Which Butterflies Are We Likely To Enounter?
• Swallowtails (Papilionidae)• Whites and Sulphurs (Family Pieridae)• Gossamer Wings (Family Lycaenidae)• Snout Butterflies (Family Libytheidae)• Hackberry Butterflies (Family Apaturidae)• Brush-Footed Butterflies (Family Nymphalidae)• Satyrs (Family Satyridae)• Milkweed Butterflies (Family Danaidae)• Skippers (Family Hesperiidae)
Swallowtails of Maine
• Black Swallowtail
• Canadian Tiger Swallowtail
• Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
• Giant Swallowtail
• Pipevine Swallowtail
• Spicebush Swallowtail
• Cabbage White
• Clouded Sulphur
• Alfalfa Sulphur
Whites and Sulphurs of
Maine
• American Copper
• Brown Elfin
• Gray Hairstreak
• Banded Hairstreak
• Various blues
Gossamer Wings of
Maine
• Question mark
• Comma
• Mourning cloak
• Milbert’s tortoiseshell
Brush-footed Butterflies of
Maine
• Red-spotted purple
• Viceroy
• White admiral
• Baltimore
• Pearl crescent
Brush-footed Butterflies of
Maine
• Buckeye• Painted lady• Red admiral• American painted lady• Great spangled fritillary• Meadow fritillary
Brush-footed Butterflies of
Maine
• Ringlet
• Little wood satyr
• Northern eyed brown
• Common wood nymph
Satyrs of Maine
• Monarch
Milkweed Butterfly of
Maine
• European skipper
• Silver-spotted skipper
Skippers of Maine
Butterfly 101
• Butterflies, Skippers, and Moths are in the Lepidoptera group which means scaly wings
• Butterflies have clubbed antennae, moths have featherlike antennae
• Butterflies undergo four different life stages. The entire process is called metamorphosis. The four stages are: egg, caterpillar, pupa, butterfly
Butterfly 101
• Butterflies generally need temperatures above 70 degrees to progress through metamorphosis and fly.
• Eggs can lay dormant until warmth comes.
• Butterflies will stay still and use their wings almost like solar collectors to warm their body.
• Eggs are laid by the mother on plants the caterpillar can eat.
Butterfly 101
• Mother butterflies can find the proper plant by sight, taste, or scratching the leaf surface to release a scent
• Eggs take around a week to hatch into a caterpillar under good conditions.
• A caterpillar eats its egg casing and then begins a journey of eating and growing.
• A caterpillar will expand 4-6 times (called instars)
Butterfly 101
• The size of the butterfly is determined by the size of the caterpillar during its last instar phase.
• Caterpillars eat and grow for 2-4 weeks.
• They are born with all of the body parts to pupate into a butterfly.
• The pupa is in a chrysalis form for around 2 weeks (butterfly transformation)
Butterfly 101
• Butterflies are looking for nectar and to reproduce
• They can determine flowers and mates visually and by pheromones.
• Butterflies can see the colors that humans see plus they can see ultraviolet colors. They use ultraviolet to find mates and flowers for nectar.
Butterfly 101
• I had been told years ago that butterflies need a water source as well. To be more accurate, they need a puddle. The puddle allows butterflies to obtain the micronutrients including sodium that they cannot get via nectar.
Larval Foods
• Swallowtails: pipevines, Queen Anne’s lace, dill, parsley, ash, hornbeam, sassafras, spicebush
• Whites: mustards including cabbage and broccoli
• Sulphurs: alfalfa, clovers, vetch
• Coppers: sorrel, docks
• Hairstreaks: blueberries, bearberries, oaks, hickories, butternut, legumes
Larval Foods
• Blues: dogwood, wild cherry, meadowsweet, legumes
• Anglewings and tortoiseshells: nettles, hops, elms, willows, birch, hackberries
• Most brushfooted: composites such as asters, thistles, plantains, snapdragons, turtleheads
• Satyrs: grasses and sedges
• Monarch: milkweeds
Larval Foods
• Skippers: locust, legumes, grasses, legumes
Butterfly Nectar Plants
Annuals:
Ageratum
Cosmos
Heliotrope
Lantana
Lunaria
Marigold
Sunflower
Nicotiana
Pentas
Petunia
Scabiosa
Statice
Verbena
Zinnia
Butterfly Nectar Plants
Perennials:
Early:
Allium
Arabis
Aubrieta
Chives
Dame’s rocket
Forget-me-not
Butterfly Nectar Plants
Perennials:Midseason:Bee balmBlack-eyed SusanButterfly weedCatmintCoreopsisDaisiesDaylilyGaillardiaLavender
LiatrisLilyMenthaPhloxEchinaceaCentranthusRosemarySunflowerVeronicaYarrow
Butterfly Nectar Plants
Perennials
Late:
Aster
Globe thistle
Physostegia
Sedum
Sneezeweed
Butterfly Nectar Plants
Wildflowers:
Early:
Clover
Dandelion
Hawkweed
Winter cress
Butterfly Nectar Plants
Wildflowers
Midseason:
Butterfly weed
Daisies
Dogbane
Milkweed
Mountain mint
Pearly everlasting
Queen Anne’s lace
Thistle
Vetch
Wild bergamot
Yarrow
Butterfly Nectar Plants
Wildflowers
Late:
Aster
Beggar ticks
Boneset
Goldenrod
Ironweed
Joe-pye weed
Butterfly Nectar Plants
Shrubs
Early:
Lilac
Rhododendron
Spicebush
Butterfly Nectar Plants
Shrubs
Midseason:
Butterfly bush
Buttonbush
New Jersey tea
Clethra
Butterfly Nectar Plants
Shrubs
Late:
Bluebeard
Clethra
Butterfly Nectar Plants
Trees
Aesculus
Tree lilac
Prunus spp.
Salix spp.
Top 10 Nectar Plants for Butterflies
Rudbeckia spp.
Photo by William Cullina
Eupatorium spp.
Photo by William Cullina
Liatris spp.
Photo by William Cullina
Coreopsis spp.
Photo by William Cullina
Pentas spp.
Aster spp.
Photo by William Cullina
Asclepias spp.
Lantana spp.
Echinacea spp.
Buddleia spp.
Photo by William Cullina
References and Nurseries
• Andrew Brand and Broken Arrow Nurseries (he is teaching the next class!!!)
• Broken Arrow Nursery (CT)
• Van Berkum (NH)
• High Country Gardens (NM)
• Plant Delights (NC)
• Rare Find (NJ)
• Landcraft (wholesale only)
• Boothbay Region Greenhouses (heah)
• Opus Nursery (RI)
Various References