizona and California.

Western Tailed-Blue

The Western Tailed-blue (Cupido amyntula) is a member of the Lycaenidae family and is seen across western North America as far norther as Alaska. The upperside of the male butterfly is blue while the female has a darker brown band on the outer side of the wing. The underside is riddle with black spots, with a wingspan of 2.2 to 2.9 cm. The larvae feed on Thermopsis, ...more ↓

Eastern Tailed-blue

The Eastern Tailed-blue or Eastern Tailed Blue (Cupido comyntas), also known as Everes comyntas, is a common butterfly of eastern North America. Males are generally blue on the upperside of their wings while females are lighter blue to brown or charcoal in coloring, but there are also varieties of purple and pink found in both sexes. The underside coloration ranges ...more ↓

Reakirt's Blue

The Reakirt's Blue (Hemiargus isola) is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found in Central America and the extreme southern U.S., isola migrates regularly throughout most of the U.S. almost to the Canadian border, and very rarely into the southern Prairies.

Melissa Blue

The Melissa Blue (Lycaeides melissa) is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found in Western North America, from Canada to Mexico. The Karner Blue (Lycaeides melissa samuelis) is a subspecies of the Melissa Blue, and was described by the novelist/lepidopterist Vladimir Nabokov. It is sometimes placed in the genus Plebejus.

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).

Large Orange Sulphur

The Orange Giant Sulphur or Large Orange Sulphur (Phoebis agarithe) is a butterfly in the Pieridae family. It is found from Peru north to southern Texas and peninsular Florida. Rare strays can be found up to Colorado, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and New Jersey. The habitat consists of open, tropical lowlands including gardens, pastures, road edges, trails and parks.

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.

White Angled-Sulphur

The White Angled-sulphur (Anteos clorinde) is a butterfly of the Pieridae family. It is found in South America, Central America, and southern North America.

Mexican Yellow

The Mexican Yellow (Eurema mexicana, sometimes called the Wolf-Face Sulphur) is a North and South American butterfly in the family Pieridae. It occurs mainly in Mexico but occasionally is found in central and southwestern USA and rarely in Canada.

Dainty Sulphur

The Dainty Sulphur or Dwarf Yellow (Nathalis iole) is a North American butterfly in the family Pieridae.

Queen Alexandra’s Sulphur

The Queen Alexandra's Sulphur, Alexandra Sulphur, or Ultraviolet Sulfur (Colias alexandra) is a butterfly in the family Pieridae found in western North America. Its range includes Alaska to the Northwest Territories and south to Arizona and New Mexico.

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 ↓

Clouded Sulphur

The Common or Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice) is a North American butterfly in the family Pieridae, subfamily Coliadinae.

Sleepy Orange

The Sleepy Orange (Eurema nicippe) is a North American butterfly in the family Pieridae.

Olympia Marble

Euchloe olympia, the Olympia marble, is a butterfly in the Pieridae family. Its range is southern Canada and the midwest, down into the southwestern United States.

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.

Western White

The Western White (Pontia occidentalis) is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in Western North America.

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.

Isabella Tiger Moth

Pyrrharctia isabella, the isabella tiger moth or woollybear, occurs in the United States and southern Canada. It was first described by James Edward Smith in 1797.

Corn Earworm Moth

Helicoverpa zea, commonly known as the corn earworm, is a species (formerly in the genus Heliothis) in the family Noctuidae. The larva of the moth Helicoverpa zea is a major agricultural pest that causes massive economic costs. Since it is polyphagous (can feed on many different plants) during the larval stage, this species has been given many different common ...more ↓

Four-spotted Moth

Tyta luctuosa is a noctuid ("owlet") moth. Its common names include four-spotted moth and field bindweed moth. It is the only member of the genus Tyta, which forms a hitherto monotypic tribe Tytini in the Catocalinae subfamily.

Meal moth

Pyralis farinalis, the meal moth, is a cosmopolitan moth of the family Pyralidae. Its larvae (caterpillars) are pests of certain stored foods, namely milled plant products.

Alfalfa Webworm Moth

The Alfalfa Webworm (Loxostege cereralis) is a species of moth of the Crambidae family. It is found from Quebec to British Columbia, south to Mexico in the west.

Poison hemlock moth

The hemlock moth (Agonopterix alstroemeriana), also known as the defoliating hemlock moth or poison hemlock moth, is a nocturnal moth species of the family Depressariidae. Of Palaearctic origin, it was first found in North America in 1973 when it was accidentally introduced. The moth is now widespread throughout the northern half of the United States, ...more ↓

Turfgrass Ant

Lasius neoniger, also known as the turfgrass ant, Labour day ant, cornfield ant or nuisance ant, is a species of ant in the genus Lasius. Found in North America, the species is common in the eastern United States and Canada, though they can be found all over the continent. They are usually light brown in color, with a slightly darker head.

Red Harvester Ant

Pogonomyrmex barbatus is a species of harvester ant from the genus Pogonomyrmex. Its common names include red ant and red harvester ant. These large (5– to 7-mm) ants prefer arid chaparral habitats and are native to the Southwestern United States. Nests are made underground (up to 2.5 m deep) in exposed areas. Their diets consist primarily of seeds, and they ...more ↓

Western Harvester Ant

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis, or the western harvester ant, is a species of ant that inhabits the deserts and arid grasslands of the American West at or below 6,300 feet (1,900 m). Like other harvester ants in the genus Pogonomyrmex, it is so called because of its habit of collecting edible seeds and other food items. The specific epithet "occidentalis", ...more ↓

Yellow-legged Mud-dauber Wasp

Black and yellow mud dauber is a common name for the sphecid wasp species Sceliphron caementarium.

Eastern Cicada-killer Wasp

Sphecius speciosus, often simply referred to as the cicada killer or the cicada hawk, is a large digger wasp species. Cicada killers are large, solitary wasps in the family Crabronidae. The name may be applied to any species of crabronid which preys on cicadas, though in North America it is typically applied to a single species, S. speciosus. However, since ...more ↓

Brown-belted Bumble Bee

Bombus griseocollis is a species of bumblebee known commonly as the brown-belted bumblebee. It is native to much of the United States except for the Southwest, and to the southernmost regions of several of the provinces of Canada.

Hunt's Bumble Bee

Bombus huntii is a species of bumblebee. It is native to western North America, where it occurs in western Canada and the United States as far east as Manitoba and Minnesota, and in Mexico as far south as the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. It is known commonly as the Hunt bumblebee or Hunt's bumblebee.

Western Honey Bee

The western honey bee or European honey bee (Apis mellifera) is the most common of the 7–12 species of honey bee worldwide. The genus name Apis is Latin for "bee", and mellifera is the Latin for "honey-bearing", referring to the species' production of honey for the winter.

European Paper Wasp

The European paper wasp (Polistes dominula, often misspelled as dominulus) is one of the most common and well-known species of social wasps in the genus Polistes. Its diet is more diverse than that of most Polistes species (many genera of insects versus mainly caterpillars in other Polistes), giving it superior survival value over many other wasp ...more ↓

Golden Paper Wasp

Polistes aurifer, the golden paper wasp, is a species of paper wasp in the family Vespidae.

Long-tailed Giant Ichneumonid Wasp

Megarhyssa macrurus (common name giant ichneumon wasp), is a species of large ichneumon wasp.

Big Sand Tiger Beetle

Cicindela formosa, the big sand tiger beetle, is a species of flashy tiger beetle in the family Carabidae. It is found in North America.

Purple Tiger Beetle

Cicindela purpurea, known generally as the purple tiger beetle or cow path tiger beetle, is a species of flashy tiger beetle in the family Carabidae. It is found in North America.

Bronzed Tiger Beetle

Cicindela repanda, commonly known as the bronzed tiger beetle or common shore tiger beetle, is a species of tiger beetle that measures 10–13 millimetres (0.39–0.51 in) long, lives in most of North America. Its labrum is small with one tooth and the pronotum is coppery and hairy. The shoulder marking touches or nearly touches the middle band. It is usually seen in ...more ↓

Cratacanthus dubius

Cratacanthus dubius is a species of beetle in the family Carabidae, the only species in the genus Cratacanthus.

Rain-beetle

Pterostichus melanarius is a species of ground beetle native to Europe.

Spotted Cucumber Beetle

The spotted cucumber beetle (Diabrotica undecimpunctata) is a beetle native to North America. The beetle is also a major agricultural pest insect of North America (see also cucumber beetle).

Rabbitbrush Beetle

Trirhabda nitidicollis is a species of leaf beetle in the family Chrysomelidae. It is found in North America.

Edited by Colorado Parks and Wildlife, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)