Butterflies and Moths
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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
Limenitis archippus
Description
Viceroys and monarchs look very similar. Both use the same warning coloration to warn would-be predators: We are toxic!
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Papilio polyxenes
Description
Most gardeners meet the black swallowtail sooner or later, because parsley, carrot, fennel, and dill are favorite food plants of the caterpillars.
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Scientific Name
Papilio glaucus
Description
The beautiful eastern tiger swallowtail ranges across Missouri and is equally at home in forests or in city landscapes.
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Scientific Name
Battus philenor
Description
The pipevine swallowtail is ignored by most predators because of its acrid body juices. Several other butterflies benefit by looking strikingly similar.
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Pontia protodice
Description
The checkered white is named for the charcoal-colored patterns on the white wings of adults. As with the closely related cabbage white, the larvae feed on plants in the mustard family.
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Colias eurytheme
Description
One of the most common butterflies in Missouri, the orange sulphur often gathers in numbers in moist places.
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Scientific Name
Anatrytone logan
Description
The undersides of the Delaware skipper's wings are solid orange. It's found statewide in a variety of habitats.
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Scientific Name
Hylephila phyleus
Description
Fiery skippers have plain orange undersides scattered with a sprinkling of small dark spots. Males have flame-shaped orange patches on the hindwing upper surface.
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Scientific Name
Polites peckius
Description
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.
See Also
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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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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.