Field Guide

Butterflies and Moths

Showing 1 - 10 of 63 results
Baltimore checkerspot, perched, with wings folded
Baltimore Checkerspot
Euphydryas phaeton
The Baltimore checkerspot is unforgettable. In Missouri it is locally abundant in the eastern Ozarks, but rare elsewhere.
Photo of a Banded Tiger Moth
Banded Tiger Moth
Apantesis vittata
The striking pattern on the banded tiger moth tells predators that these insects are inedible. But what serves as a “warning label” to birds is attractive to us!
image of a Banded Tussock Moth
Banded Tussock Moth
Halysidota tessellaris
Adult banded tussock moths have a distinctive checkered pattern on the wings. The fuzzy, dirty gray caterpillars are more familiar, with their pencils or tussocks of longer, black and white hairs.
Photo of a beautiful wood-nymph
Beautiful Wood-Nymph
Eudryas grata
The beautiful wood-nymph rests with its white and brown forewings folded like a roof over its hindwings. At rest, this moth resembles a bird dropping.
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 Black-and-Yellow Lichen Moth
Black-and-Yellow Lichen Moth
Lycomorpha pholus
The black-and-yellow lichen moth is aptly named. “Lichen” refers to the caterpillars’ food as well as to their camouflage.
Image of a Black-Bordered Lemon Moth
Black-Bordered Lemon Moth
Marimatha nigrofimbria
The black-bordered lemon moth moth has lustrous yellow forewings with a black edge. It is one of the many noctuid, or owlet moths.
Several regal fritillaries feeding on butterfly weed
Butterflies and Skippers
More than 700 species in North America north of Mexico
Learn about butterflies and skippers as a group. What makes a butterfly a butterfly? How are they different from moths? What are the major groups of butterflies?
Photo of a Cabbage White
Cabbage White
Pieris rapae
A common butterfly in Missouri, the cabbage white was introduced in the 1800s from Europe and became a crop pest.
Photo of a Chickweed Geometer
Chickweed Geometer
Haematopis grataria
The colorful chickweed geometer moth flies during the day like a butterfly. It’s called a geometer (“earth measurer”) because the larvae are “inchworms” that loop their bodies with each “step” they take.
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.