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Maryland's Wildlife Species - Butterflies of Maryland

Maryland is home to about 151 species of butterflies. Of these, 129 species regularly occur in Maryland and 22 others are either irregular vagrants, such as the Gulf Fritillary, or were once a part of our landscape, but have now vanished, such as the Regal Fritillary.

Our butterflies range in size from the large, showy Giant Swallowtail to the tiny and easily overlooked Eastern Tailed-Blue. Some are relatively camouflaged to blend into their surroundings, like the Tawny Emperor, while others are brilliantly colored to warn potential predators of their poisonous taste, like the Monarch.

Many butterflies live relatively short lives as adults of only a month or less. The remainder of the year is spent during the other three stages of their life cycle: egg, caterpillar, and pupa (inside the chrysalis). While they are adults their primary goal is to mate and begin a new generation before dying; however, we usually see them as they visit our flowers for nectar or the wet sand along our driveways and roadsides for minerals and moisture. Some butterflies prefer the moisture in rotting fruit or in animal scat.

Like other types of wildlife, some butterflies are considered habitat generalists and are found in a wide variety of places, while others are habitat specialists and are confined to very specialized conditions, never straying very far from areas with a certain type of plant on which the caterpillar feeds. For example, the Palamedes Swallowtail caterpillar only feeds on Red Bay and this southern plant only occurs as far north as the swamps on the lower Eastern Shore in Worcester and Somerset Counties. This specialization is one of the main reasons why some species are much more rare and vulnerable to local extirpation than other species.

Just as bird watching has become a popular recreational activity, butterfly watching and gardening for butterflies is a fast-growing outdoors pastime. The key to enjoying the study of butterflies is to learn about the timing of their life cycle to know what time of the year the adults are present, about their various habitat preferences, and about the plant hosts that they need to survive. To help you get started, the “Butterflies of Maryland: A Biological Summary and Checklist” has much of this information compiled in one document.

Another good sources of information is the North American Butterfly Association (NABA), found at www.naba.org, which sponsors butterfly counts nationwide, publishes magazines, and generally promotes butterfly conservation. The local NABA chapter, known as the Washington Area Butterfly Club, found at http://users.sitestar.net/butterfly/, is a great resource for the amateur enthusiast who is interested in learning more about butterflies and their conservation.
 

Common Name followed by the scientific name:

• Silver-spotted skipper Epargyreus clarus




• Long-tailed skipper Urbanus proteus




• Golden-banded skipper Autochton cellus




• Hoary edge Achalarus lyciades




• Southern cloudy wing Thorybes bathyllus




• Northern cloudy wing Thorybes pylades




• Confused cloudy wing Thorybes confusis




• Scalloped sooty wing Staphylus hayhurstii




• Dreamy dusky wing Erynnis icelus




• Sleepy dusky wing Erynnis brizo




• Juvenal's dusky wing Erynnis juvenalis




• Horace's dusky wing Erynnis horatius




• Mottled dusky wing Erynnis martialis




• Zarucco dusky wing Erynnis zarucco




• Wild indigo dusky wing Erynnis baptisiae




• Persius dusky wing Erynnis persius




• Checkered skipper Pyrgus communis




• Southern grizzled skipper Pyrgus wyandot




• Common sooty wing Pholisora catullus




• Swarthy skipper Nastra lherminier




• Clouded skipper Lerema accius




• Least skipper Ancyloxypha numitor




• European skipper Thymelicus lineola




• Fiery skipper Hylephila phyleus




• Leonard's skipper Hesperia leonardus




• Cobweb skipper Hesperia metea




• Dotted skipper Hesperia attalus




• Indian skipper Hesperia sassacus




• Peck's skipper Polites coras




• Tawny-edged skipper Polites themistocles




• Cross Line skipper Polites origenes




• Long dash Polites mystic




• Whirlabout Polites vibex




• Southern broken dash Wallengrenia otho




• Northern broken dash Wallengrenia egeremet




• Little glassy wing Pompeius verna




• Sachem Atalopedes campestris




• Delaware skipper Atrytone logan




• Rare skipper Problema bulenta




• Mulberry wing Poanes massasoit




• Hobomok skipper Poanes hobomok




• Zabulon skipper Poanes zabulon




• Aaron's skipper Poanes aaroni




• Broad-winged skipper Poanes viator




• Palatka skipper Euphyes pilatka




• Dion skipper Euphyes dion




• Black dash Euphyes conspicuus




• Two-spotted skipper Euphyes bimacula




• Dun skipper Euphyes vestris




• Dusted skipper Atrytonopsis hianna




• Pepper and salt skipper Amblyscirtes hegon




• Roadside skipper Amblyscirtes vialis




• Eufala skipper Lerodea eufala




• Twin-spot skipper Oligoria maculata




• Brazilian skipper Calpodes ethlius




• Salt marsh skipper Panoquina panoquin




• Ocola skipper Panoquina ocola




• Pipevine swallowtail Battus philenor




• Zebra swallowtail Eurytides marcellus




• Black swallowtail Papilio polyxenes




• Giant swallowtail Papilio cresphontes




• Tiger swallowtail Papilio glaucus




• Spicebush swallowtail Papilio troilus




• Palamedes swallowtail Papilio palamedes




• Checkered white Pontia protodice




• West virginia white Pieris virginiensis




• European cabbage white Pieris rapae




• Great southern white Ascia monuste




• Olympia marble Euchloe olympia




• Falcate orange tip Anthocharis midea




• Clouded sulphur Colias philodice




• Orange sulphur Colias eurytheme




• Pink-edged sulphur Colias interior




• Dog face Colias cesonia




• Cloudless sulphur Phoebis sennae




• Large orange sulphur Phoebis agarithe




• Barred yellow Eurema daira




• Little yellow Eurema lisa




• Sleepy orange Eurema nicippe




• Harvester Feniseca tarquinius




• American copper Lycaena phlaeas




• Bronze copper Lycaena hyllus




• Bog copper Lycaena epixanthe




• Great purple hairstreak Atlides halesus




• Coral hairstreak Harkenclenus titus




• Acadian hairstreak Satyrium acadicum




• Edwards' hairstreak Satyrium edwardsii




• Banded hairstreak Satyrium calanus




• Hickory hairstreak Satyrium caryaevorum




• King's hairstreak Satyrium kingi




• Striped hairstreak Satyrium liparops




• Red-banded hairstreak Calycopis cecrops




• Olive hairstreak Mitoura grynea




• Hessel's hairstreak Mitoura hesseli




• Brown elfin Incisalia augustinus




• Frosted elfin Incisalia irus




• Henry's elfin Incisalia henrici




• Eastern pine elfin Incisalia niphon




• Southern hairstreak Fixsenia favonius




• Northern hairstreak Fixsenia ontario




• White-m hairstreak Parrhasius m-album




• Gray hairstreak Strymon melinus




• Early hairstreak Erora laeta




• Eastern tailed blue Everes comyntas




• Spring azure Celastrina argiolus




• Dusky azure Celastrina ebenina




• Appalachian blue Celastrina neglectamajor




• Silvery blue Glaucopsyche lygdamus




• Little metalmark Calephelis virginiensis




• Northern metalmark Calephelis borealis




• Snout butterfly Libytheana carinenta




• Gulf fritillary Agraulis vanillae




• Variegated fritillary Euptoieta claudia




• Diana fritillary Speyeria diana




• Great spangled fritillary Speyeria cybele




• Aphrodite fritillary Speyeria aphrodite




• Regal fritillary Speyeria idalia




• Atlantis fritillary Speyeria atlantis




• Silver-bordered fritillary Boloria selene




• Meadow fritillary Boloria bellona




• Silvery checkerspot Chlosyne nycteis




• Harris' checkerspot Chlosyne harrisii




• Pearl crescent Phyciodes tharos




• Tawny crescent Phyciodes batesii




• Pasco crescent Phyciodes selenis




• Baltimore Euphydryas phaeton




• Question mark Polygonia interrogationis




• Comma Polygonia comma




• Gray comma Polygonia progne




• Compton tortoise shell Nymphalis vaualbum




• Mourning cloak Nymphalis antiopa




• Milbert's tortoise shell Nymphalis milberti




• American painted lady Vanessa virginiensis




• Painted lady Vanessa cardui




• Red admiral Vanessa atalanta




• Buckeye Junonia coenia




• Red-spotted purple Limenitis arthemis




• Viceroy Limenitis archippus




• Hackberry butterfly Asterocampa celtis




• Tawny emperor Asterocampa clyton




• Northern pearly eye Enodia anthedon




• Appalachian eyed brown Satyrodes appalachia




• Gemmed satyr Cyllopsis gemma




• Carolina satyr Hermeuptychia sosybius




• Mitchell's satyr Neonympha mitchellii




• Little wood satyr Megisto cymela




• Common wood nymph Cercyonis pegala




• Monarch Danaus plexippus

Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Wildlife and Heritage Service
Tawes State Office Bldg, E-1
Annapolis, MD 21401
410-260-8540
Toll-free in Maryland: 1-877-620-8DNR, Ext. 8540

Photo of Swallowtail at Soldier's Delight by Richard Weigand