Denver-Boulder Metro Area: Butterflies and Moths

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 Atlantic and Gulf coasts of North America from Nova Scotia into Texas. less ↑

Anthanassa texana, the Texan Crescentspot, is a species of butterfly in the Nymphalidae family. It is found from Guatemala north through Mexico to southern California, east across the southern United States to northern Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. Strays may be found up to Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, South Dakota and central Nevada. The habitat consists of deserts, dry gulches, open areas, streamside’s, road edges and city parks.. less ↑

The Variable Checkerspot or Chalcedon Checkerspot (Euphydryas chalcedona) is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in western North America, where its range stretches from Alaska in the north to Baja California in the south and extends east through the Rocky Mountains into Colorado, Montana, New Mexico and Wyoming. The butterfly is usually brown or black with extensive white and yellow checkering and some red coloration on the dorsal wing. Adult wingspan is 3.2 cm–5.7 cm... less ↑

Edith's checkerspot (Euphydryas editha) is a species of butterfly in the Nymphalidae family. It is a resident species of western North America and among the subspecies, entomologists have long been intrigued by their many phenotypic variations in coloration, wing length, and overall body size. Most populations are monophagous and rely on plants including Plantago erecta and Orthocarpus densiflorus as its host species in developing from eggs through to larvae, pupae, an less ↑

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 knobs. Its upperside is orange with black borders; postmedian and submarginal areas are crossed... less ↑

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 Painted Lady). This species has also been considered a subspecies of the South American Vanessa carye, and is frequently misspelled as anabella. less ↑

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 line and a dot, creating a ?-shaped mark that gives the species its common name." less ↑

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 endemic to the island of Bermuda. less ↑

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 areas of bare soil. less ↑

Oeneis jutta, the Jutta Arctic or Baltic grayling, is a species of butterfly in the subfamily Satyrinae with a Circumboreal distribution. It occurs in bogs and tundra in the north of Europe, the Baltic states, the Urals, Siberia, northern Kazakhstan, the Russian Far East, northern Mongolia, northeastern China, North Korea, and northern North America (Canada from Newfoundland to British Columbia). Larvae feed on Carex and Eriophorum, possibly also Glyce less ↑

The Melissa Arctic (Oeneis melissa) is a species of butterfly in the Nymphalidae family. It has a Holarctic distribution, ranging from Siberia and the North American arctic from Alaska east to Baffin Island and Labrador. Isolated populations are found from the Rocky Mountains south to northern New Mexico and in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The habitat consists of tundra, talus slopes, rocky summits and saddles and frost-heaved clear-cuts. less ↑

Oeneis uhleri, Uhler's Arctic, is a species of butterfly in the Nymphalidae family. It is found in north-eastern Alaska, Yukon and the western Northwest Territories and from central Alberta south through the Rocky Mountains to northern New Mexico and east through the Canadian prairie provinces to western Minnesota. The habitat consists of slopes in dry, open bunchgrass areas, as well as tundra and openings in pine forests. less ↑

Erebia magdalena (Magdalena alpine) is a member of the Satyrinae subfamily of Nymphalidae. It is found from Montana, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico, and in Canada in a small part of the Wilmore Wilderness Provincial Park, Alberta, and adjacent British Columbia, in Stone Mountain Provincial Park in northern British Columbia, and on an isolated nunatak in Kluane National Park, Yukon. The habitat consists of rockslides near vegetation, at or above the treeline. less ↑

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 male, the outer band of spots is orange in color. Females also tend to be slightly larger than males.... less ↑

Boloria freija, the Freija fritillary, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae with a circumboreal distribution. It occurs in bogs and tundra. Its range includes Northern Europe to the north of 60° N, occasionally more southern locations, the Urals, Siberia, the Russian Far East, mountains of northern Mongolia and Hokkaido, as well as North America, extending in the Rocky Mountains to 35° N. Larvae feed on Rubus chamaemorus, Dryas sp., Vaccinium uliginosum less ↑

The small pearl-bordered fritillary (Boloria selene), called the silver-bordered fritillary in North America, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. The small pearl-bordered fritillary is found across Europe and North America, consuming exclusively violets in its larval stages. This species is well known to live in wet grassland habitats, where its larval food source, violets, are found. It overwinters in its larval stage, and lays eggs to be hatched in the late summer to less ↑

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; they are nomadic vs. sedentary; and they use a wide range of host plants vs. just violets. And because of their... less ↑

The Gulf fritillary or passion butterfly (Agraulis vanillae) is a bright orange butterfly of the family Nymphalidae and subfamily Heliconiinae. That subfamily was formerly set apart as a separate family, the Heliconiidae. The Heliconiinae are "longwing butterflies", which have long, narrow wings compared to other butterflies. Gulf fritillary is the only member of genus Agraulis. less ↑

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 spots in a black border. The male has a black androconial scent patch on its... less ↑

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 an easily recognizable orange and black pattern, with a wingspan of 8.9–10.2 cm (3½–4 in). (The viceroy butterfly is similar... less ↑

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 and Mexican newspapers. less ↑