Butterflies and Moths
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Polygonia progne
Description
The gray comma is easy to ID if you can see the underside: it is charcoal gray with many fine dark streaks, and its comma marking is L-shaped and narrows to a fine point at each end.
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Scientific Name
Nymphalis antiopa
Description
The unmistakable mourning cloak is a familiar woodland butterfly in Missouri. Adults hibernate and are sometimes seen flying on warm, sunny days in winter.
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Scientific Name
Polygonia interrogationis
Description
The question mark is named for the shape of the small silver mark on the lower side of the hindwings. It flies in Missouri April to November.
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Anaea andria
Description
As it rests with wings closed, the goatweed leafwing mimics a dry, dead leaf. But when it flutters around, it flashes bright rusty orange on the top side of its wings.
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Polygonia comma
Description
The eastern comma is named for a small white mark on the underside of the hindwing. It flies spring through fall, and even in winter, on warm, sunny days.
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Scientific Name
Asterocampa clyton
Description
The tawny emperor is less common than the hackberry emperor and has a rustier coloration. Both species feed on hackberry trees as caterpillars.
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Scientific Name
Callophrys gryneus gryneus (syn. Mitoura gryneus gryneus)
Description
The only green butterfly in Missouri, the olive (or juniper) hairstreak never strays far from eastern red cedar, its larval food plant. Adults fly between April and August.
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Callophrys henrici (formerly Incisalia henrici)
Description
Henry’s elfin is a small brown butterfly with splendid camouflage markings. It lives in and near open woodlands. The adults fly only in April and early May, when redbuds and wild plums are blooming.
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Scientific Name
Libytheana carinent
Description
Most of us identify butterflies by their color patterns, but you can ID the American snout by its long “nose.”
See Also
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Species Types
Scientific Name
About 1,500 species in North America north of Mexico
Description
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.
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Corydalus cornutus
Description
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.