Field Guide

Butterflies and Moths

Showing 61 - 70 of 105 results
Three-lined flower moth resting on a window screen
Three-Lined Flower Moth
Schinia trifascia
The three-lined flower moth is a common noctuid moth. Its caterpillars eat flowers and flower buds of false bonesets, Joe-Pye weeds, thoroughworts, and blazing stars.
Adult grapevine epimenis moth perched on a leaf, viewed from above, wings outstretched
Grapevine Epimenis
Psychomorpha epimenis
The grapevine epimenis flies during daytime and would seem too colorful to be a moth, but a moth it is. They fly in springtime and love to visit wild plum blossoms.
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 Horace's Duskywing
Horace's Duskywing
Erynnis horatius
Look for Horace’s duskywing at flowers and mud puddles, in forests, and along roadsides.
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?
Gray comma perched on a flower, winged closed
Gray Comma
Polygonia progne
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.
Great Spangled Fritillary, Wings Spread, nectaring on milkweed flowers
Great Spangled Fritillary
Speyeria cybele
The great spangled fritillary is common and easily recognized. This glorious butterfly is often seen in city yards and gardens as it seeks flowers.
Image of a monarch
Monarch
Danaus plexippus
Monarchs are well-known butterflies distinguished by their relatively large size, rusty or orange wings with black veins, and black bodies. The larvae usually are found on milkweeds.
Photo of a mourning cloak butterfly perched on a strand of barbed wire.
Mourning Cloak
Nymphalis antiopa
The unmistakable mourning cloak is a familiar woodland butterfly in Missouri. Adults hibernate and are sometimes seen flying on warm, sunny days in winter.
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.