Butterflies through Binoculars

Butterflies through Binoculars

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Jason Andersen

Farm Bill Wildlife Biologist

Pheasants Forever, Inc. & Quail Forever

Butterfly identification...

it’s all in the details

Find the Monarchs

1 2 3

4 56

Butterfly

• Active during day

• Clubbed or straight antennae

• Wings rest upright

• Fluttering flight

• Active at night (mostly)

• Feathered or pointed antennae

• Wings rest at sides

• Up and down flight (during the day)

Butterflies and Moths

Moth

Monarch Luna Moth

Butterfly

• Clubbed or straight antennae

• Feathered or pointed antennae

Butterflies and Moths

Moth

Delaware Skipper Fox Moth (Central Asia)

Butterfly

• Wings rest upright • Wings rest at sides

Butterflies and Moths

Moth

Emperor Moth (Europe)Common Buckeye

Terminology

Upper

side

(dorsal) Lower

side

(ventral)

Forewings

Hindwings

Terminology

Dorsal

Forewing

Dorsal

Hindwing

Apex

Tornus

Veins

Spots

(sometimes

large eyespots)

Find the Monarchs

1 2 3

4 56

Find the Monarchs

1 2 3

4 56

Queen

Monarch

Painted Lady

Monarch

Pearl

Crescent

Viceroy

• Color(s): White

• Key Features: Black forewing apex with black dots

• Habitat: Open fields, lawns, road edges

• Extremely common

Cabbage White

• Color(s): Yellow and Orange

• Key Features: Orange wash in center of forewing, dark margins on males

• Habitat: Open fields, lawns, road edges

• Very common

Orange Sulphur

• Color(s): Yellow

• Key Features: Dark margins on males

• Habitat: Open fields, lawns, road edges

• Similar to Orange Sulphur but lacks orange wash

• Also similar to Cloudless Sulphur which lacks dark margins

Clouded Sulphur

Orange Sulphur

Clouded Sulphur

Clouded Sulphur Cloudless Sulphur

• Color(s): Light blue

• Key Features: Small tails and orange spots on hindwing

• Habitat: Open fields and meadows

• Similar to Summer Azure which lacks orange spots

Eastern Tailed-blue

Eastern Tailed-blue Summer Azure

Melissa Blue

• Color(s): Black, red, orange

• Key Features: Reddish-orange bands on forewings and hindwings

• Habitat: Open areas with flowers

Red Admiral

• Color(s): Orange, black

• Key Features: Orange with black apex, five eyespots on hindwing

• Habitat: Open and disturbed areas, old fields

• Similar to American Lady, which has two large eyespots instead of five small

Painted Lady

Painted Lady American Lady

• Color(s): Blue, black, orange

• Key Features: Blue iridescence, three orange spots at base of hindwing with row of orange spots

• Habitat: Deciduous mixed forests and moist uplands

• Visually similar to black swallowtail but much smaller

Red-spotted Purple

• Color(s): Orange, black

• Key Features: Bright orange with black veins

• Habitat: Meadows, weedy fields, moist areas

• Similar to Viceroy but larger and does not have black band bisecting hindwings

Monarch

Monarch Viceroy

• Color(s): Tawny (orange-brown) with black veins

• Key Features: Black margin spots, no silver spots on underside

• Habitat: Open sunny areas; prairies, pastures, fields, road edges

Variegated Fritillary

• Color(s): Dark brown

• Key Features: Dorsal forewing dark brown with white spots

• Habitat: Forested streams and clearings, forested edges

• Very friendly!

Hackberry Emperor

• Color(s): Orange, black

• Key Features: Orange with dark markings, brown smudge on ventral hindwing

• Habitat: Meadows and old fields

Pearl Crescent

• Color(s): Orange, black

• Key Features: Bright orange uppers with black spots, leafy underside with white question mark

• Habitat: Deciduous woodlands

• Almost identical to Eastern Comma

Question Mark

Question Mark Eastern Comma

• Color(s): Light brown

• Key Features: Pairs of yellow-rimmed black eyespots on fore and hindwings

• Habitat: Grassy woods and woodland openings

• Flies like it has a weight attached to it

Little Wood-Satyr

• Color(s): Black, yellow

• Key Features: Dark black, two rows of orange pots on ventral hindwing

• Habitat: Open areas, fields, gardens, meadows

• Similar to some Eastern Tiger Swallowtail females

Black Swallowtail

• Color(s): Yellow with black stripes, some females black

• Key Features: Tiger-striped

• Habitat: Deciduous broadleaf forests, edges, and river valleys

• Some females look similar to Black Swallowtail but have blue wash on hindwing

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Black Swallowtail FemaleEastern Tiger Swallowtail Female

Butterfly Watching Tips

• Have a field guide and pair of close-focus binoculars

• Choose a good weather day

• Above 70 degrees

• Sunny or mostly sunny

• Winds below 10 mph

• Walk slowly and watch

• Focus on flowering plants, puddles, or detritus

And remember...

It’s all in the details

Questions?