Swallowtails are so showy that everyone tends to notice them. A large, bright yellow butterfly with prominent tails is most certainly a swallowtail. Our species are mostly yellow (or white) with black borders and bars. The swallowtails fly fast but with a slow wingbeat due to their large size. Western Tiger males can often be seen patrolling the edges of woods for females.
Although related to the Swallowtails, these medium-sized white butterflies lack tails. Look for red spots to distinguish them from the whites. They fly slowly with a fluttery flight pattern.
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 distinguished by the dramatic marbling below.
A medium-sized pale yellow butterfly is probably a sulphur. Sulphurs can be found in large numbers in alphalpha fields.
This is the family of little butterflies. Most species have a wingspan less than 2". There are 3 fairly distinctive subfamilies.
Although they are quite common, most people never notice the tiny blues (1-1.5"). The males are generally blue above while the females are usually some shade of brown or gray, perhaps with blue highlights. Both sexes are white below with diagnostic spot patterns.
The coppers are also small butterflies with diagnostic spots below and some coppery shade above, at least in the males. (Just to make things interesting, the common Blue Copper is easily confused with the blues.)
If you notice a dark little triangle darting about, chasing other butterflies, it may well be a hairstreak. Most of the hairstreaks have a white, black, or orange diagonal line across the forewing below. Many have short tails (except the Elfins). There is often a bright spot near the tail (probably to mislead predators).
The name Brush-foot refers to the very short, hairy front legs that distinguish the group. This diverse family includes 5 very different subfamilies.
The frillaries are a distinctive, bright orange above with a detailed black pattern. They can often be seen patrolling meadows and open woods. It is very easy to tell that you have a fritillary, but keying to species is a job for experts. You must contend with considerable variation among individuals of a single species as well as regional subspecies.
The Checkerspots and Cresents are highly variable.
The anglewings and tortoiseshells are well camoflauged when they rest on a tree trunk with wings folded but brightly colored when they open their wings. Unlike other butterflies, this group tends to seek out tree sap more often than nectar.
This group consists of medium sized brown butterflies with a bobbing flight. Most species do not nectar.
The Monarch is famous for its long migration. It is also famous for advertising itself with bright colors, something that it can afford to do because it is poisonous to most predators. The catepillar feeds on milkweed and stores the toxins.
You might not think this insect is a butterfly at first glance. In fact, they split from the rest of the butterflies early on. Their wings are small relative to their body size and so they have a faster wing beat. The caterpillars primarily feed on grass or sedges. Most species are tawny brown with various patterns of white spots and black borders.
The folded wing skippers have a unique way of holding their wings with the hind wing folded.
The spread wing skipppers, on the other hand, land with their wings spread open. The skippers include a large number of species adapted to most habitats.
