Butterflies

The Gulf Fritillary (Dione vanillae), is a brightly colored butterfly. It is primarily orange with beautiful black and white spots on the top of the wings with larger, more pearlescent white spots. Its larvae feed on passionvine making both caterpillar and adults distasteful to birds. They can be readily seen in open and sunny habitats. The females grow to a slightly larger size than the males. View more information about the Gulf Fritillary.

The Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus) is a small, very-fast-moving butterfly with a wingspan of 32-38 mm. They are sexually dimorphic: the males are vibrant orange with a few black spots, whereas the females are a dark brown with a few orange spots. They range throughout the southern United States, Canada and South America. If you would like to spot this butterfly, they can be readily seen in open areas such as lawns, pastures, gardens, and green residential areas. They are more readily seen during the wet season. View more information about the Fiery Skipper.

The Cassius Blue (Leptotes cassius), sometimes referred to as the Tropical Striped Blue, is a tiny but beautiful butterfly with an average adult wingspan of 20-30 mm. They range in the Southern United States, Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean. Although these butterflies are tiny they have a special trick up their sleeve, or should we say wing. The undersides of the wings of both the males and females are covered with a striped pattern along with two distinct eye-spots that have a very important function. They intimidate predators by mimicking larger vertebrate eyes to prevent them from attacking the butterfly. The females can be distinguished from the males in being brown with blue at the base of the wings, whereas the males area bluish-white on the top of their wings with white edges. View more information about the Cassius Blue.

The Julia (Dryas iulia) is a large butterfly with a wingspan of 72-85 mm. They are primarily a bright orange color with black bars across the forewing and hindwing. A tropical species, the Julia, is expanding its range northwards and has established a toe-hold on campus, but is still an unusual sighting. View more information about the Julia.

The White Peacock (Anartia jatrophae) is a stunning and very common butterfly. They have a characteristic stiff-winged flight. They can be readily found in the southern United States, Mexico, Central America, and West Indies. Individuals seen during the dry months tend to be larger with a paler coloration than ones that hatch during the wet season. Their larvae feed on frogbit, a marsh plant and so they are especially common in open and sunny habitats at the edge of ponds and streams. View more information about the White Peacock.

The Orange-barred Sulfur (Phoebis philea) has larvae that feed on members of the pea family. They are primarily a bright-yellow, almost golden color. This is a primary tropical species but reaches the northern edges of its range in Florida and the Gulf Coast. If you would like to spot this butterfly they can be readily found in open, sunny areas such as weedy fields and meadows. View more information about the Orange-barred Sulfur.

The Monarch (Danaus plexippus) is a truly beautiful butterfly that is one of the most identifiable butterflies in the world. Their brilliant orange wings are covered with a series of black veins. The black borders of the wings are covered with a stunning array of white spots. They have an average wingspan of 70-100 mm. Although Monarch butterflies are famous for their migration, the Florida population is the only subpopulation that does not migrate. The male butterflies are easily distinguishable from the females as they have two prominent black dots located of the center of their hind wings, which the females do not have. The adults are distasteful to birds because their larvae consume milkweed, which is rich in toxic cardiac glycosides. View more information about the Monarch.

The Dainty Sulfur (Nathalis iole) is a small butterfly with a wingspan of 20-30 mm. They are a pale yellow, sometimes almost white. They range throughout Guatemala, Puerto Rico and the United States. They can be found in open, sunny areas such as weedy fields and grasslands. View more information about the Dainty Sulfur.

The Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) is a mid-sized spunky butterfly with a wingspan of 45-76 mm. They are primarily dark brown, almost black, with the upper surface of the wings having a bright orange band. They range throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean. They can be observed in wooded areas as well as open, sunny, green areas. Individuals that hatch in winter tend to be smaller and less vibrantly colored, compared with summer. View more information about the Red Admiral.

The Zebra Longwing (Heliconius charithonia) is the State Butterfly of Florida. They have beautiful, long wings that are 72-100 mm across. Their bold black and yellow stripes are unmistakeable. They range from the Southern United States to the Amazon. They can be readily seen in shaded areas with nectar plants, hardwood hammocks and thickets. View more information about the Zebra Longwing.

The Fulvous Hairstreak (Eletrostrymon angelia) is a stunning very small butterfly with a wingspan of 20-28 mm. They are a brown, almost copper color with black borders covering both their forewings and hindwings. An interesting feature apart from the large white spot is the tails extending out from the hindwings. They range throughout Southern Florida, the West Indies, and the Florida Keys. They cam be spotted in tropical hardwood hammocks, along river banks and in the uplands of coastal environments. The males tend to be brighter than the females. View more information about the Fulvous Hairstreak.

The Giant Swallowtail (Papilo cresphontes) is a large, majestic butterfly. Although the adults are boldly patterned, their larvae avoid predators by being colored lie bird droppings. They can be found widely throughout the eastern United States and the Caribbean. In most butterfly species the females are larger than the males, but in this case the male butterflies are larger than the females. They frequent any garden rich in flowers bearing nectar. View more information about the Giant Swallowtail.

The Three-spotted Skipper (Cymaenes tripunctus) is a fast-moving, small butterfly with a wingspan of 29-35 mm. They are dark brown with three transparent spots on their hindwings. The undersides of the wings have a yellowish tint. They range throughout Southern Florida and the Keys as well as to Central America and the West Indies. They can be found in open sunny areas with lots of flowers. View more information about the Three-spotted Skipper.

The Eastern Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes asterius) is a large, beautiful butterfly with a wingspan ranging between 70-90 mm. They are similar in shape to the Giant Swallowtail but instead of the yellow coloration on the upper surface of their wings they are primarily black with two rows of very pale yellow dots. The upper surface of each hindwing has a bright red spot surround by iridescent blue hue. The bottoms of the wings consist of two rows of bright orange spots with iridescent blue between the rows. They can be found in the Southern, Eastern, and Midwestern United States into Northern Mexico. The males can be easily distinguished from the females in that they display larger and more vibrant spots. They can be seen in flower-filled areas. View more information about the Eastern Black Swallowtail.