Field Guide

Butterflies and Moths

Showing 1 - 10 of 13 results
Great Spangled Fritillary, Wings Spread, nectaring on milkweed flowers
Great Spangled Fritillary
Speyeria cybele
The great spangled fritillary is common and easily recognized. This glorious butterfly is often seen in city yards and gardens as it seeks flowers.
Photo of a mourning cloak butterfly perched on a strand of barbed wire.
Mourning Cloak
Nymphalis antiopa
The unmistakable mourning cloak is a familiar woodland butterfly in Missouri. Adults hibernate and are sometimes seen flying on warm, sunny days in winter.
Northern pearly-eye resting with wings closed
Northern Pearly-Eye
Enodia anthedon (syn. Lethe anthedon)
The northern pearly-eye is grayish brown with dark eyespots. Of three pearly-eye species in Missouri, it is the most widespread.
Photo of a Painted Lady
Painted Lady
Vanessa cardui
The painted lady is a delicately patterned butterfly found nearly worldwide. It migrates to Missouri in spring. There are several broods.
Photo of a Red-Spotted Purple with wings closed, showing ventral side of wings
Red-Spotted Purple
Limenitis arthemis
The red-spotted purple is a stunning butterfly, even though the spots are really orange, not red, and blue is more prominent than the subtle violet hues.
Photo of a silvery checkerspot, Wings Folded
Silvery Checkerspot
Chlosyne nycteis
Black and orange above, paler below, the silvery checkerspot has a telltale wide white crescent in a brownish patch along the edge of the hindwing underside.
Photo of a Black Swallowtail, Male, Wings Spread
Black Swallowtail (Parsnip Swallowtail)
Papilio polyxenes
Most gardeners meet the black swallowtail sooner or later, because parsley, carrot, fennel, and dill are favorite food plants of the caterpillars.
Photo of a Giant Swallowtail, Wings Spread
Giant Swallowtail
Papilio cresphontes
The giant swallowtail is the largest butterfly in our state. In Florida, the caterpillars are a pest in citrus orchards, but here in Missouri, they feed primarily on prickly ash and hop tree, plants provided by nature.
Photo of a Pipevine Swallowtail, Wings Spread
Pipevine Swallowtail (Blue Swallowtail)
Battus philenor
The pipevine swallowtail is ignored by most predators because of its acrid body juices. Several other butterflies benefit by looking strikingly similar.
Photo of a Zebra Swallowtail
Zebra Swallowtail
Eurytides marcellus
Zebra swallowtails are unmistakable with their black and white stripes and long tails. Look for this species fluttering around in Missouri’s forests.
See Also
image of Caddisfly on leaf
Caddisflies
About 1,500 species in North America north of Mexico
Adult caddisflies are mothlike. Their larvae are aquatic and build portable, protective cases out of local materials, including grains of sand, bits of leaves and twigs, and other debris.
Photo of eastern dobsonfly
Eastern Dobsonfly
Corydalus cornutus
Adult eastern dobsonflies are huge and mothlike, with large wings and a weak, fluttery flight. The fiercely predaceous aquatic larvae, called hellgrammites, are well-known to anglers, who often use them as bait.

About Butterflies and Moths in Missouri

Butterflies, skippers, and moths belong to an insect order called the Lepidoptera — the "scale-winged" insects. These living jewels have tiny, overlapping scales that cover their wings like shingles. The scales, whether muted or colorful, seem dusty if they rub off on your fingers. Many butterflies and moths are associated with particular types of food plants, which their caterpillars must eat in order to survive.