Virginia Butterflies
The following list of wildlife that is native to Virginia is provided by Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
List of Native and Naturalized Fauna of Virginia August, 2000.
When finding differant creatures in the wild or around the home it is easier to identify the found creature if you can narrow the search.
This list is for Virginia and most any creature found in Virginia will be listed here.
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Wildlife highlighted in red are endangered or threatened.
Wildlife highlighted in green are dangerous, and some very dangerous.Information on the dangerous wildlife may be found at Enature
Butterflies of Virginia
Taxonomists divide the 18,000 or so known species of butterfly (the suborder Rhopalocera) into five families.
Families
Swallowtails Family Papilionidae
Whites and Sulphurs Family Pieridae
Gossamer-wing Butterflies Family Lycaenidae
Metalmarks Family Riodinidae
Brush-footed Butterflies Family Nymphalidae
Skippers Family Hesperiidae
Swallowtails Family Papilionidae
Description: THE butterflies of this family in both sexes are provided with six ambulatory feet. The caterpillars are elongate, and in the genera Papilio and Ornithoptera have osmateria, or protrusive scent-organs, used for purposes of defense.
The chrysalids in all the genera are more or less elongate, attached at the anal extremity, and held in place by a girdle of silk, but they never lie appressed to the surface upon which pupation takes place, as is true in the Erycinidae and Lycaenidae.
Swallowtails Subfamily Papilioninae
The largest subfamily is the Papilioninae, with about 480 species. It includes many of the largest and most spectacular butterflies. They are cosmopolitan in distribution, with the greatest diversity in the Old World tropics. Only one species occurs in the UK, a rare and endemic subspecies of the widespread (N Africa to Japan and N America) Papilio machaon. With typical understatement, the butterfly is known in Britain as 'The' swallowtail.
| Common Name | Genus & Species | Caterpillar |
|---|
| Pipevine Swallowtail | Battus philenor | Image |
| Zebra Swallowtail | Eurytides marcellus | Image |
| Black Swallowtail | Papilio polyxenes | Image |
| Giant Swallowtail | Papilio cresphontes | Image |
| Eastern Tiger Swallowtail | Papilio glaucus | Image |
| Spicebush Swallowtail | Papilio troilus | Image |
| Palamedes Swallowtail | Papilio palamedes | Image |
Whites and Sulphurs Family Pieridae
Description: Adults are small to medium-sized, both sexes
have six walking legs and distinctly bifid claws; most
species are white or yellow or orange derived from pterin
pigments, some with red and black patterning. Marked
sexual dimorphism, and dimorphic females, with both
white and yellow forms occurring within a species.
Whites Subfamily Pierinae
Every area has at least one variety of white that is fairly common. The ubiquitous Cabbage White (this import is the bane of any gardner when in its catepillar form) can be found almost anywhere. There are two primary groups, the checkered whites (e.g., Cabbage White) which have black markings above and the marbles (e.g., Large Marble) which can be distinguised by the dramatic marbling below.
| Common Name | Genus & Species | Caterpillar |
|---|
| Checkered White | Pontia protodice | Image |
| West Virginia White | Pieris virginiensis | Image |
| Cabbage White | Pieris rapae | Image |
| Great Southern White | Ascia monuste | Image |
| Olympia Marble | Euchloe olympia | Description | |
| Falcate Orangetip | Anthocharis midea | Image |
Gossamer-wing Butterflies Family Lycaenidae
While not all the Lycaenidae butterflies need ants, certain members of this family can only complete their life cycle in association with particular ant species. This is termed a myrmecophilous (love of ants) relationship. Many members of the Lycaenidae are commonly referred to as the coppers and blues because these are the predominant colours in the family. Many species of this family have a fascinating association with ant species, each butterfly species usually associated with a single ant species. The extent of the association varies. In some cases the ant cares for the butterfly larva by guiding it up to its host plant to feed during the day and then back underground for protection at night (much like we keep cows) and the benefit for the ant is that the larva has a special honey gland that secretes a sweet substance that the ants enjoy. In other cases pheromones secreted by the larvae fool the ant into believing that the caterpillar is part of the ant brood, allowing the caterpillar to feed on them.
Harvesters Subfamily Miletinae
This is a small, mainly African and Oriental, subfamily. The larvae are peculiar in that they are carnivorous, feeding on other insects such as aphids and other homopterans. The single North American representative of the subfamily, the Harvester, feeds exclusively on aphids.
| Common Name | Genus & Species | Caterpillar |
|---|
| Harvester | Feniseca tarquinius | Image |
Coppers Subfamily Lycaeninae
This is the family of little butterflies. Most species have a wingspan less than 2". There are 3 fairly distinctive subfamilies.
| Common Name | Genus & Species | Caterpillar |
|---|
| American Copper | Lycaena phlaeas | Description |
| Bronze Copper | Lycaena hyllus | Image |
Metalmarks Family Riodinidae
The common name of this family, the Metalmarks, refers to the bright, metallic spots marking the wings of many of its members.
Some sources consider this family to be a subfamily of the Lycaenidae. Like the Lycaenids, the males of this family have reduced forelegs while the females have full-sized, fully functional forelegs.
There are only about 20 species of this family occurring in North America.
In addition to the traits listed above, the butterflies are generally characterized by: 1) the foreleg of most males, in addition to being reduced, has a uniquely shaped first segment (the coxa) which extends beyond its joint with the second segment, rather than meeting it flush; 2) the hindwing exhibits unique vennation; and 3) most species perch on the undersides of leaves with the wings held open and completely flat.
Eggs vary in shape but often appear round and flattened. The caterpillars are usually hairy, plump, and are the common overwintering stage. Pupa are hairy and attached with silk to either the host plant or to ground debris or leaf litter. There is no cocoon.
br
| Common Name | Genus & Species | Caterpillar |
|---|
| Little Metalmark | Calephelis virginiensis | Not Available |
| Northern Metalmark | Calephelis borealis | Description |
Brush-footed Butterflies Family Nymphalidae
The Nymphalidae are an order of about 5,000 species of butterflies.
These are typically fairly large butterfies, such as the admirals, tortoiseshells and fritillaries, which have very colourful upperparts. However, the underwings are dull and often look like dead leaves, which helps to conceal stationary or hibernating insects.
The front two legs are small, so these butterflies are effectively four-legged. The caterpillars are hairy or spiky, and the crysalids have shiny spots.
Snouts Subfamily LibytheinaeButterfly.-The butterflies of this family are very readily distinguished from all others by their long projecting palpi, and by the fact that the males have four feet adapted to walking, while the females have six, in which respect they approach the Erycinidae.
| Common Name | Genus & Species | Caterpillar |
|---|
| American Snout | Libytheana carinenta | Not Available |
Heliconians and Fritillaries Subfamily Heliconiinae
This is a small subfamily, found mostly in tropical America; seven reach the southern U.S. and one migrates into the north and has twice been recorded in Canada. All species have long narrow wings, most (but not ours) are vividly coloured to advertise that they are unpalatable. Heliconian larvae have rows of branching spines, but lack a middorsal row, and there are more spines on the head. The pupae are irregular in shape with protruding wing-cases. All heliconians feed as larvae on various species of passion flowers that contain poisonous compounds.
| Common Name | Genus & Species | Caterpillar |
|---|
| Gulf Fritillary | Agraulis vanillae | Image |
| Zebra Heliconian | Heliconius charithonius | Not Available |
| Variegated Fritillary | Euptoieta claudia | Image |
| Diana | Speyeria diana | Image |
| Great Spangled Fritillary | Speyeria cybele | Image |
| Aphrodite Fritillary | Speyeria aphrodite | Image |
| Regal Fritillary | Speyeria idalia | Image |
| Atlantis Fritillary | Speyeria atlantis | Image |
| Silver-bordered Fritillary | Boloria selene | Image |
| Meadow Fritillary | Boloria bellona | Description |
True Brush-foots Subfamily Nymphalinae
This worldwide subfamily of medium to large butterflies contains 26 species in North America, of which 16 occur in Canada. Larvae all have rows of branching spines, and pupae are irregular in shape, often ornamented with metallic silvery or golden spots. There are many distinct groups within this subfamily, of which four groups occur in Canada. The tortoiseshells (Nymphalis) lay their eggs in large groups and the larvae feed communally until about half-grown; the anglewings (Polygonia), thistle butterflies (Vanessa), and peacocks (Junonia) lay eggs singly or in very small clusters. The tortoiseshells and anglewings use both trees and herbs as foodplants, the thistle butterflies and peacocks use only herbs; species from the first three groups feed on nettles (Urticaceae).
Most anglewings and tortoiseshells are long-lived butterflies that hibernate as adults, becoming sexually mature only in their second year. The thistle butterflies are migrants, with none regularly overwintering in Canada; the Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) is the most widespread butterfly in the world, having spread to all continents except Antarctica and South America.
The anglewing group (commas and the Question Mark) is made up of seven closely related species in Canada that cause many identification problems. Three species have two generations per year, in which the adults of each generation look quite different; there is considerable individual variation as well. All hibernate as adults, and specimens seen in the early spring look very different than those that are freshly emerged. There are various details of wing shape and the form of the silver "comma" mark on the hindwing underside that differ between the species, but even using these, there can still be difficulties.
The tortoiseshells are a small group with four North American species, all of which occur in Canada; some of these are also found in northern Eurasia. Like the anglewings, they all have cryptic undersides and irregular wing margins for camouflage. However, the uppersides have unique patterns and the species are easily distinguished. They feed as adults mainly on tree sap and animal droppings although one, the Milbert's Tortoiseshell, also feeds regularly on flowers.
The thistle butterflies get their name from the larval foodplant of the most widespread species, the Painted Lady. The Painted Lady is the most cosmopolitan of butterflies, rarely surviving the northern winters (only a few possible records in Canada), but populations are replenished in most years by specimens flying north into Canada from the south. The other three species overwinter in the U.S. and perhaps southernmost Canada, but expand their ranges farther into Canada during the summer.
The peacocks are a small group of mainly tropical species of which only one, the Common Buckeye, regularly migrates to Canada but cannot overwinter.
| Common Name | Genus & Species | Caterpillar |
|---|
| Silvery Checkerspot | Chlosyne nycteis | Description |
| Phaon Crescent | Phyciodes phaon | Description |
| Pearl Crescent | Phyciodes tharos | Image |
| Northern Crescent | Phyciodes cocyta | Description |
| Tawny Crescent | Phyciodes batesii | Description |
| Baltimore | Euphydryas phaeton | Image |
| Question Mark | Polygonia interrogationis | Image |
| Eastern Comma | Polygonia comma | Image |
| Green Comma | Polygonia faunus | Not Available |
| Gray Comma | Polygonia progne | Image |
| Compton Tortoiseshell | Nymphalis vaualbum | Not Available |
| Mourning Cloak | Nymphalis antiopa | Image |
| American Lady | Vanessa virginiensis | Image |
| Painted Lady | Vanessa cardui | Image |
| Red Admiral | Vanessa atalanta | Image |
| Common Buckeye | Junonia coenia | Image |
| White Peacock | Anartia jatrophae | Description |
Admirals and Relatives Subfamily Limenitidinae
This is a worldwide subfamily of medium-to-large butterflies, with 26 species in North America.
The eggs of our species are laid singly on trees. The larvae resemble bird droppings when small and have two barbed spines on the top of the swollen thorax when fully grown. They feed on the leaves of a variety of trees, particularly willows (Salix spp.) and aspens (Populus spp.). They overwinter as partly grown larvae in a shelter made by rolling up a small part of a leaf tip.
The pupae are irregularly shaped. All of our species hybridize to some extent because they are so closely related. Some of these hybrid forms have been given varietal names.
Most admiral species are dark with a distinctive white band, but several, such as the Viceroy (Limenitis archippus) and the Red-spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis astyanax) mimic other butterflies that are distasteful to birds.
All our Canadian species tend to be associated mostly with woodlands and favour rotting fruit or animal dung as the adult food source. Most are often seen sipping moisture from wet spots on the ground.
| Common Name | Genus & Species | Caterpillar |
|---|
| Red-spotted Purple | Limenitis arthemis | Image |
| 'Astyanax' Red-spotted Purple | Limenitis arthemis astyanax | Image |
| White Admiral | Limenitis arthemis arthemis | Image |
| Viceroy | Limenitis archippus | Image |
| Ruddy Daggerwing | Marpesia petreus | Description |
Leafwings Subfamily Charaxinae
The subfamily Charaxinae comprises 395 species according to the latest version of the Classification of Nymphalidae. These species are placed into 19 genera and 6 tribes. The charaxines are well-known for their extremely powerful flight. They are usually associated with Nymphalinae, but current molecular work suggests that they are more related to the satyrines and morphines.
| Common Name | Genus & Species | Caterpillar |
|---|
| Goatweed Leafwing | Anaea andria | Image |
Emperors Subfamily Apaturinae
This small subfamily occurs worldwide in temperate and tropical regions. The emperors are a small group of medium-sized New World species, with 12 species occurring in North America.
The eggs are laid singly or in small groups on the leaves of the foodplant. The larvae feed in small groups; they lack branching spines but have two large barbed horns on the head. They are longitudinally striped and the last segment branches into two "tails." Hibernation occurs as partly grown larvae curled up in leaves of the foodplant. The pupa is somewhat flattened, with two head horns; in both our species they are green and lie flat on a leaf, unlike most other nymphalid pupae, which hang.
The adults are tawny in colour with black and white dots, the females larger and lighter in colour than the males. In males the wings are slightly pointed; in females they are more rounded.
Mainly forest-dwelling butterflies, they occur where hackberry trees grow, sometimes in urban centres, where there are ornamental plantings of hackberry. The adults have a distinctive flap-and-glide flight and often alight on the trunks of trees or high up on the leaves. As with the admirals, they get their nourishment from animal dung, rotting fruit, or the sap of trees.
| Common Name | Genus & Species | Caterpillar |
|---|
| Hackberry Emperor | Asterocampa celtis | Description |
| Tawny Emperor | Asterocampa clyton | Description |
Satyrs Subfamily Satyrinae
This large worldwide subfamily contains about 50 species in North America. The adults are mainly medium-sized butterflies, almost always drab orange, brown, or greyish brown in colour, usually with at least a few eye-spots. All species have the base of some of the forewing veins visibly swollen; this is thought to be a hearing organ. Most have a weak, bobbing, dodging flight but some, for example species in the genus Oeneis, are powerful fliers.
The larvae are green or brown, well camouflaged, smooth, and somewhat tapered towards both ends, with the last segment usually forked into two "tails." All feed on monocotyledons (Canadian species on grasses and sedges). Pupae are smooth and unornamented, usually with two horns on the head.
| Common Name | Genus & Species | Caterpillar |
|---|
| Southern Pearly Eye | Enodia portlandia | Description |
| Northern Pearly Eye | Enodia anthedon | Image |
| Creole Pearly Eye | Enodia creola | Not Available |
| Appalachian Brown | Satyrodes appalachia | Image |
| Gemmed Satyr | Cyllopsis gemma | Description |
| Carolina Satyr | Hermeuptychia sosybius | Image |
| Georgia Satyr | Neonympha areolata | Description |
| Little Wood Satyr | Megisto cymela | Image |
| Common Wood Nymph | Cercyonis pegala | Image |
Monarchs Subfamily Danainae
This worldwide subfamily is found mainly in the tropics; four occur in North America and one, the Monarch, migrates every year into Canada. The adults are large, brightly coloured butterflies, distasteful to predators. The forelegs are reduced in size as in other Nymphalids.
The larvae are brightly coloured. They have no spines, but most have one or more pairs of fleshy filaments on the body. They feed on poisonous plants in the milkweed family (Asclepiadaceae) and dogbane family (Apocynaceae). The pupae are rounded, with no projections, but are ornamented with bright dots of gold and red.
| Common Name | Genus & Species | Caterpillar |
|---|
| Monarch | Danaus plexippus | Image |
Skippers Family Hesperiidae
The Hesperiidae are a large family of butterflies with about 3,700 species world-wide and about 300 in North America. Most are small or medium sized. They are distinct in appearance from other butterflies, with a thick, heavily muscled thorax and seemingly small short wings. All have six fully functional legs in both sexes. The head is wide and the antennae arise far apart; the antennae are also very distinctive. Their flight is usually powerful, although only a few have migratory tendencies. They tend to "skip" from place to place with extremely rapid wing movements. Most have dull colours, brown or grey, and are often confused with moths by non-naturalists.
Skipper eggs tend to be more or less hemispherical in shape, with surface sculpturing ranging from very fine, almost invisible, to marked vertical ridges. Larvae are plain, unornamented, smooth or with very short hairs, cylindrical or tapered at both ends, with the last segment often divided into two "tails." They have large heads, made more noticeable because the prothorax is narrow and has the appearance of a neck. They live in silk-lined leaf-nests on the foodplants, made by cutting and folding leaves or by pulling together several leaves. Because of this and their usually nocturnal feeding habits they are difficult to find, especially the grass-feeding species. Pupation takes place in the leafnest or in a silk-lined nest in the leaf litter near the base of the foodplant. Pupae tend to be quite rounded and smooth, with the tongue more noticeable than in other butterfly pupae.
The family is divided into six subfamilies, of which four are found in North America.
Spread-wing Skippers Subfamily Pyrginae
World-wide, about one-third of all skippers are pyrgines. Pyrgines are not as drastically different in most adult characteristics as our other subfamilies; their appearance is somewhat intermediate between skippers and other butterflies. Only the antennae are obviously distinct, with curved, banana-shaped clubs and sharply angled apiculi.
Almost all of our species are dark brown or grey, with relatively indistinct mottled patterns, often with small groups of white or translucent spots. In some species males have dark patches of scent scales, androconia, which are difficult to see against the often dark grey background. In others the scent scales are contained in a folded over section of the forewing costa.
The larval foodplants of the pyrgine skippers include a wide variety of dicotyledonous plants. The different habitat requirements of the foodplants are often a help in distinguishing pairs of look-alike species, which otherwise may require genitalic dissection to verify identification.
| Common Name | Genus & Species | Caterpillar |
|---|
| Silver-spotted Skipper | Epargyreus clarus | Image |
| Long-tailed Skipper | Urbanus proteus | Description |
| Dorantes Longtail | Urbanus dorantes | Description |
| Golden Banded-Skipper | Autochton cellus | Not Available |
| Hoary Edge | Achalarus lyciades | Description |
| Southern Cloudywing | Thorybes bathyllus | Description |
| Northern Cloudywing | Thorybes pylades | Description |
| Confusing Cloudywing | Thorybes confusis | Image |
| Hayhurst's Scallopwing | Staphylus hayhurstii | Image |
| Dreamy Duskywing | Erynnis icelus | Description |
| Sleepy Duskywing | Erynnis brizo | Description |
| Juvenal's Duskywing | Erynnis juvenalis | Image |
| Horace's Duskywing | Erynnis horatius | Image |
| Mottled Duskywing | Erynnis martialis | Not Available |
| Zarucco Duskywing | Erynnis zarucco | Description |
| Columbine Duskywing | Erynnis lucilius | Description |
| Wild Indigo Duskywing | Erynnis baptisiae | Image |
| Persius Duskywing | Erynnis persius | Description |
| Grizzled Skipper | Pyrgus centaureae | Not Available |
| Common Checkered-Skipper | Pyrgus communis | Description |
| Common Sootywing | Pholisora catullus | Description |
Grass Skippers Subfamily Hesperiinae
Branded skippers are usually small and orange brown in colour. Their relatively large bodies and small wings make them immediately recognizable as a group, but species identification can be difficult and the group is often ignored by novice collectors for this reason. Compounding the difficulty in identification is the fact that the sexes are usually distinct in appearance. Males have a dark "brand" of scent scales on the forewing, but the female pattern is different in other ways, often with expanded dark areas. Sometimes the only way to associate females with males of their species is by the hindwing underside pattern; this cannot usually be seen until the specimen is caught because of the basking position of the butterflies in this subfamily. Branded skippers hold the hindwings horizontally, and the forewings almost vertically.
Most branded skippers have a series of rows of spines along the side of the middle section of the legs (the tibia), sticking out from the leg scales; these spines are in addition to the long pair of scaled "spurs" at the end of the middle leg and the two pair of "spurs" at and near the end of the hind leg. These spines are absent in the pyrgine skippers (subfamily Pyrginae). Within the branded skippers the loss of these spines in some groups can be helpful in making identifications. The spines may be lost from the hind legs (e.g., Oarisma), from the middle legs (e.g., Euphyes), from the front and hind legs (e.g., Thymelicus), or from all three legs (e.g., Ancyloxypha). The lack of spines on the middle tibia is the most reliable way to separate females of Euphyes vestris from those of other similar species (e.g., Wallengrenia egeremet).
The larval foodplants are monocotyledons, grasses and sedges. The difficulty of identifying grasses and of finding larval nests among literally millions of grass stems has resulted in relatively little work being done on the foodplants of most species. Most have very definite habitat preferences and therefore probably foodplant preferences, but only a few foodplant species have been identified and most reports state that larvae will eat many grasses in captivity.
| Common Name | Genus & Species | Caterpillar |
|---|
| Swarthy Skipper | Nastra lherminier | Not Available |
| Clouded Skipper | Lerema accius | Image |
| Least Skipper | Ancyloxypha numitor | Description |
| Southern Skipperling | Copaeodes minima | Not Available |
| European Skipper | Thymelicus lineola | Description |
| Fiery Skipper | Hylephila phyleus | Image |
| Leonard's Skipper | Hesperia leonardus | Description |
| Cobweb Skipper | Hesperia metea | Description |
| Dotted Skipper | Hesperia attalus | Not Available |
| Indian Skipper | Hesperia sassacus | Description |
| Peck's Skipper | Polites peckius | Description |
| Tawny-edged Skipper | Polites themistocles | Description |
| Crossline Skipper | Polites origenes | Description |
| Long Dash | Polites mystic | Description |
| Whirlabout | Polites vibex | Description |
| Southern Broken-Dash | Wallengrenia otho | Not Available |
| Northern Broken-Dash | Wallengrenia egeremet | Description |
| Little Glassywing | Pompeius verna | Description |
| Sachem | Atalopedes campestris | Image |
| Arogos Skipper | Atrytone arogos | Description |
| Delaware Skipper | Anatrytone logan | Image |
| Rare Skipper | Problema bulenta | Not Available |
| Hobomok Skipper | Poanes hobomok | Description |
| Zabulon Skipper | Poanes zabulon | Not Available |
| Aaron's Skipper | Poanes aaroni | Not Available |
| Yehl Skipper | Poanes yehl | Not Available |
| Broad-winged Skipper | Poanes viator | Description |
| Palatka Skipper | Euphyes pilatka | Not Available |
| Dion Skipper | Euphyes dion | Description |
| Dukes' Skipper | Euphyes dukesi | Not Available |
| Black Dash | Euphyes conspicua | Not Available |
| Two-spotted Skipper | Euphyes bimacula | Not Available |
| Dun Skipper | Euphyes vestris | Image |
| Dusted Skipper | Atrytonopsis hianna | Description |
| Pepper and Salt Skipper | Amblyscirtes hegon | Description |
| Lace-winged Roadside-Skipper | Amblyscirtes aesculapius | Not Available |
| Carolina Roadside-Skipper | Amblyscirtes carolina | Not Available |
| Reversed Roadside-Skipper | Amblyscirtes reversa | Not Available |
| Common Roadside-Skipper | Amblyscirtes vialis | Description |
| Dusky Roadside-Skipper | Amblyscirtes alternata | Not Available |
| Eufala Skipper | Lerodea eufala | Description |
| Brazilian Skipper | Calpodes ethlius | Not Available |
| Salt Marsh Skipper | Panoquina panoquin | Not Available |
| Ocola Skipper | Panoquina ocola | Not Available |
Giant-Skippers Subfamily Megathyminae
| Common Name | Genus & Species | Caterpillar |
|---|
| Yucca Giant-Skipper | Megathymus yuccae | Image |
