Denver-Boulder Metro Area: Butterflies and Moths
This guide contains butterflies and moths that can be found in the Denver-Boulder Metro Area, including Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson Counties.
Dorcas Copper
Lycaena dorcas is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae, the gossamer-winged butterflies. Its common names include dorcas copper and cinquefoil copper. It is native to North America. The species L. dospassosi was once included in L. dorcas.
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.
Lustrous Copper
The Lustrous Copper (Lycaena cuprea) is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found in the western mountains of North America.
Spring Azure
The Spring Azure (Celastrina ladon) is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found in North America from Alaska and Canada south of the tundra, through most of the United States except the Texas coast, southern plain and peninsula Florida; south in the mountains to Colombia.
Lucia Azure
Celastrina lucia, the lucia azure, northern azure, eastern spring azure or northern spring azure, is a species of butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found eastern North America, ranging from the Maritimes south through the Appalachian Mountains to West Virginia.
Silvery Blue
The Silvery Blue (Glaucopsyche lygdamus) is a small butterfly native to North America. Upperside is a light blue in males, a dull grayish blue in females. Underside is gray with single row of round spots of differing sizes depending upon region.
Arrowhead Blue
The Arrowhead Blue (Glaucopsyche piasus) is a western North American butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is a locally common butterfly that favors prairie, open woodland, and woodland edges and trails.
Ancilla Blue
The Rocky Mountain Dotted Blue (Euphilotes ancilla) is a species of butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found from Washington south to California and southern Alberta and Saskatchewan south through rockies and high plains to Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and northwestern New Mexico
Rita's Blue
The Rita Blue or Desert Buckwheat Blue (Euphilotes rita) is a species of butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found in Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and northern Mexico.
Western Pygmy-Blue
The Western Pygmy Blue (Brephidium exilis or Brephidium exile) is one of the smallest butterflies in the world and is the smallest in North America. It has reached Hawaii. It has a wingspread of about half an inch.
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.
Arctic Blue
The Arctic Blue or Glandon Blue (Agriades glandon) is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. In North America it is found from Alaska east to Newfoundland, south through the mountains to Washington, northern Arizona, and northern New Mexico. In Europe, it is found in mountainous areas like the Pyrenees and Alps, as well as the far north. It is also found in parts of ...more ↓
Boisduval's Blue
Aricia icarioides, or Boisduval's blue, is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family found in North America.
Lupine Blue
Aricia lupini, the lupine blue, is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found from south-western Canada, south through much of mountainous and intermountain western United States and high plains to northern Mexico.
Shasta Blue
Plebejus shasta, the Shasta blue, is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found from the northwestern United States to southern Saskatchewan and Alberta.
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).
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.
Lyside Sulphur
Kricogonia lyside, commonly known as the Lyside Sulphur or Guayacan Sulphur, is a North and South American butterfly in the family Pieridae. In seasons with heavy monsoons, this butterfly is seen in massive migrations which are frequent in Texas but more rare in the southwest. It is also an occasional resident in southern Florida.
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.
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 ↓
Mead's Sulphur
The Mead's Sulphur (Colias meadii) is a butterfly in the family Pieridae found in North America. Its range includes the Rocky Mountains in Canada and the USA.
Clouded Sulphur
The Common or Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice) is a North American butterfly in the family Pieridae, subfamily Coliadinae.
Scudder's Sulphur
Colias scudderii, the Willow Sulphur, is a butterfly in the Pieridae family. It is found from Alaska south through the Rocky Mountains to northern New Mexico. The habitat consists of mountain meadows and willow bogs.
Sleepy Orange
The Sleepy Orange (Eurema nicippe) is a North American butterfly in the family Pieridae.
Julia Orangetip
Anthocharis julia, the southern Rocky Mountain orangetip, is a butterfly found in the southern Rocky Mountains on the eastern side of the range.
Large Marble
Large Marble or Creamy Marblewing (Euchloe ausonides) is a species of butterfly that occurs in North America.
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.
Pine White
The Pine White (Neophasia menapia) is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in western USA and in southern British Columbia.
Margined White
The Margined White (Pieris marginalis) is a butterfly found in the Yukon, Western Canada and the Rocky Mountains of North America.
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.
Spring White
The Spring White, California White, or Colorado White (Pontia sisymbrii) is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in mountainous areas of western Canada and the USA.
Anstenoptilia marmarodactyla
Anstenoptilia marmarodactyla is a moth of the family Pterophoridae. It is native to California and Arizona, south through Mexico to Costa Rica. It is an introduced species in Hawaii.
Morning-glory Plume Moth
Emmelina monodactyla (T-moth or morning-glory plume moth) is a moth of the family Pterophoridae. It is found in Europe, Japan, central Asia, North Africa and North America.
Clover Looper Moth
The Clover Looper or Range Grass Moth (Caenurgina crassiuscula) is a moth of the Erebidae family. It is found from coast to coast in the United States and adjacent parts of Canada, in the west to the Northwest Territories, Yukon, and Alaska.
Forage Looper Moth
The Forage Looper or Common Grass Moth (Caenurgina erechtea) is a moth of the Noctuidae family. It is found from coast to coast in the United States and adjacent parts of Canada. It is not found in Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories.
Aholibah Underwing Moth
The Aholibah underwing (Catocala aholibah) is a moth of the "owlet" family Erebidae, which has over 25,000 known members, and more than that yet undescribed. Like other moths of the underwing genus (Catocala), this species has dull gray and black speckled forewings which help it blend into its surroundings, and bright orange underwings that it reveals to startle ...more ↓
Sweetheart Underwing
Catocala amatrix, the sweetheart underwing, is a moth of the Erebidae family. The species can be found from Nova Scotia, south through Connecticut to Florida and west through Texas and Oklahoma to Arizona and north to Montana, Minnesota, and Ontario.
Western Underwing Moth
Catocala californica is a moth of the Erebidae family. It is found from British Columbia and Alberta south through Washington and Oregon to California.
Grote's Underwing Moth
Grote’s Underwing (Catocala grotiana) is a moth of the Erebidae family. It is found from Arizona, north through Utah into Colorado. It has also been spotted in Washington and in the western United States north and east of California.
Joined Underwing Moth
The Joined Underwing or Stretch's Underwing (Catocala junctura) is an Erebidae species. It is found throughout temperate North America. The species ranges from New York and Pennsylvania west to Montana, Colorado, Oklahoma, Arizona and into Texas, and north to southern Illinois, extreme southern Alberta and Saskatchewan; it has also been recorded west of the Rocky ...more ↓
Little Underwing
The Little Underwing (Catocala minuta) is a moth of the Erebidae family. It is found from New York to Florida and west to Texas and north to South Dakota, Indiana and Michigan.
Semirelict Underwing Moth
Catocala semirelicta, the semirelict underwing, is a moth of the Erebidae family. It is found from Nevada, Colorado, Utah, California, and Nova Scotia south to Maine, west across Canada to British Columbia, and southward in the mountains.
Ultronia Underwing
The Dark Red Underwing or Ultronia Underwing (Catocala ultronia) is a moth of the Erebidae family. It is found in most of eastern North America, south to Florida and Texas. It ranges west across the southern parts of Canada to extreme southeast British Columbia.
Shadowy Arches
Drasteria adumbrata, the Shadowy Arches, is a moth of the Erebidae family. It is found from coast to coast in southern Canada, south in the west to California and Colorado, south in the east to New England and Michigan. Subspecies alleni is found from eastern Alberta to New York and Nova Scotia. Subspecies saxea occurs from southern British Columbia and ...more ↓
Drasteria howlandii
Drasteria howlandii is a moth of the Erebidae family. It is found from British Columbia and Saskatchewan south through the western parts of the United States from Washington south to Arizona and Texas.
Northern Arches
The Northern Arches (Drasteria hudsonica) is a moth of the Erebidae family. It is found from Alaska and Yukon to California, east to New Mexico and Manitoba.
Inept Graphic
The Inept Drasteria (Drasteria inepta) is a moth of the Erebidae family. It is found from Arizona to Texas, north to Colorado and Utah.
Paler Graphic
The Cowhead Arches (Drasteria pallescens) is a moth of the Erebidae family. It is found from Alberta and Saskatchewan south to Texas and Baja California.
Merry Graphic Moth
Melipotis jucunda, the Merry Melipotis Moth, is a species of moth in the Erebidae family. It is found in Mexico (Yucatán, Mérida), Colombia and most of the United States and western Canada.
Black Witch
The noctuid moth Ascalapha odorata bears the common name Black Witch. It is considered a harbinger of death in Mexican and Caribbean folklore. In Spanish it is known as "Mariposa de la muerte" (Mexico & Costa Rica), "Pirpinto de la Yeta" (Argentina), "Tara Bruja" (Venezuela) or simply "Mariposa negra" (Colombia); in Nahuatl (Mexico) it is "Miquipapalotl" or ...more ↓
The Herald
The herald (Scoliopteryx libatrix) is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found throughout the Palearctic and Nearctic (Holarctic).
Common Idia Moth
The Common Idia, Powdered Snout or Waved Tabby (Idia aemula) is a moth of the Noctuidae family. It is found from Canada south to Florida and Texas and in most of Eurasia.
American Idia Moth
The American Idia or American Snout (Idia americalis) is a moth of the Noctuidae family. It is found from southern Canada to Florida and Texas.
Glossy Black Idia Moth
The Glossy Black Idia (Idia lubricalis) is a moth of the Noctuidae family. It is found from Canada south to Florida and Texas.
Idia occidentalis
Idia occidentalis is a species of litter moth of the Erebidae family. It is found from southern Alberta and British Columbia, south to Colorado, Arizona and California.
Bent-winged Owlet
The bent-winged owlet or variable snout moth (Bleptina caradrinalis) is a species of moth of the Erebidae family. It was described by Guenée in 1852. It is found in North America, from Nova Scotia west to British Columbia, south to Arizona. Furthermore, it is found from southern North America south to Brazil and on the Antilles.
Yellow-spotted Renia Moth
The Yellow-dotted Renia or Even-lined Renia (Renia flavipunctalis) is a litter moth of the Erebidae family. It is found from southern Canada (from Nova Scotia west to Alberta) to Florida and Texas.
Alfalfa Looper Moth
Tathorhynchus exsiccata, the Levant blackneck, is a species of moth in the family Erebidae. The nominate form is found on the Canary Islands and in North Africa, Tropical Asia and Tropical Africa. It has been introduced in Dominica and Argentina. Subspecies Tathorhynchus exsiccata fallax is found in the northern half of Australia, as well as Norfolk Island and New ...more ↓
Salt Marsh Moth
The Salt Marsh Moth or Acrea Moth (Estigmene acrea) is a moth in the family Arctiidae. It is found in North America, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Colombia and Mexico.
Fall Webworm Moth
The fall webworm, Hyphantria cunea, is a moth in the family Arctiidae known principally for its larval stage, which creates the characteristic webbed nests on the tree limbs of a wide variety of hardwoods in the late summer and fall. It is mainly an aesthetic pest, and is not believed to harm otherwise healthy trees. It is well known to commercial tree services and ...more ↓
Ruby Tiger Moth
The Ruby Tiger (Phragmatobia fuliginosa) is a moth of the family Arctiidae. It is found in Europe. There are a number of recognized subspecies, such as P. f. melitensis in Malta and P. f. borealis in Scotland.
California Tiger Moth
Leptarctia californiae is a moth of the Arctiidae family. It was described by Walker in 1855. It is found in western North America, from New Mexico and Colorado to California and north to British Columbia. The habitat consists of open forests, meadows and clearings in the mountains.
Isabella Tiger Moth
The Isabella Tiger Moth (Pyrrharctia isabella) can be found in many cold regions, including the Arctic. The banded Woolly Bear larva emerges from the egg in the fall and overwinters in its caterpillar form, when it literally freezes solid. First its heart stops beating, then its gut freezes, then its blood, followed by the rest of the body. It survives being frozen by ...more ↓
Virginian Tiger Moth
Spilosoma virginica is a species of moth in the Arctiinae subfamily. As a caterpillar, it is known as the Yellow woolly bear or Yellow bear caterpillar. As an adult, it is known as the Virginia tiger moth.
Many-spotted Tiger Moth
The Many-Spotted Tiger Moth (Hypercompe permaculata) is a tiger moth of the Arctiidae family and one of more than 80 species of Hypercompe. It is native to the western United States and parts of northern Mexico.
Painted Tiger Moth
Arachnis picta, commonly known as the Painted Tiger Moth, is a moth of the Arctiidae family. It is found in the South-Western United States and the bordering parts of Mexico.
Carlotta's Tiger Moth
Apantesis carlotta (Carlotta's tiger moth) is a moth of the family Erebidae. It was described by Ferguson in 1985. It is found from Maine to Georgia, west to North Dakota and Texas.
St. Lawrence Tiger Moth
Platarctia parthenos (St. Lawrence tiger moth) is a moth in the family Erebidae. It was described by Harris in 1850. It is found in boreal North America, ranging from Alaska to Labrador, south to New Mexico and Arizona in the Rocky Mountains and to North Carolina in the Appalachian Mountains. The habitat consists of riparian areas and mixed hardwood-conifer forests at ...more ↓
Orange Virbia Moth
Virbia aurantiaca, the orange holomelina, is a member of the family Erebidae found in North America. In the east it has been recorded from Manitoba and Nova Scotia, south along the eastern seaboard to Cordoba in Mexico. It has also been recorded from Texas, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kansas, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Fragile Virbia
Virbia fragilis is a moth in the Arctiidae family. It was described by Strecker in 1878. It is found in open fields in the Black Hills in South Dakota and in Boulder, Colorado. The range extends north to Alberta and British Columbia and south to New Mexico.
Police Car Moth
The Police-Car Moth or Green Lattice (Gnophaela vermiculata) is a moth of the Arctiidae family. It is found in the western parts of the United States and south-western Canada, from British Columbia to California, east to New Mexico and north to Manitoba.
Yellow-collared Scape Moth
The Yellow-collared Scape Moth (Cisseps fulvicollis) is a species of the Arctiidae family.
Cresson's ctenucha
Ctenucha cressonana (Cresson's ctenucha) is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is found in the Rocky Mountains, including Colorado and New Mexico.
Veined Ctenucha Moth
Ctenucha venosa, the veined ctenucha moth, is a moth of the family Erebidae. It was described by Walker in 1854. It is found from southern Nevada and Arizona to Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, as well as in Mexico, Guatemala, Panama and Venezuela.
Oregon Cycnia Moth
Cycnia oregonensis is a moth in the Arctiidae family. It is found in most of North America, from coast to coast and from the border with Mexico north to central Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia.
Freckled glassy-wing
Pseudohemihyalea labecula, the Freckled Glassy-wing, is a moth in the Arctiidae family. It was described by Grote in 1881. It is found in southern Nevada, Utah, from Colorado to Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas.
Red-banded aemilia
The Red-banded Aemilia (Pseudohemihyalea ambigua) is a moth of the Arctiidae family. It is found from southern Wyoming to Durango, Mexico.
Grote's bertholdia
Bertholdia trigona (commonly called Grote's Bertholdia) is a species of moth in the family Arctiidae. It is prevalent in the southwestern United States. In studies performed at Wake Forest University, these moths were shown to have developed the ability to disrupt the echolocation of bats.
