Name
(A-F) |
Image |
Caterpillar Hosts |
Adult Food |
Habitat |
Aphrodite Fritillary butterfly
(Speyeria Aphrodite (Fabicius)) |
|
Various violet species including northern downy violet (Viola fimbriatula) and lance-leaved violet (V. lanceolata). |
Nectar from flowers of milkweed and viper's bugloss, among others. |
Moist prairies, high mountain meadows, openings in barrens, brushland, dry fields, open oak woods, bogs. |
Baltimore butterfly
(Euphydryas Phaeton) |
|
Plants where eggs are laid and that caterpillars eat before hibernating are turtlehead (Chelone glabra), hairy beardtongue (Penstemon hirsutus), English plantain (Plantago lanceolata), and false foxglove (Aureolaria). After overwintering, caterpillars may continue to use these plants, but may also wander and feed on unrelated plants including arrowwood (Viburnum recognitum), common lousewort (Pedicularis canadensis), Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), and white ash (Fraxinus americana).
|
Nectar from flowers of milkweed, viburnum, and wild rose.
|
Wet meadows, bogs, and marshes in the northeast part of the range; dry open or wooded hillsides in the southwest. |
Black Swallowtail butterfly
(Papilio Polyxenes) |
|
Leaves of plants in the parsley family (Apiaceae) including Queen Anne's Lace, carrot, celery and dill. Sometimes plants in the citrus family (Rutaceae) are preferred. |
Nectar from flowers including red clover, milkweed, and thistles. |
A variety of open areas including fields, suburbs, marshes, deserts, and roadsides. |
Buckeye butterfly
(Junonia Coenia) |
|
Buckeye caterpillars like to eat plants from the snapdragon family including snapdragon (Antirrhinum) and toadflax (Linaria); the plantain family including plantains (Plantago); and the acanthus family including rubella (Ruellia nodiflora). |
The adult buckeye butterflies favorite nectar sources are composites including aster, chickory, gumweed, knapweed, and tickseed sunflower. Dogbane, peppermint, and other flowers are also visited by them for nectar. |
Buckeyes prefer open, sunny areas with low vegetation and some bare ground. |
Cecropia moth
(Hyalophora Crecropia) |
|
Various trees and shrubs including box elder (Acer negundo), sugar maple (Acer saccharinum), wild cherries and plums (Prunus), apples (Malus), alder and birch (Betulaceae), dogwoods (Cornus), and willows (Salix). |
Adults do not feed. |
Successional habitats in many areas including urban and suburban environments. |
Clouded Sulphur butterfly
(Colias Philodice) |
|
Plants in the pea family (Fabaceae) including alfalfa (Medicago sativa), white clover (Trifolium repens), and pea (Pisum sativum |
Flower nectar of many plants. |
Many different open areas including fields, lawns, alfalfa and clover fields, road edges, meadows. |
Compton Tortoiseshell butterfly
(Nymphalis Vaualbum) |
|
Aspen and cottonwood (Populus), willows (Salix), gray birch (Betula populifolia), and paper birch (B. papyrifera). |
Sap, rotting fruit, nectar of willow flowers. |
Upland deciduous or coniferous forests. |
Comma butterfly
(Polygonia C-album) |
|
Members of the elm family (Ulmaceae) including American elm, Ulmus; hackberry, Celtis; and members of the nettle family (Urticaceae) including false nettle, Boehmeria; hop, Humulus; nettle, Urtica; wood nettle, Laportea.
|
Rotting fruit, tree sap, and nectar of butterfly bush, Buddleia; dandelion, Taraxacum.
|
Deciduous woodlands, woods near rivers, marshes, swamps, near other water sources. |
European Painted Lady butterfly
(Vanessa Cardui) |
|
More than 100 host plants have been recorded by scientists. Their favorites include thistles (Asteraceae), hollyhock and mallow (Malvaceae), and various legumes (Fabaceae).
|
The painted lady prefers nectar from plants 3-6 feet high, especially thistles; also aster, cosmos, blazing star, ironweed, and joe-pye weed. Flowers from other families that are visited include red clover, buttonbush, privet, and milkweeds.
|
These butterflies live almost everywhere, especially in open or disturbed areas including gardens, old fields, dunes. |
Field Crescent butterfly
(Phyciodes Campestris Montana) |
|
Various asters (Aster and Machaeranthera species). |
Flower nectar.
|
Flats and open areas, fields, meadows, and streamsides from plains to mountains. |
Variegated Fritillary butterfly
(Euptoieta Claudia) |
|
A variety of plants in several families including maypops (Passiflora incarnata), may apple (Podophyllum peltata), violets (Viola), purslane (Portulaca), stonecrop (Sedum), and moonseed (Menispermum). |
Nectar from several plant species including butterflyweed, common milkweed, dogbane, peppermint, red clover, swamp milkweed, and tickseed sunflower. |
Open sunny areas such as prairies, fields, pastures, road edges, landfills. |
(G-M) |
|
Giant Swallowtail butterfly
(Papilio Cresphontes) |
|
Trees and herbs of the citrus family (Rutaceae) including Citrus species, prickly ash (Zanthoxylum americanum), and hop tree (Ptelea trifoliata). |
Nectar from lantana, azalea, bougainvilla, bouncing Bet, dame's rocket, goldenrod, Japanese honeysuckle, and swamp milkweed. |
Many locales including rocky and sandy hillsides near streams or gullies. |
Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly
(Speyeria Cybele) |
|
Various violet species (Viola). |
Nectar from many species of flowers including milkweeds, thistles, ironweed, dogbane, mountain laurel, verbena, vetch, bergamot, red clover, joe-pye weed, and purple coneflower. |
Open, moist places including fields, valleys, pastures, right-of-ways, meadows, open woodland, prairies. |
Fawn or Grey Comma butterfly
(Polygonia Progne) |
|
Gooseberries (Ribes) and azalea (Rhododendron). |
Sap; rarely flower nectar. |
Along dirt roads, along streamsides, and within clearings in rich deciduous or confierous woods, in aspen parks, yards, and gardens. Often in hilly terrain or canyons. |
Luna moth
(Actias Luna) |
|
A variety of trees including white birch (Betula papyrifera), persimmon (Diospyros virginiana), sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua), hickories (Carya), walnuts (Juglans), and sumacs (Rhus). |
Adults do not feed. |
Deciduous hardwood forests. |
Meadow Fritillary butterfly
(Boloria Bellona) |
|
Violets including northern white violet (Viola pallens) and woolly blue violet (V. sororia). |
Favorite nectar sources are composites, including black-eyed susans, dandelions, and ox-eyed daisy. Plants from other families, such as verbena and dogbane, are visited less often. |
Usually wet places: meadows, pastures, hayfields, bogs, marshes, wet aspen groves. |
Monarch butterfly
(Danaus Plexippus) |
|
Milkweed, milkweed and more milkweed.
|
Monarchs are not picky about the source of their nectar,visiting many different flowers. Butterflies use vision to find flowers, but once they land on a potential food source, they use taste receptors on their feet to find the nectar! |
Many open habitats including fields, meadows, weedy areas, marshes, and roadsides. |
Mourning Cloak butterfly
(Nymphalis Antiopa) |
|
Willows including black willow (Salix nigra), weeping willow (S. babylonica), and silky willow (S. sericea); also American elm (Ulmus americana), cottonwood (Populus deltoides), aspen (P. tremuloides), paper birch (Betula papyrifera), and hackberry (Celtis occidentalis). Older caterpillars wander about and may be found on plants that they do not eat.
|
Mourning Cloaks prefer tree sap, especially that of oaks. They walk down the trunk to the sap and feed head downward. They will also feed on rotting fruit, and only occasionally on flower nectar.
|
Because Mourning Cloaks roam and migrate, they are found almost anywhere that host plants occur including woods, openings, parks, and suburbs; and especially in riparian areas. |
(N-R) |
|
Northern Crescent butterfly
(Phyciodes Cocyta) |
|
Asters, in the sunflower family (Asteraceae). |
Nectar from flowers of dogbane, fleabane, and white clover. |
Moist open areas in rocky places, wooded streams, marsh edges, and shale barrens. |
Northern Pearly Eye butterfly
(Enodia Anthedon Clark) |
|
Various grasses including white grass (Leersia virginica), bearded shorthusk (Brachyelytrum erectum), plumegrass (Erianthus), broadleaf uniola (Uniola latifolia), and bottlebrush (Hystrix patula). |
Dung, fungi, carrion, and sap from willows, poplars, and birch.
|
Damp deciduous woods, usually near marshes or waterways; mixed or grassy woodlands. |
Phaon Crescent butterfly
(Phyciodes Phaon) |
|
Fogfruit (Lippia lanceolata) and mat grass (Lippia nodiflora) in the verbena family. |
Nectar from flowers of Lippia and composites including shepherd's needle. |
Openings in thorn forest, open areas with closely cropped plants, dunes, pastures, road edges. |
Pink-edged Sulphur butterfly
(Colias Interior) |
|
Various blueberry plants (Vaccinium species) in the heath family (Ericaceae). |
Nectar from flowers of bristly sarsaparilla and orange hawkweed. |
Shrubby openings in woods, bogs, or scrub areas where Ericaceae grows; often in burned or logged sites. |
Polyphemus moth
(Antheraea Polyphemus) |
|
A wide variety of trees and shrubs including oak (Quercus), willow (Salix), maple (Acer), and birch (Betula). |
Adults do not feed. |
Deciduous hardwood forests, urban areas, orchards, and wetlands. |
Prometheus moth
(Callosamia Promethea) |
|
A broad range of plants including spicebush (Lindera benzoin), sassafras (Sassafras albidum), tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), sweetbay (Magnolia virginiana), white ash (Fraxinus americana), lilac (Syringa vulgaris), and others.
|
Adults do not feed. |
Deciduous woodlands. |
Question Mark butterfly
(Polygonia Interrogationis) |
|
Members of the elm family (Ulmaceae) including American elm and red elm, Ulmus; hackberry, Celtis; and members of the nettle family (Urticaceae) including false nettle, Boehmeria; hop, Humulus; nettle, Urtica.
|
Prefers carrion, dung, rotting fruit, and tree sap.
|
City parks, fencerows, suburbs, wooded areas with some open space. |
Red Admiral butterfly
(Vanessa Atalanta) |
|
Plants of the nettle family (Urticaceae) including stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), tall wild nettle (U. gracilis), wood nettle (Laportea canadensis), false nettle (Boehmeria cylindrica), pellitory (Parietoria pennsylvanica), mamaki (Pipturus albidus), and possibly hops (Humulus).
|
Red Admirals prefer sap flows on trees, fermenting fruit, and bird droppings; visiting flowers only when these are not available. Then they will nectar at common milkweed, red clover, aster, and alfalfa, among others.
|
Moist woods, yards, parks, marshes, seeps, moist fields. During migrations, the Red Admiral is found in almost any habitat from tundra to subtropics. |
(S-Z) |
|
Satyr or Zephyr Comma butterfly
(Polygonia Satyrus) |
|
Various nettles (Urticaceae species). |
Tree sap, rotting fruit, flower nectar including that from blackberry and almond. |
Valley bottoms, along streams, wooded prairie ravines, marshes, openings in riparian woods, fields and edges near moist woods. |
Silver-bordered Fritillary butterfly
(Boloria Selene) |
|
Violets including Viola glabella and V. nephrophylla. |
Favorite nectar sources are composite flowers, including goldenrod and black-eyed susans. |
Wet meadows, bogs, marshes. |
| Skipper butterfly |
|
There are over 3,000 varieties of skippers in North America! These butterfly-like creatures are distinguished from true butterflies by their antenna. The best way to learn the difference is to drop in and visit our butterfly conservatory to view our butterflies, moths, and skippers. See just how many of these creatures you can attract to your garden by purchasing plants that will enhance your garden not only with their own personal beauty, but by the addition of the beautiful flying creatures that will visit these plants all summer long. |
Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly
(Papilio Troilus Linnaeus) |
|
Spicebush (Lindera benzoin), sassafras trees (Sassafras albidum); perhaps prickly ash (Zanthoxylum americanum), tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), sweetbay (Magnolia virginiana), camphor (Cinnamomum camphora), and redbay (Persea borbonia). |
Nectar from Japanese honeysuckle, jewelweed, thistles, milkweed, azalea, dogbane, lantana, mimosa, and sweet pepperbush.
|
Deciduous woodlands, fields, roadsides, yards, pine barrens, wooded swamps, and parks. |
Yellow Sulphur butterfly
(Colias Philodice) |
|
Partridge pea (Cassia fasciculata), sickle-pod senna (C. obtusifolia), sensitive pea (C. nictitans), wild senna (C. hebecarpa), coffee senna (C. occidentalis) and Christmas senna or golden shower (Senna pendula). |
Pentas (Pentas lanceolata), azaleas (Rhododendron spp.), autumn sage (Salvia gregii), Mexican sage (S. leucantha), and golden dewdrop (Duranta erecta)
|
Most open, sunny areas such as roadsides, old fields, gardens, pastures, and fallow agricultural fields.
Note: These butterflies may also migrate south for the winter, similar to Monarch butterflies |
Sweetheart butterfly
(Catocala) |
|
There are over fifty different species of Catocala moths in Canada, most of these are in Ontario. Bored and want to do something different? On a warm (or hot) and calm summer's evening, take a white sheet and span it between some trees and shine a light on it, then watch all the moths and other night flying insects as they visit this attractor. Or, during the day, visit Blue Willow and see all our moths on display. |
Tiger Swallowtail (Canadian) butterfly
(Papilio Canadensis) |
|
Leaves of various plants including wild cherry (Prunus), sweetbay (Magnolia), basswood (Tilia), tulip tree (Liriodendron), birch (Betula), ash (Fraxinus), cottonwood (Populus), mountain ash (Sorbus), and willow (Salix). |
Nectar of flowers from a variety of plants including wild cherry and lilac (Syringa vulgaris).
|
Deciduous broadleaf woods, forest edges, river valleys, parks, and suburbs. |
Viceroy butterfly
(Limenitis Archippus) |
|
Viceroy caterpillars eat the leaves of trees in the willow family (Salicaceae) including willows (Salix), poplars and cottonwoods (Populus). |
Early in the season, when few flowers are available, viceroys feed on aphid honeydew, carrion, dung, and decaying fungi. Later generations feed more often at flowers, favoring composites including aster, goldenrod, joe-pye weed, shepherd's needle, and Canada thistle.
|
Butterflies need moist, open or shrubby areas such as lake and swamp edges, willow thickets, valley bottoms, wet meadows, and roadsides. This species is usually hard to catch because it likes to land in the upper branches of cottonwoods and other streamside trees.
Note: Birds tend to leave this butterfly alone as it mimics the noxious Monarch Butterfly in appearance.
|
West Coast Painted Lady butterfly
(Cynthia Annabella) |
|
Many plants in the mallow family (Malvaceae) including tree mallow (Lavatera), globe mallow (Sphaeralcea), bush mallow (Malvastrum), mallow (Malva), alkali mallow (Sida), checkerbloom (Sidalcea), and hollyhock (Althea). |
Flower nectar. |
Open places including weedy areas, gardens, roadsides, fields, foothills, chaparral, disturbed areas. |
White Admiral butterfly
(Limenitis Arthemis Arthemis (white-banded)) |
|
Leaves of many species of trees and shrubs including wild cherry (Prunus), aspen, poplar, cottonwood (Populus), oaks (Quercus), hawthorn (Crataegus), deerberry (Vaccinium stamineum), birch (Betula), willows (Salix), basswood (Tilia), and shadbush (Amelanchier).
|
Sap flows, rotting fruit, carrion, dung, and occasionally nectar from small white flowers including spiraea, privet, and viburnum. White Admirals also sip aphid honeydew. |
The White Admiral form is usually found in the north in deciduous broad-leaf or mixed evergreen forests dominated by aspen or birch. The Red-Spotted Purple form is usually found further south than the White Admiral, in deciduous or mixed forests, moist uplands, valley bottoms, and coastal plains.
|
White Cabbage butterfly
(Pieris Rapae) |
|
Many plants in the mustard (Brassicaceae) family and occasionally some in the caper family (Capparidaceae). |
Flower nectar from a very wide array of plants including mustards, dandelion, red clover, asters, and mints. |
Almost any type of open space including weedy areas, gardens, roadsides, cities, and suburbs. |
