Field Guide

Butterflies and Moths

Showing 111 - 118 of 118 results
Common buckeye butterfly nectaring on a flower, wings spread
Common Buckeye
Junonia coenia
The common buckeye is one of Missouri’s prettiest butterflies, but it doesn’t overwinter here. Instead, migrants arrive in late spring and early summer.
Photo of a common wood-nymph butterfly
Common Wood Nymph
Cercyonis pegala
Common wood nymphs vary by region. Some have a yellow area on the forewing containing two eyespots. Others may have the yellow area reduced to a yellow circle around each eyespot.
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.
Photo of a Horace's Duskywing
Horace's Duskywing
Erynnis horatius
Look for Horace’s duskywing at flowers and mud puddles, in forests, and along roadsides.
Juvenal's duskywing resting on the ground
Juvenal's Duskywing
Erynnis juvenalis
Juvenal’s duskywing is a spread-wing skipper that closely resembles Horace’s duskywing. Unlike Horace’s, it flies only in springtime and has two small telltale pale spots on the hindwing underside.
Photo of a Northern Cloudywing
Northern Cloudywing
Thorybes pylades
A cloudywing is a spread-winged skipper whose ground color, seen from above, is completely dark, and not mottled. The northern cloudywing has a dark face, too.
Photo of an unidentified grass skipper
Skippers
About 275 species in North America north of Mexico
At first glance, skippers look halfway between butterflies and moths. They are commonly seen darting among the flowers they visit on hot summer days.
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?
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.