Field Guide

Butterflies and Moths

Showing 41 - 50 of 50 results
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 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 Spicebush Swallowtail, Male, Wings Spread
Spicebush Swallowtail
Pterourus troilus
Spicebush swallowtails are beautiful large black butterflies with beautiful iridescent blue-green on the hindwings. The caterpillars eat the leaves of sassafras and spicebush.
Photo of a falcate orangetip nectaring on a spring beauty flower
Falcate Orangetip
Anthocharis midea
Falcate orangetip males are unmistakable with their small size, white coloration, and orange wingtips. Look for them in open woodlands in April.
Image of a silver-spotted skipper
Silver-Spotted Skipper
Epargyreus clarus
In a large, global family of several thousand species, the silver-spotted skipper is one of the easiest to identify in our state.
Photo of a Delaware Skipper
Delaware Skipper
Anatrytone logan
The undersides of the Delaware skipper's wings are solid orange. It's found statewide in a variety of habitats.
Photo of a Least Skipper
Least Skipper
Ancyloxypha numitor
One of the smallest skippers in the eastern United States, the least skipper is found in moist, grassy areas, usually near water.
Photo of a Peck's Skipper
Peck's Skipper
Polites peckius
Peck’s skipper is found in Missouri’s fields, lawns, and other open habitats from May through October. Identify it by the one yellow hindwing rectangle that is wider than the others.
Coral hairstreak butterfly on butterfly weed flowers
Coral Hairstreak
Satyrium titus (syn. Harkenclenus titus)
The coral hairstreak is the only Missouri hairstreak lacking hindwing “tails” and without a blue spot on the outer hindwing edge.
Speckled Butterfly
Swamp Metalmark
Calephelis muticum
The swamp metalmark is one of only two metalmark butterflies found in Missouri; both are rare, occurring only in small, localized colonies, mostly in the southern half of the state. This species lives in low, damp or wet areas, and its favorite food plant is swamp thistle.
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.