Nature Trivia, Butterflies of Arkansas

Nature Trivia Butterflies of Arkansas By:  Renn Tumlison and Kristen Benjamin      If you have difficulty finding a match for your image of a butterfly or moth photographed in Arkansas, and would like to have it identified, please send the image to us.  We will try to identify it for you and may ask your permission to use the image on our web pages.  (You would be given photo credit.)

Family Papilionidae

 

  
Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)

Primary food plants	Larvae feed on the leaves of a variety of trees, including wild cherry, birch, ash, and basswood.  Adult butterflies are often seen visiting manure and carrion, as well as a variety of flowers (wild cherry and lilac, for example).
Wingspan	3 5/8 - 6 1/2 in. (9.2 - 16.5 cm)
Season	Spring, adults by early April
Description	Males are identified by their yellow tiger-striped wings and hindwing "tails."  Females may be yellow like males or black with shadows of dark stripes.  Both female forms have several blue hindwing scales and an orange marginal spot.

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Zebra Swallowtail (Eurytides marcellus)
Image at right courtesy of Cindy Thornton.

Primary food plants	Larvae feed on the leaves of shrubs belonging to the family Annonaceae, including young plants of papaw (Asimina triloba).  Adult zebra swallowtails sip nectar from flowers of plants such as blueberry, blackberry, redbud, and common milkweed, as well as moisture from mud.
Wingspan	2 1/2 - 4 in. (6.4 - 10.2 cm)
Season	March - December
Description	The upper surface of the wings displays stripes on a background of pale greenish-white, and the hindwings have long tails.  This butterfly varies seasonally - spring individuals are small with short wings and tails, but summer specimens are larger with longer wings and tails and broader areas of dark coloration.

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Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes)

Primary food plants	Larvae feed on tree and herb Rutaceae (citrus family).  Adults sip nectar from flowers, such as lantana, azaleas, goldenrod, bougainvillea, Japanese honeysuckle, and swamp milkweed.  In addition, adults also drink moisture from mud and manure juices.
Wingspan	4 - 6 1/4 in. (10.2 - 15.9 cm)
Season	May - September
Description	The forewings of these butterflies are black with a diagonal band of yellow spots, and the hindwings have black tails with a yellow spot on each.  Larvae resemble bird droppings.

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Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus)

Primary food plants	Larvae feed on leaves of shrub and tree Lauraceae (Lindera benzoin (spicebush) and Sassafrasalbidum (Sassafras) are the two usual food plants).  Adults sip mud and the flower nectar of Japanese honeysuckle, jewelweed, thistles, milkweed, azalea, dogbane, lantana, mimosa, and sweet pepperbush.
Wingspan	3 - 4 in. (7.6 - 10.1 cm)
Season	April - October
Description	The forewing is mostly black with ivory spots along the margin, and the hindwing has an orange spot located on the costal margin and a sheen of bluish (female) or bluish-green (male) scales.  The underside of the hindwing has pale green spots along the margin.

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Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor)
Photographs courtesy of Cindy Thornton.

Primary food plants	Larvae feed on vines and herbs belonging to Aristolochiaceae, or the Birthwort family.
Wingspan	7.0 -  13.0 cm (2 3/4 - 5 1/10 in.)
Season	Midsummer
Description	The upperside of Pipevine Swallowtail butterflies is blue with iridescent spotting.  Females differ from males in the size of the spots - the spots are larger in females - and they also have less blue coloration than males.

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Family Nymphalidae

 

     
Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae)

Primary food plants	Larvae feed on a variety of species of passion-flower.  Adults feed on the nectar of many plants, such as lantanas and composites.
Wingspan	2 1/2 - 3 3/4 inches (6.3 - 9.5 cm)
Season	Throughout the year in the gulf states; January - November in the North.
Description	The uppersides of the wings are bright orangish-brown with black markings and three white spots bordered with black located near the leading edges of the forewings.  Large, silver spots decorate the undersides of the hindwings.

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Variegated Fritillary (Euptoieta claudia)

Primary food plants	Larvae feed on flowers and leaves of plants in a variety of families, including passion flowers and violets.  Adults feed on the nectar of many plants, such as butterflyweed, swamp milkweed, common milkweed, dogbane, and red clover.
Wingspan	1 3/4 - 2 1/2 in. (4.5 - 6.3 cm)
Season	March - December
Description	The upper surface of the wings is tawny orange in color with thick, dark veins, black zigzag markings, and black submarginal spots.  The edges of the hindwings are angled and slightly scalloped.

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Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele)

Primary food plants	Caterpillars feed on violets.  Adults sip nectar from many species of flowers, such as purple coneflower, milkweeds, dogbane, ironweed, and thistles.
Wingspan	2 1/2 - 4 in. (6.4 - 10.2 cm)
Season	May - September
Description	Great Spangled Fritillaries are large butterflies.  Males are tan to orange in color on the upper surface with black scales on their forewing veins.  The tawny-colored females are darker than the males.  The underside of the hindwing has a wide, pale submarginal band and large silver spots.

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Phaon Crescent (Phyciodes phaon)

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Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos)

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Gorgone Checkerspot (Chlosyne gorgone)

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Hackberry Emperor (Asterocampa celtis)

Primary food plants	Larvae feed on sugarberry and on a variety of species of hackberry.  Adults sip moisture from sap, dung, carrion, and rotting fruit.
Wingspan	1 3/8 - 2 1/2 inches (3.5 - 6.3 cm)
Season	May - October
Description	The uppersides of the wings are brownish-red with white spots.  Distinguishing characteristics of this species include the spots marking the undersides of the hindwings.

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Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)

Primary food plants	Larvae feed on leaves, buds and fruits of plants belonging to the snapdragon, plantain, and acanthus families.  Adults forage on nectar from composite flowers such as aster, chickory, gumweed, knapweed, and tickseed sunflower.
Wingspan	1 2/3 - 2 2/5 in. (4.2 - 6.1 cm)
Season	May - November
Description	The upper surface of the wings is brown.  Forewings have two orange cell bars and two eyespots.  Hindwings also have two eyespots, the upper one of which is larger and contains a pink crescent.

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Northern Pearly-Eye (Enodia anthedon)

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Little Wood Satyr (Megisto cymela)

Primary food plants	Larvae feed on grasses.  Adults feed on honeydew of aphids, sap, and occasionally on flower nectar.
Wingspan	1 1/2 - 1 7/8 inches (3.8 - 4.8 cm)
Season	March - September
Description	Two yellow-ringed eyespots occur on the upper and lower surfaces of the light brown forewings and hindwings, with two small, additional spots sometimes present on the undersides of the hindwings.

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Carolina Satyr (Hermeuptychia sosybius)

Primary food plants	Larvae feed on various grasses, including St. Augustine Grass, which is often used for lawns.
Wingspan	2.5 - 3.8 cm (1.0 - 1.5 in.)
Season	Adults fly all year in the deep South.
Description	This butterfly is most easily recognized when the undersides of the wings are visible, as seen in the photograph above, as the dark brown upperside lacks any distinctive markings.  Dark brown submedian and postmedian lines cross the undersides of the wings, and a row of dark eyespots ringed with yellowish coloration are located toward the outer margins of the wings.

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Gemmed Satyr (Cyllopsis gemma)

Primary food plants	Larvae feed on grasses, including Bermuda Grass.
Wingspan	3.2 - 4.3 cm (1.3 - 1.7 in.)
Season	February - November
Description	The upperside of the Gemmed Satyr is brown with small spots located along the outer margin of the hindwing.  Note the purplish-colored patch with black dots located toward the hindwing margin on the underside of the speckled hindwing.

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Common Wood Nymph (Cercyonis pegala)
Photographs courtesy of Cindy Thornton.

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American Snout (Libytheana carinenta)
- formerly known in the U.S. as Libytheana bachmanni

Primary food plants	Larvae feed exclusively on hackberries (Ulmaceae).
Wingspan	1 2/5 - 1 4/5 in. (3.6 - 4.6 cm)
Season	May - June to August.  These butterflies often migrate.
Description	Snouts have long, forward-pointing labial palps resembling long snouts or beaks.  Forewing tips are squared off.  The upper surface is blackish-brown, and the forewing has orange at the base and inner margin with white spots on the outer portion.  This butterfly shows dimorphism in the coloration of the undersides of the wings: one form is dark with a small amount of mottling, and the other form is light with a large amount of mottling.

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American Painted Lady (Vanessa virginiensis)

Primary food plants	Larvae feed upon many members of the Asteraceae, including yarrow, ragweed, and asters.  Adults feed on flower nectar and sometimes aphid honeydew.
Wingspan	1 3/4 - 2 1/4 in. (4.5 - 5.7 cm)
Season	March - October
Description	The upper side is colored with an uneven brown, yellow, and orange pattern, and the underside has two large eyespots and an intricate, networking pattern.

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Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa)
Image at far right courtesy of Dr. Jane Dunn.

Primary food plants	Larvae feed on many trees of the Salicaceae, Betulaceae, Aceraceae, Ulmaceae, Moraceae, Oleaceae, Rosaceae, Tiliaceae, and Polygonaceae.
Wingspan	6.9 - 8.6 cm (2.7 - 3.4 in.)
Season	Likely three flights during the warmer months of the year.
Description	This butterfly is easily recognizable by its purplish-black wings banded by yellowish-gold coloration at the outer margins.

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Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)

Primary food plants	Caterpillars feed on leaves of plants belonging to the family Urticaceae (nettle family), including wood nettle, false nettle, tall wild nettle, and stinging nettle.  The preferred food of adults is sap flows on trees, bird droppings, and fermenting fruit.  When these food items are less abundant, they will feed on the nectar of red clover, common milkweed, aster and alfalfa, as well as other flowers.
Wingspan	1 3/4 - 3 in. (4.5 - 7.6 cm)
Season	Two broods from March to October in North; winters from October to March in southern Texas.
Description	The upper side of this butterfly is black with square, white spots near the wing tips.  The forewing has a red band down the center, and the hindwing has a red band along the lower margin.

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Falcate Orange Tip (Anthocharis midea)

Primary food plants	Caterpillars feed on plants belonging to the family Brassicaceae (mustard family), such as species of winter cress, bitter cress, and rock cress.  Adults feed on nectar from flowers, including mustard and violets.
Wingspan	1 3/8 - 1 3/4 in. (3.5 - 4.5 cm)
Season	March - May
Description	The hooked, or falcate, tip on the forewings is characteristic of this species.  Both sexes are white with a black spot located on the leading edge of the forewing.  Males may be distinguished from females by the orange spot located at the apex of the forewings (seen above).  The undersides of the wings are marbled with yellowish-green.

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Monarch (Danaus plexippus)

Primary food plants	Larvae feed on species of milkweeds, many of which contain toxins that are stored in the bodies of the caterpillars and later in the adult butterflies.  These poisons are distasteful to many predators.  Adult butterflies also feed on milkweeds, when available, and also on a variety of flowers, including dogbane, lilac, red clover, lantana, thistles, and composites, such as goldenrods.
Wingspan	3 3/8 - 4 7/8 in. (8.6 - 12.4 cm)
Season	Four to six broods in south; these butterflies participate in mass migrations.
Description	The upper surfaces of the wings of males are bright orange with wide, black borders.  Veins are also black, and a patch of scent scales are located on the hindwings.  The upper sides of the forewings and hindwings of females are orangish-brown with wide, black borders and black veins, as well.  White spots are located on the borders and at the apex of the wings of both sexes.  Notice the bright 'warning coloration' of adults, which advertises to potential predators that adult butterflies may be distasteful.  Images of male (left photo) and female (right photo) monarch butterflies were contributed by Dr. Jim Edson of the University of Arkansas at Monticello.

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Viceroy (Limenitis archippus)

Primary food plants	Caterpillars feed on trees belonging to the willow family (Salicaceae), including willows, cottonwoods, and poplars.  Adult butterflies feed on aphid honeydew, carrion, dung, and decaying fungi; later generations forage more frequently at flowers, favoring composites such as asters and goldenrods.
Wingspan	2 1/2 - 3 3/8 in. (6.3 - 8.6 cm)
Season	May - September
Description	The upper surface of the wings is orange and black, resembling the Monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus.  Characters used to distinguish Viceroys from Monarchs include: a black line across the hindwing and single row of white spots in the black band located at the edges of the wings of Viceroys.  Viceroys mimic Monarchs so they get the benefits of looking like a Monarch (see preceding description of distasteful nature of Monarchs).  For this to work, there must be fewer Viceroys than Monarchs - so it is less likely to find a Viceroy.

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Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis)

Primary food plants	Caterpillars feed on elms, hackberry, hops, nettle, and false nettle.  Adults feed primarily on rotting fruit, dung, tree sap, and carrion, visiting flowers only when these food items are unavailable.
Wingspan	2 1/4 - 3 in. (5.7 - 7.6 cm)
Season	April - September
Description	The upper surface of the hooked forewing is orange-red in color with black spots.  (Winter forms have more orange and a longer, violet-tipped tail (left photo).  Summer forms are primarily black with a short tail.)  The underside is light brown, and the hindwing has a white "question mark" at the center (seen in photo on the right).  The two images to the left are courtesy of Dr. Jane Dunn.

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Red Spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis)

Primary food plants	Caterpillars feed on the leaves of many species of plants and shrubs, including oaks, hawthorn, wild cherry, willows, and basswood.  Adults forage for rotting fruit, sap flows, carrion, dung, and sometimes for small, white flowers, such as those found on viburnum.
Wingspan	2 1/4 -3 2/5 in. (5.7 - 8.6 cm)
Season	April - October
Description	The upper side of the wings is blue to blue-green in coloration, and is iridescent on the outer portion of the hindwing.  The forewing has two orange-red bars near the margin of the leading edge.

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Family Lycaenidae

 

 

  
Eastern Tailed-Blue (Everes comyntas)

Primary food plants	Caterpillars feed on the flowers, buds, and leaves of many species of plants in the pea family, including clover, alfalfa, and wild peas.  Adults feed on the nectar of open or short-tubed flowers located close to the ground.  These include: wild strawberry, asters, and winter cress.
Wingspan	7/8 - 1 1/8 in. (2.2 - 2.9 cm)
Season	February - November
Description	The upper side of the wings of males is iridescent blue.  Summer generation females are uniformly brown; spring females have a large amount of blue at the base of the wings.  Hindwing have a single, narrow tail.

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Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus)

Primary food plants	Larvae feed on flowers and fruits from a wide variety of plants, most commonly those belonging to the pea family (Fabaceae) and the mallow family (Malvaceae).  Adults feed on nectar from many plants, such as mimosas, milkweed, goldenrod, and white clover.
Wingspan	1.0 - 1 1/4 in. (2.5 -  3.2 cm)
Season	February - November
Description	Wings are blue-gray in coloration with a large red spot near the single hindwing tails.  The post-median line is white, bordered with orange on the inner edge.

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Banded Hairstreak (Satyrium calanus)

Primary food plants	Caterpillars feed on the leaves and catkins of oak, walnut, and hickory trees.  Adults feed on nectar from the flowers of many plants, including the preferred dogbane and common milkweed.
Wingspan	1 - 1 1/2 in. (2.5 - 3.8 cm)
Season	April - June
Description	The hindwing has two tails: one long and one short.  Upper surfaces of males and females are colored dark brown with a post-median band of dark dashes edged in white.  Banded hairstreaks have a blue tail spot.

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Red-banded Hairstreak (Calycopis cecrops)

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Family Pieridae

 

 

Dainty Sulphur (Nathalis iole)

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Primary food plants	Larvae feed on plants belonging to the aster family.  Adults feed on the nectar of a variety of plants, including asters, wild marigolds, and rabbitbrush.
<font face="Arial">Wingspan	3/4 - 1 1/4 inches (2 - 3.2 cm).
Season	Throughout the year in extreme southeast; six months in North.
Description	The upperside of the wings of this butterfly, North America's smallest sulphur, are yellow with some black markings.  A yellow patch is located at the base of the undersides of the forewings and black spots are located toward the outer edge.  The hindwings of winter specimens are dusty green, and the hindwings of summer specimens are pale yellow.

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Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice)
(female, white form)

Primary food plants	Larvae feed on leaves of plants in the Fabaceae (pea) family, such as alfalfa, white clover, and pea.  Adults feed on flower nectar from a variety of plants.
Wingspan	1 1/2 - 2 3/4 in. (3.8 - 7.0 cm)
Season	March - November
Description	The upper surface of the wings of males are bright yellow with solid black edging, and the lower surface of forewing has some dark submarginal spots.  The hindwing has a pink-edged silver cell spot.  Two forms are seen in females: a yellow form with uneven black edging around yellow spots, and a white form with a greenish cast.

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Little Yellow (Eurema lisa)
*Also known as Little Sulphur
Photograph at left courtesy of Carson Kindy.

Primary food plants	Larvae feed on plants belonging to the pea family, including Partridge pea and wild sensitive plant.  Adults feed on nectar from flowers in the aster family, such as goldenrod and asters.
Wingspan	1 1/4 - 1 3/4 inches (3.2 - 4.4 cm)
Season	Late spring - early fall
Description	Wings are yellowish with a prominent red spot on the lower surface.  Notice also the two distinctive small, black spots located at the base of the hindwing near the body of this butterfly.

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Checkered White (Pontia protodice)

Primary food plants	Larvae feed on a variety of plants belonging to the mustard family.
Wingspan	3.2 - 5.1 cm (1.3 - 2.0 in.)
Season	Early spring to late fall
Description	The wings of this butterfly are whitish with dark smudges of color, or "checkering", located toward the outer margins.  Females tend to have more yellowish tinting on the wings than males.

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Family Hesperiidae

 

 

  
Common Checkered Skipper (Pyrgus communis) - female

Primary food plants	Larvae feed on hollyhocks, "wild tea," Indian mallow, and other members of the mallow family (Malvaceae).  Adults feed on the nectar of a variety of flowers, including asters, flea bane, and red clover.
Wingspan	1 - 1 1/2 inches (2.5 - 3.8 cm)
Season	February - October
Description	These skippers are sexually dimorphic; the background of the wings of males is blue-gray, and that of females is black (shown in photos above).  A median band comprised of white spots crosses the wings of both sexes.

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Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus)
Photograph courtesy of Cindy Thornton.

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Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus)
Photo courtesy of Dr. Jane Dunn.

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Northern Cloudywing (Thorybes pylades)
Photographs courtesy of Cindy Thornton.

Primary food plants	Larvae of the Northern Cloudywing feed on a variety of leguminous plants, including milk vetch, beggarweeds, and bush clovers.
Wingspan	3.0 - 4.3 cm (1.2 - 1.7 in.)
Season	March - November
Description	The wings of the Northern Cloudywing, in addition to other closely related cloudywing skippers, is dark brown with several small, white spots.  Due to the lack of more prominent markings, identifications of cloudywings to species level may be difficult.  The cloudywing shown in the images above has been tentatively identified as the Northern Cloudywing based upon descriptions in the literature consulted.

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Hayhurst's Scallopwing (Staphylus hayhurstii)
Image courtesy of Cindy Thornton.

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Renn Tumlison
Department of Biology
Box 7861
Henderson State University
Arkadelphia, AR  71999
Phone: (870) 230-5152
E-mail:  tumlison@hsu.edu

 

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Last updated: 8 June 2007