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Identify Butterflies

On this page we'll help you identify butterflies you may see in your garden or in the field by their shape, wingspan, opened and closed wing color, common name and family name.

Butterfly shapes you may see:

Swallowtails	Milkweed Butterflies	Longwings	Fritillaries	Whites & Sulphurs

Predominant opened wing colors of butterflies:

Black	Blue	Brown	Copper	Green	Grey	Orange	Purple	Red	White	Yellow

Predominant closed wing colors of butterflies:

Black	Blue	Brown	Copper	Green	Grey	Orange	Purple	Red	White	Yellow

Identify butterflies by their wingspan:

Small - 3/4" - 1 3/4"

Medium - 1 3/4" - 3 3/4"

Large - 3 3/4" - 6 1/2"

Butterfly Common Names:

A-FAmerican LadyBlack SwallowtailCabbage WhiteCommon BuckeyeEastern Comma	G-LGiant SwallowtailGreat Spangled FritillaryHorace's DuskywingJulia Heliconian
M-RMonarchPainted LadyPearl CrescentPipevine SwallowtailQueenQuestion MarkRed AdmiralRed-Spotted Purple	S-ZSilver-spotted SkipperSilvery CheckerspotSpicebush SwallowtailTiger SwallowtailVariegated FritillaryViceroyZebra LongwingZebra Swallowtail

Butterfly families:

Swallowtails    Whites & Sulphurs    Gossamer Wings    Metalmarks    Brush-footed Butterflies    Skippers