Insect Identification

*** Note: KnowYourInsects.org does its best to include correct identifications of insect photos. It’s always possible that we made a mistake, however, so if you see a misidentification, please contact us and we will correct it. Thanks!

Adult Butterflies of Order Lepidoptera — Examples
For adult moths, click here.
For moth/butterfly caterpillars and pupae, click here.

Adult Butterflies now on TWO pages

Families represented — Page 2 (current page):

Page 1:

Nymphalidae, the brush-footed butterflies

Gulf fritillary, Dione vanillae, formerly Agraulis vanillae, subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ This gorgeous gulf fritillary is found in Mexico, Central America, parts of South America, and the southern United States, extending up to northern California (where this one was photographed), and to Hawaii, where it is often called a passion vine butterfly. It is also occasionally seen in the east-central United States.
Photographed and identified by: Thomas Langhans. See his full-size images here and here. Location: San Bruno, county of San Mateo, California, USA. Date: 15 August, 2016.

Gulf fritillary, Dione vanillae, formerly Agraulis vanillae subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The gulf fritillary is often found on passionflowers, but in this photo, it is shown on bi-color lantana. Note: A genetic study in 2019 determined that the genus name should be changed from Agraulis to Dione, which makes the new scientific name Dione vanillae rather than Agraulis vanillae.
Photographed and identified by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Location: Garden City, South Carolina, USA. Date: 31 August, 2017.

Gulf fritillary, Dione vanillae, formerly Agraulis vanillae subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The photographer saw this gulf fritillary hovering around a lantana flower garden.
Photographed and identified by: Manzeal Khanal. Location: Uvalde, Texas, USA. Date: 17 August, 2019.

Gulf fritillary, Dione vanillae, formerly Agraulis vanillae subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The gulf fritillary has wings that are just as pretty from the bottom as they are from the top!
Photographed and identified by: Anna Venjencie Clifton Arnold. Location: Paris, Tennessee, USA. Date: 31 July, 2021.
Anna photographed this butterfly on zinnia in her yard.

Callippe silverspot, Speyeria callippe callippe, subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The callippe silverspot, a subspecies of the callippe fritillary, has been listed as endangered since 1997. This subspecies is found in only seven sites in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, including on San Bruno Mountain, where this photo was taken. To learn more about this rare butterfly, click here (Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation).
Photographed and identified by: Thomas Langhans. Well done on the ID, Thomas! See his full-size image here. Location: on San Bruno Mountain in Buckeye Canyon, Brisbane, California, USA. Date: 15 May, 2024.

Variegated Frittilary (Euptoieta claudia)

Variegated fritillary, Euptoieta claudia, subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The topside of the wings in this variegated fritillary show the typical black lines and spots on an orange background, which is similar to that seen in several other fritillary species. However, the variegated fritillary has a distinctive dark line that runs across the hindwing above the row of dark spots. The underside of other fritillaries are adorned with silver spots, but as shown in the left photo, the variegated fritillary lacks those silver spots.
Photographed and identified as a fritillary by: JP Yousha. Identified to species by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Midland County, western Texas, USA. Date: 26 October, 2021.

Variegated Fritillary (Euptoieta claudia_REC)

Variegated fritillary, Euptoieta claudia, subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ Variegated fritillaries are one of those butterflies that will take flight as soon as anyone approaches, so it can make for some long chases before a photographer can get close enough to get a shot. This lucky photographer was able to get photos of a variegated fritillary with its wings open and closed to show both the dornal and ventral views.
Photographed and identified by: Robert E. Carpenter. Thank you for the ID, Robert! See Robert’s slow-motion nature video here. Location: Junction, Texas, USA. Date: 8 April, 2023.
Robert photographed this butterfly on a Huisache daisy (Amblyolepis setigera).

Indian fritillary, also known as a tropical fritillary, Argyreus hyperbius, subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The Indian fritillary is almost leopard-like with the varied black, orange and white spotting on its underwings. The topside of the forewings are orange with black spots, and the the female also has a band of black, white and blue. To see the male and female, click here (Bugs of Japan).
Photographed and identified by: Margaret Minor. Location: Hong Kong Park, Hong Kong. Date: 28 September, 2019.

Great spangled fritillary, Speyeria cybele, subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The great spangled fritillary is a large butterfly with a wingspan that can reach 4 inches (10 cm). While the topside of the wings are orange with brown spots, circles, and squiggles (as shown), the undersides of the wings have numerous large, white spots. The caterpillars of this lovely butterfly feed on new, tender violet leaves.
Photographed and identified by: Sue Isaac. Location: St. Peter Lutheran Church, Mishawaka, Indiana, USA. Date: July 2017.

Atlantis fritillary, Speyeria atlantis, subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ This Atlantis fritillary looks nearly identical to the great spangled fritillary (also posted on this page), but the Atlantis fritillary is generally smaller and has blue eyes. The eye color is not evident in this photo. The great spangled fritillary’s eyes are brown or greenish-brown.
Photographed and identified by: Dave Hare. Location: Haliburton, Ontario, Canada. Date: 12 August, 2022.

□ The common name of fritillary is used for a number of orange butterfly species that have brown/black spots and striping. Several are posted on this page.

Zebra longwing, also known as a zebra heliconian, Heliconius charithonia, subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ This pair of wonderful photos shows the full wings — from both the top and the bottom — of this zebra longwing.
Photographed and identified by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Location: The Villages, Florida, USA. Date: 18 June, 2019.

□ The striping on the zebra longwing serves to help the butterfly escape predators by blending into the light and dark colors and shading of its surroundings.

Zebra longwing, also known as a zebra heliconian, Heliconius charithonia, subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ Although most people focus on the wings, the pattern on the abdomen of the zebra longwing is also quite lovely.
Photographed and identified by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Location: The Villages, Florida, USA. Date: 29 July, 2019.
Sheldon says, “This image shows some small details that I had not seen before.”

Zebra longwing, also known as a zebra heliconian, Heliconius charithonia, subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The adult male of the zebra longwing can tell the pupa of a male from that of a female (she emits different chemicals). Once he knows it is a female, he will sit atop the pupa, so he can mate with the female as soon as she emerges ... and sometimes even before she emerges.
□ The striping on the underside of the wings of the zebra longwing mimics the stripes on the topside. In many butterflies, the wings look considerably different from the topside to the bottomside.
Photographed by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Brookgreen Gardens (a butterfly exhibit), South Carolina, USA. Date: 31 August, 2017.

Zebra longwing, also known as a zebra heliconian, Heliconius charithonia, subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ Persistence pays off in photographing zebra longwings: see the comment below.
Photographed and identified by: Marv Goldberg. Location: Tamarac, Florida, USA. Date: 12 May, 2019.
Marv says, “I’ve been trying to get a decent photo of a zebra longwing for years. They flap around endlessly and never seem to land on anything for more than a second (and even then, it’s nothing that they could eat). Yesterday, this one was on a tree outside my window for at least 10 minutes.”

Antiochus longwing, Heliconius antiochus, subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The antiochus longwing has two broad white (sometimes yellowish) bands on each forewing, and a very narrow white border on all four wings. On the underside, the hindwings have streaks of red at the base, similar to those seen in the Hewitson’s longwing (seen elsewhere on this page). The antiochus longwing is native to northern South America and as far north as Panama.
Photographed by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org with help from the Florida Museum. Location: Butterfly Rainforest (a butterfly exhibit) at the Florida Museum, Gainesville, Florida, USA. Date: 30 December, 2019.
Sheldon says, “This butterfly is resting on a very unusual flower.” Such a pretty pink and purple bromeliad (Aechmea)!

Tiger longwing, Heliconius hecale, subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ Female tiger longwings feed on nectar as well as pollen, which is associated with an increased number of eggs. The sexes look similar, so this could be either a male or female.
Photographed by: Gene Fleszar. Identified by: Leslie Mertz. Location: Detroit Zoo Butterfly Garden, Royal Oak, Michigan, USA.

□ Heliconius is a large genus of colorful butterflies: 48 species described! Interestingly, many of these species mimic one another, so they can be tough to tell apart. To see the variety, click here (Florida Museum).

Mexican longwing, Heliconius hortense, subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ Mexican longwings range from southern Mexico to Central America. It is also known by the common name of mountain longwing because it often lives at high altitudes.
Photographed by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org with help from the Florida Museum. Location: Butterfly Rainforest (a butterfly exhibit) at the Florida Museum, Gainesville, Florida, USA. Date: 25 May, 2018.

Hewitson’s longwing, Heliconius hewitsoni, subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ Female Hewitson’s longwing have no choice in mating. The males break into the female’s pupa and mate with her before she can even emerge.
are so interested in mating that they break into the female’s pupa and mate with her before she can even emerge.
□ This species is found in Costa Rica and Panama.
Photographed by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org with help from the Florida Museum. Location: Butterfly Rainforest (a butterfly exhibit) at the Florida Museum, Gainesville, Florida, USA. Date: 25 May, 2018.

□ The large genus Heliconius has a wide range of colorful species, and many of them have numerous forms that mimic one another. This can make species extremely difficult to tell apart.

Cydno longwing, Heliconius cydno, subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The irridescent blue-black wings and wide white bands help to distinguish this as a cydno longwing, but this species has a lot of variability. Some populations of this species have much thinner white bands and occasionally two bands on each forewing instead of one. It is believed that the iridescence of the females’ wings helps to attract males for mating. This species is found from Mexico south into northern South America.
Photographed by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org with help from the Florida Museum. Location: Butterfly Rainforest (a butterfly exhibit) at the Florida Museum, Gainesville, Florida, USA. Date: 25 May, 2018.

Numata longwing, Heliconius numata, subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The numata longwing is one of a number of species that share this orange and black striped “tiger” pattern. Others include several species in the genus Melinaea. To see some of these mimics, click here.
□ All of these similar-looking butterflies taste bad to predators, and this provides a reinforcement to predators to leave all of them alone. This is called Müllerian mimicry. Other insects exhibit Müllerian mimicry, such as certain stinging wasps that share a similar appearance. Likewise, it reminds would-be predators that these wasps are a bad choice as prey.
Photographed by: Bob McCarthy. Identified by: Bill Mertz. Thank you, Bill! Location: Butterfly exhibit, Arizona, USA. Date: 2018.

Small postman, also known as a red postman and common longwing, Heliconius erato, subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The small postman is a species with a lot of variation. All are mainly black, but the red patterns are different between individuals, and not all of them have white patches. These photos show this exquisite small postman from the top- and bottomsides. It is native to Mexico, Central America and parts of South America. Occasionally, one shows up in southern Texas.
Photographed by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org with the help of Florida Museum’s Butterfly Rainforest website. Location: Butterfly Rainforest (a butterfly exhibit) at the Florida Museum, Gainesville, Florida, USA. Date: 25 May, 2018.

Crimson-patched longwing, Heliconius erato cyrbia, subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ This small postman is a member of a subspecies that has its own common name: crimson-patched longwing. One of the reasons subspecies are named is that they have a noticeably different look. This subspecies has reddish or peachy-pink patches on its forewings.
Photographed by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Butterfly Rainforest (a butterfly exhibit) at the Florida Museum, Gainesville, Florida, USA. Date: 29 December, 2019.

Postman, also known as common postman, Heliconius melpomene, subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The numerous species within the genus Heliconius have so much variation that it is difficult to figure out which species is which. To make matters worse, the different forms within a species mimic forms seen in other species. This one appears to be a postman in the form that has forewings with solid black tips, a cream-colored band, and a few black spots; and hindwings that are orange with a large black patch.
Photographed by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Butterfly Rainforest (a butterfly exhibit) at the Florida Museum, Gainesville, Florida, USA. Date: 29 December, 2019.

Julia heliconian or julia longwing, Dryas iulia, subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The amount of black striping in the julia heliconian varies considerably among individuals. The males often have small black markings (more small triangles than stripes), so this is likely a female. This species is found from Mexico south into northern South America.
Photographed and identified to family by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Identified to species by: KnowYourInsects.org Location: Brookgreen Gardens (a butterfly exhibit), South Carolina, USA. Date: 31 August, 2017.

Julia heliconian or julia longwing, Dryas iulia, subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ This julia heliconian has only two small black flecks on each forewing, suggesting that it is a male. Females have more black on the forewings, as seen in the previous photo.
Photographed by: Bob McCarthy. Identified to species by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Butterfly exhibit in Arizona, USA. Date: 2019.

Tawny coster, Acraea terpsicore, subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The tawny coster is native to southeastern Asia, but a 2014 research paper notes that it “has recently become established in northern Australia where it is spreading rapidly.”
Photographed and identified to order by: Kishan Rajah. Identified to species by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Malaysia. Date: 12 August, 2020.

Tawny coster, Acraea terpsicore, subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ Each of the tawny coster’s hindwings has a bold black border with orange spots. Each forewing has numerous black spots, usually including one row of four, closely spaced spots (as seen here). Note: This species is sometimes listed under the species name of Acraea violae.
Photographed by: Bhuvan Raj. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India. Date: 23 August, 2019.

Tawny coster, Acraea terpsicore, subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ This photo of a tawny coster shows the distinctive border of large white spots on the underside of its hindwings. This butterfly has a wingspan of 5-6 cm (2-2.4 inches).
Photographed and identified by: Eric Blehaut. Great ID, Eric! Location: Bang Krang, Nonthaburi, Thailand. Date: 9 January, 2024.

Leopard lacewing, female and male, Cethosia cyane, subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ This shows the female leopard lacewing (left) and two males (right). They look very similar, except that the female is a very pale yellow where the male is a rich orange, and the black sections are a bit paler in the female than in the male. In other words, the female looks rather washed out in comparison to the male. This butterfly is native to Southeast Asia.
Photographed by: Bob McCarthy. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Butterfly exhibit, Arizona, USA. Date: 2019.

Leopard lacewing, female and male, Cethosia cyane, subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The underside of the female leopard lacewing wing is similar to the top view, but with some added banding at the leading edge of the forewings and hindwings.
□ Its caterpillars are typically found on passionflowers (Passiflora).
Photographed and identified by: Eric Blehaut. Nicely done, Eric! Location: Bangkok, Thailand. Date: 2 December, 2020.

Red lacewing, Cethosia biblis, subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The red lacewing is a fairly large butterfly with a wingspan of more than 3 inches (7.6 cm or more). Some individuals in this species are more orange than red, and some have additional intricate white markings on the forewings. To see one with the additional markings, click here (Butterflies of India website).
□ The red lacewing is found in India, as well as much of Southeast Asia and East Asia.
Photographed by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org with the help of the Florida Museum’s Butterfly Rainforest website. Location: Butterfly Rainforest (a butterfly exhibit) at the Florida Museum, Gainesville, Florida, USA. Date: 25 May, 2018.

Clipper, Parthenos sylvia, subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The clipper has hues of sky blue in this photo, but other individuals may be different colors, such as light tan to deep orangish-tan to green. Regardless of the color, all have the same intricate black patterning, including the H-shaped markings along the rear of the hindwings.
□ This butterfly is native to southern Asia, and is also found in South Africa.
Photographed by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Butterfly Rainforest (a butterfly exhibit) at the Florida Museum, Gainesville, Florida, USA. Date: 25 May, 2018.

Clipper, Parthenos sylvia, subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The clipper has an unusual flight among butterflies. Most butterflies fly by almost constantly flapping, but the clipper uses its long wings to alternate between quick flapping and gliding.
Photographed and identified by: Eric Blehaut. Nicely done, Eric! Location: Bangkok, Thailand. Date: 2 December, 2020.

Clipper, Parthenos sylvia, subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ This clipper, photographed in South Africa, has a light-tan to yellow coloration.
Photographed by: Natalie Rowles. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Pinetown, South Africa (near Durban, KwaZulu-Natal). Date: 2016.

□ Butterflies bounce through the air as they fly. Why? A butterfly claps its large wings closed on the upstroke, which squeezes out the air between them and forces the butterfly downward, while the downstroke pushes it upward. For more on their flight aerodynamics, click here (2021 Journal of the Royal Society Interface article).

Sunset daggerwing (Marpesia furcula oechalia)

Sunset daggerwing, male, Marpesia furcula oechalia, subfamily Cyrestinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ This pair of photos shows the much different dorsal surface (left) and ventral surface of the wings of a male sunset daggerwing. The dorsal wings of the female are less brightly colored, and include a string of small white spots in the dark area of each forewing. To see the female, click here (Cahurel Entomologie).
Photographed and identified by: Robert E. Carpenter. Nicely done, Robert! See Robert’s slow-motion nature video here. Distribution: Central and South America. See note below. Date: 1970s.
In the 1960s-1970s, Robert purchased “grab bags” of unspread, mostly unidentified butterflies from a now-defunct New York company. He laboriously spread the wings and built frames to display them. This is one of those butterflies.

Ruddy daggerwing, Marpesia petreus, subfamily Cyrestinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The ruddy daggerwing has long and thin “tails” dangling at the rear of the hindwings. The caterpillars are fond of fig (Ficus carica), and the adults are often seen on milkweed (Asclepias) and boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum)..
Photographed by: Marv Goldberg. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: near Tamarac, Florida. Date: 6 August, 2021.

Popinjay, male, Stibochiona nicea, subfamily Cyrestinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The male popinjay has a velvety look with its deep purple-black background accompanied by blue touches here and there. The tiny white flecks on the forewings, and blue-and-white arabesque shapes on the hindwings complete this beautiful package. The female looks similar, but has a greenish tint. To see a female, look for the greenish one posted here (ifoundbutterflies.org).
Photographed and identified to order by: Rakshanda Yadav. Identified to species by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: India. Date: 30 January, 2021.

White peacock, also known as an American white peacock, Anartia jatrophae, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The overall coloration with one dark spot on each forewing, and two dark spots on each hindwing are characteristics of the white peacock butterfly.
□ Note the four-legged stance of this white peacock butterfly. This is typical of butterflies in this family. They do indeed have six legs, but the front two are reduced and they cannot use them for walking.
Photographed by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Identified by Amanda Maran. Thank you for the ID, Amanda! Location: Brookgreen Gardens (a butterfly exhibit), South Carolina, USA. Date: 31 August 31, 2017.

Giant Owl Butterfly, aka Pale Owl (Caligo memnon)

Giant owl butterfly, also known as a pale owl, Caligo memnon, subfamily Morphinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The giant owl butterfly has a huge eyespot on each of its two rear hindwings. The topside of its wings are much different: tan/bluish tan to blue and black. See the top- and bottomsides of this butterfly here (Florida Museum).
□ This butterfly is found from Mexico south through Central America and to the Amazon rainforest.
Photographed by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org with help from the Florida Museum. Location: Butterfly Rainforest (a butterfly exhibit) at the Florida Museum, Gainesville, Florida, USA. Date: 25 May, 2018.

Autumn Leaf Butterfly (Doleschallia bisaltide)

Autumn leaf, also known as a leafwing, Doleschallia bisaltide, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The underwings of this autumn leaf butterfly are beige, and when they are folded, they do look like a fall leaf. This butterfly is found in Australia, and southern and southeast Asia.
Photographed by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org with the help of Florida Museum’s Butterfly Rainforest website. Location: Butterfly Rainforest (a butterfly exhibit) at the Florida Museum, Gainesville, Florida, USA. Date: 25 May, 2018.

Gaudy commodore, Precis octavia, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The gaudy commodore is an interesting species, because individuals exhibit seasonal variation. Those born in the dry-season (seen here) have shimmering purplish-blue hues and a broad orange band. To see the wet-season form, which has a pinkish-orange color with black spots and border (click here learnaboutbutterflies.com).
Photographed by: Natalie Rowles. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Ashley, Pinetown, South Africa (near Durban, KwaZulu-Natal). Date: 2016.

Common buckeye, Junonia coenia, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ This colorful common buckeye has two eyespots on each hindwing, one much larger than the other; and another large eyespot plus a much smaller one on each forewing.
Photographed by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Brookgreen Gardens (a butterfly exhibit), South Carolina, USA. Date: 31 August, 2017.

Common buckeye, Junonia coenia, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ Common buckeyes are widespread in the southern United States all year, but will spend a short time in northern states, even reaching southern Canada, in warmer months. This one was photographed in Indiana in October.
Photographed and identified by: Kyle Lengerich. Nicely done, Kyle! Location: Greenwood, Indiana, USA. Date: 19 October, 2019.

Common buckeye, Junonia coenia, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The underside of the common buckeye’s forewings show the large eyespot that can be seen from the topside, but the underside of the hindwings give no indication of the eyespots seen on their upperside.
Photographed and identified by: Thomas Langhans. Nicely done, Thomas! See Thomas’ full-size image here. Location: San Bruno, county of San Mateo, California. Date: 30 October, 2019.

□ Many scientific names have Latin or Greek origins. This includes the genus name Junonia, which is derived from the ancient and mythical Roman goddess Juno. Her counterpart in Greek mythology is Hera. In both mythologies, she was a protector.

Chocolate pansy, also known as a chocolate soldier, Junonia iphita, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The soft brown-on-brown patterns on the chocolate pansy’s wings make for a very attractive butterfly.
Photographed by: Ambika Bhatt, a student at Garhwal University in Uttarakhand State in northern India (guide: Dr. P.Tiwari). Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Fatehpur district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. Date: 1 March, 2018.

Chocolate pansy, also known as a chocolate soldier, Junonia iphita, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ A 2013 study of the habits and ecology of the chocolate pansy showed that it takes less than a month for a newly laid egg to go through its caterpillar and pupal stages and become an adult.
Photographed and identified to order by: Margaret Minor. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Tai Po Kau Nature Reserve, Hong Kong. Date: 3 August, 2019.

Natal Pansy or Brown Pansy (Junonia natalica)

Natal pansy, also known as a brown pansy, Junonia natalica, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The orangish-brown and brown hues of the natal pansy offer up a subtle but beautiful butterfly.
Photographed by: Natalie Rowles. Identified to species by: KnowYourInsects.org. Pinetown, South Africa (near Durban, KwaZulu-Natal). Date: 17 April, 2020.
Natalie says she rescued from underneath the shade-net “and now he/she is so tame that I can touch it, and (it) sort of always flies around me whenever I go near the Outdoor Insect Studio.”

Natal pansy, also known as a brown pansy, Junonia natalica, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The background color of a natal pansy is usually brown (as shown here), but is sometimes gray instead. Either way, it has the same orange striped and circular markings, and four noticeable white spots at the edge of each forewing.
Photographed and identified to genus by: Margaret Minor. Identified to species by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Arusha, Tanzania. Date: 24 May, 2019.

Natal pansy, also known as a brown pansy, Junonia natalica, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ This photo shows the underside of the natal pansy’s wings.
Photographed and identified by: Natalie Rowles. Location: Pinetown, South Africa (near Durban, KwaZulu-Natal). Date: 2 May, 2020.
Natalie says, “(It) fluttered all around me, flying away but kept on coming back, quite tame, but restless.”

Little Pansy or Little Commodore (Junonia sophia)

Little pansy, also known as a little commodore, Junonia sophia, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The little pansy is found in central Africa, and this one was photographed in Tanzania. Small groups of these butterflies are often seen flitting among the flowers in gardens and meadows.
□ The close-up shows the speckled eyes of this species.
Photographed and identified to genus by: Margaret Minor. Identified to species by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Arusha, Tanzania. Date: 24 May, 2019.

Lemon pansy, Junonia lemonias, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ Found in southern Asia, the lemon pansy has a large eye spot on the upper surface of each of its four wings. This butterfly also has a large eyespot on the underside of each forewing.
Photographed and identified by: Eric Blehaut. Nicely done, Eric! Location: Bang Krang, Nonthaburi, Thailand. Date: 24 March, 2023.

Eastern Comma Butterfly (Polygonia comma)

Eastern comma, Polygonia comma, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The eastern comma is a North American butterfly. It is very similar to the question mark butterfly (Polygonia interrogationis), and the two often live in the same areas of North America. The question mark is pictured elsewhere on this page. A different species of comma butterfly, Polygonia c-album, lives in most temperate regions of Europe and Asia, and in northern Africa. All three species have a small, light-colored, crescent-shaped marking (the “comma” on the underside of each hindwing.
Photographed and identified by: Kelly McKinne (@gonzonaturalist). Location: Perrysburg, Ohio, USA. Date: July, 2015.

Comma butterfly, Polygonia c-album, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The white comma-shaped marking is clearly visible on the underside of one wing in this photo of a comma butterfly.
□ Two butterfly species go by the common name of comma. This photo shows the comma (Polygonia c-album), which lives in temperate Europe and Asia, and in northern Africa. The eastern comma (Polygonia comma) is found in North America, and is shown elsewhere on this page.
Photographed and identified by: Bryan Wenham-Baker.. Location: Ivybridge, South Hams, South Devon, England UK. Date: 5 July, 2018.

Green Comma Butterfly (Polygonia faunus)

Green comma, Polygonia faunus, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The green comma not only looks nearly identical to an eastern comma Polygonia comma, but the two species’ habitats overlap. One of the only ways to tell them apart is by looking for a series of flattened, black-outlined chevron markings (indicated by arrows in right photo) along the border of each wing: the green comma has them and the eastern common does not. In some individuals, those chevrons are noticeably green. In others (like this one), the markings appear more gray than green.
Photographed by: Tonia Truesdell. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: L'Anse, Upper Peninsula, Michigan, USA. Date: 4 March, 2023.
Tonia was shocked when she saw this moth on a 37°F day (2.8°C), and so early in the year in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. She says, “I am fascinated by it!“

Question Mark Butterfly (Polygonia interrogationis)

Question mark, Polygonia interrogationis, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The question mark has a silver marking shaped like a comma in the center of the underside of its hindwing, just as the comma and eastern comma butterflies (pictured elsewhere on this page) do. However, the comma marking in the question mark butterfly usually has an extra dot, which makes the comma look a bit like a question mark. The question-mark marking is easily seen in the right photo.
Photographed and identified by: Leslie Mertz. Location: Luce County, Michigan, USA. Date: 24 May, 2012.

Question mark, Polygonia interrogationis, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ One difference between the question mark and nearly identical comma butterflies is the row of large dark spots running side-to-side in about the middle of the forewing. The comma has only three round spots in a row, whereas the question mark has three round ones plus a fourth spot that is more elongate.
□ The underside of the question marks’s wings varies. This one has subtle shades of brown, but others have considerable light and dark patterning.
Photographed and identified by: Jeff Goff. Location: near Munising, Alger County, Michigan, USA. Date: 1 September, 2017.

Southern comma, Polygonia egea, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The southern comma has a tiny white common on the underside of its bark-patterned hindwing (as do other comma butterflies). The topside of the wings, as shown, are much different: orange decorated with black spots and streaks.
Photographed by: Caterina Ochoa-Zamora. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Italy. Date: 9 July, 2023.
Caterina spotted this butterfly why traveling in Italy. She says it was, “sitting on the ground under a seat next to the one I was sitting in.”

Asian comma, Polygonia c-aureum, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The Asian comma is found in Southeast Asia; this photo was taken in South Korea. The Asian comma has copious black spots on its forewings and hindwings, including one especially large, blue-centered, black spot on each hindwing.
Photographed and identified by: Angela Conifer. Great ID, Angela! Location: South Korea. Date: 28 May, 2023.

□ The commas and question marks posted on this page look very similar, but they have differences in where they live and/or in appearance (with a careful look).

Compton Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis l-album)

Compton tortoiseshell, also known as a false comma, Nymphalis l-album, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The Compton tortoiseshell has large dark-brown and white markings on the upperside of all four wings, which may have a vivid orange or orange-brown base color. The undersides of the wings are more muted in grays and white, and the each hindwing features a small white marking in the shape of a hockey stick. That marking may be difficult to see in some specimens.
Photographed and identified by: Leslie Mertz. Location: Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, USA. Date: early June, 2018.

Mourning cloak, Nymphalis antiopa, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The mourning cloak is often the first flying butterfly of the year in northern climates. Part of the reason is that the adults hibernate instead of migrating, so when the temperatures warm up, all they need to do is emerge from their overwintering spots under bark and in other protected areas and take flight.
Photographed and identified by: Charles Rice. Location: Royal Oak, Michigan, USA. Date: 23 June, 2016.
Charles says, “It was inside the bar I work at. I used a thin piece of paper to release her back outside.”

Mourning cloak, Nymphalis antiopa, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ Unlike many butterflies that rely on flower nectar, mourning cloaks eat sap oozing from the trunks of oak trees. With its light-yellow border, purple-brown wings, and blue spots, the mourning cloak is unlikely to be mistaken for any other species of butterfly.
Photographed and identified by: Sue Isaac. Location: Granger, Indiana, USA. Date: 2011.

Mourning cloak, Nymphalis antiopa, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The mourning cloak is named for the resemblance of the wings to the cloak women once wore while grieving. In the UK, however, this lovely butterfly has a more upbeat name: Camberwell beauty. Camberwell is where it was first recorded in the UK back in 1748. This one was photographed in California.
Photographed by: Ted Harinishi. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Calabasas Creek along Lake Calabasas, California, USA. Date: 4 May, 2022.

Mourning cloak, Nymphalis antiopa, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ This photo shows the underside of a mourning cloak’s wings. Click on the photo to zoom in and see the intricate gray and black patterning. The photographer saw the butterfly resting on a rotting tree stump.
Photographed by: Carrie Grossman. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: West Seattle, Washington, USA. Date: 21 October, 2022.
Carrie says, “I spotted it while working in West Seattle while on a hike with my students (Tiny Trees Preschool, Camp Long North).”

Small tortoiseshell, Aglais urticae, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ This lovely orange small tortoiseshell has beautiful patterning: three short black bars at the leading edge of each forewing, the small metallic-blue crescents at the border of all wings, and the light-yellow patches here and there. When its wings are closed and only the undersides show, however, its appearance is much different. To see the underside click here (Wikipedia).
□ Note: This species was formerly listed under the scientific genus Nymphalis.
Photographed and identified by: Jean-Louis Metzger. Location: Near Neuschwannstein Castle, Bavaria, Germany. Date: 13 August, 2009.

Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly (Aglais urticae)

Small tortoiseshell, Aglais urticae, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The male and female of the small tortoiseshell butterfly look similar. One of the best ways to tell them apart is during mating when the male will approach a female and drum his antennae on her hindwings as part of the courtship. The drumming is soft, but a careful person can actually hear the drumming.
Photographed and identified by: Bryan Wenham-Baker. Location: South Devon, England, UK. Date: 1 September, 2013.

Small tortoiseshell, Aglais urticae, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae
□ The small tortoiseshell was once quite common in Europe (see comment below), but its numbers are dwindling, perhaps due to parasitism: A particular species of tachinid fly (Sturmia bella) lays its eggs next to the caterpillar, the caterpillar eats the eggs, which hatch into larvae inside the caterpillar. The fly larvae then begin eating the caterpillar, eventually killing it.
Photographed by: Angela Conifer. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Lemgo, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Date: 11 June, 2022.
Angela says she saw as many as 20 in her garden and on the walls on the day she took the photo, perhaps because “orchards and cornflowers (Centaurea cyanus) have made a beautiful comeback this year.”

European peacock, Aglais io, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ This European peacock butterfly sometimes has a deep coloration, as shown here (see the photographer’s comment below). It is one of the first butterflies to be spotted each year — a beautiful harbinger of spring!
Photographed by: Martin Towers. Location: Fakenham, Norfolk, England, UK. Date: 28 March, 2020.
Martin says he thinks it has just emerged from its pupa, as it was drying out when he spotted it. He adds, “I had to move it, as where it was, it would have certainly been killed. But when I picked it up (very gently), it started to move more rapidly. I think it was the warmth from my hand.”

□ In cooler climates, butterflies typically survive the winter as eggs, but a few (such as the European peacock and mourning cloak spend the cold winter months as adults and take flight as soon as the weather warms in the spring.

European peacock, Aglais io, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ Characteristics of the European peacock butterfly include: big eye spots (one on each wing), a row of star-like white specks on the edge of each forewing, and a wormy, striped pattern at the leading edge of the forewings.
Photographed and identified by: Bryan Wenham-Baker. Great ID, Bryan! Location: South Devon, England, UK. Date: 31 August, 2016.

European peacock, Aglais io, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ This European peacock shows quite a bit of purple in the eyespot on its hindwing. Its hindwings also have gold metallic wing scales near the body and a thin dark outline at the edge of each wing — just a beautiful butterfly from the topside. The underwings are shades of dark brown and dark gray, very like the pattern and color of tree bark, which helps them avoid a predator’s attention.
Photographed and identified by: Jean-Louis Metzger. Nicely done, Jean-Louis! Location: Coopers Alley, Headington, England, UK. Date: 8 August, 2013.

Milbert’s tortoiseshell, Aglais milberti, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ Milbert’s Tortoiseshell is sometimes called a fire-rim tortoiseshell because it has a wide orange-red band at the outside of each wing, but it is only visible from the topside of the wings when they are spread. To see one with the wings spread, click here (Montana field guides).
Photographed and identified by: Robert Carpenter. Nicely done, Robert! To see Robert’s slow-motion nature video, click here (YouTube video). Location: South Fork Colorado, USA. Date: 17 July, 2022.

Common jester, Symbrenthia lilaea, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The common jester is boldly colored with orange-and-brown-banded wings. The undersides of the wings look much different: yellow with brown marbling and xircular markings. To see the underside, click here (Butterflies in India website).
Photographed and identified by: Eric Bleheut. Nice ID, Eric! Location: Doi Tung, Mae Fah Luang, Thailand. Date: 18 January, 2024.

Orion cecropian, Historis odius, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The Orion cecropian has a distinguishing white marking on the leading edge of the forewing, as shown in this photo of the underwings. (See the comment below.)
□ The upperside of the forewings (not shown in this photo) are dark brown with a big swath of orange through the center. to see the upperside, click here (Butterflies of America website).
Photographed by: Denise Frank. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Belize. Date: 30 July, 2018.
Denise says it “looks SOOO much like a leaf... unreal!”

West Coast lady, Vanessa annabella, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ For a good resource to identify this West Coast lady and the other three species of U.S. butterflies in the genus Vanessa, click here (Iowa State University website). Photographed and identified by: Thomas Langhans. Excellent ID, Thomas! See his full-size image here. Location: San Bruno, county of San Mateo, California, USA. Date: 10 September, 2016.

West Coast lady, Vanessa annabella, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ Photographed on an Arbutus ‘Marina’ (strawberry tree), this image shows the underwings of this West Coast lady.
Photographed and identified by: Thomas Langhans. See his full-size image here. Location: San Bruno, county of San Mateo, California, USA. Date: 28 December, 2016.

West Coast lady, Vanessa annabella, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ In this photo, the hindwing is concealing all the red of the forewing in this West Coast lady, allowing the elaborate pattern of the hindwing to take center stage.
Photographed and identified by: Thomas Langhans. See his full-size image here. Location: San Bruno, county of San Mateo, California, USA. Date: 25 July, 2021.

Red admiral, Vanessa atalanta, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The red admiral has a bold, deep-orange band running through the center of each forewing, and a second wide, deep-orange band at the border of each hindwing. The white spots are another feature of this otherwise deep chocolate-brown butterfly.
Photographed by: Yanni Petropoulos. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: mainland of southwestern Greece. Date: 12 February, 2023.

Red admiral, Vanessa atalanta, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ This spectacular close-up photo shows a red admiral feeding. It also provides a great view of details that often go without notice: the bristles on the legs, the hairs the body, and the pattern of the eyes.
Photographed and identified by: Bryan Wenham-Baker. Location: South Devon, England, UK. Date: 30 October, 2019.

Red admiral (underwings), Vanessa atalanta, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ Red admirals will drink nectar, but are very fond of tree sap and fruit, and are sometimes seen dining on fresh dung. To each his own!
Photographed and identified by: Thomas Langhans. See his full-size image here. Location: San Bruno, county of San Mateo, California, USA. Date: 29 November, 2016.

Red admiral, Vanessa atalanta, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The red admiral is found in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, including Europe, Asia and North America. This photo was taken in the Germany.
□ Notice the small patch of blue scales on each hindwing in this photo.
Photographed and identified by: Angela Conifer. Great ID, Angela! Location: East Frisia, Germany. Date: 10 July, 2021.

American lady, Vanessa virginiensis, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The American lady is primarily a North American species, although it is also found on the Canary Islands (off the northwestern coast of Africa), in far northern South America, and occasionally in southwestern Europe.
□ The two large eyespots on the underside of the hindwings (as seen here) help to distinguish this species from the closely related and quite similar-looking painted lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui), which has four much smaller eyespots on each hindwing. See the painted lady elsewhere on this page.
Photographed and identified by: Leslie Mertz. Location: Kalkaska County, Michigan, USA. Date: 17 June, 2012.

American lady, Vanessa virginiensis, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The American lady has intricately patterned and beautifully colored underwings. The white tips on the antennae are clearly visible in this photo.
Photographed and identified by: Leslie Mertz. Location: Hartwick Pines, Grayling, Michigan, USA. Date: 19 July, 2017.

Painted lady, Vanessa cardui, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The painted lady is one butterfly species that migrate. Some painted ladies migrate from northern Africa up as far as the United Kingdom and Sweden when the weather warms in the spring, and head back south with autumn’s chill.
□ Notice the white tips on the antennae, a common feature of many species in this genus.
Photographed and identified by: Jean-Louis Metzger. Well done on the ID, Jean-Louis! Location: Headington, Oxford, UK. Date: 18 October, 2009.

Painted lady, Vanessa cardui, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ One way to tell the painted lady from the very similar American lady (Vanessa virginiensis) is to look at the forewing for a tiny white spot in the orange section of the wing. The painted lady has no spot, but the American lady does. See the American lady elsewhere on this page.
□ The painted lady is found on five of the seven continents: North America, South America, Africa, Europe and Asia.
Photographed and identified by: Bryan Wenham-Baker. Location: South Devon, England, UK. Date: 1 September, 2013.

Painted lady, Vanessa cardui, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ Distinguishing the painted lady from the very similar American lady is easiest when their wings are closed and their underwings are visible: The painted lady has four eyespots on each hindwing, and the American lady (shown elsewhere on this page) has two large ones. To see a great comparison of the two species, click here (BugGuide).
Photographed and identified by: Kyle Lengerich. Nicely done, Kyle! Location: Greenwood, Indiana, USA. Date: 19 October, 2019.

□ Some sources say eggfly butterflies get their name from the large, white, egg-shaped spots on the male’s wings, while others say it derives from the parental care of their eggs.

Mimic eggfly, male, Hypolimnas misippus, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The mimic eggfly is also known as a danaid eggfly, because some of its female forms mimic a couple of toxic species in the Danaus genus, including the monarch. Males have two elongated white spots on each forewing and one round white spot on each hindwing (as shown).
Photographed by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org with the help of Florida Museum’s Butterfly Rainforest website. Location: Butterfly Rainforest (a butterfly exhibit) at the Florida Museum, Gainesville, Florida, USA. Date: 25 May, 2018.

Mimic eggfly, male, Hypolimnas misippus, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ This male mimic eggfly is deep black with brilliant white spots and just the tiniest bit of white along its wing edges. He looks very similar to the male of the closely related great eggfly (Hypolimnas bolina), but the white spots of the male great eggfly are typically ringed in shimmering bluish-purple.
Photographed by: Bhuvan Raj. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India. Date: 8 March, 2020.

Oriental Great Eggfly (Hypolimnas bolina jacintha)

Oriental great eggfly, male, Hypolimnas bolina jacintha, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The male Oriental great eggfly, as shown, typically has a large blue eyespot on each dorsal hindwing, which gives the subspecies the alternate common name of blue moon butterfly. He also typically has a blue-outlined eyespot, as well as a smaller white spot on each dorsal forewing. To see the much-different-looking female, click here (iNaturalist).

Photographed and identified by: Eric Bleheut. Nice ID, Eric! Location: Doi Tung, Mae Fah Luang, Thailand. Date: 18 January, 2024.

Mimic eggfly, also known as danaid eggfly, male, Hypolimnas misippus, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ These two mimic eggfly butterflies show some of the variation in the females of the species. This variation is called polymorphism, which means multiple shapes or forms. The female (left) has dark-veined underwings that look like those of a monarch butterfly, shown elsewhere on this page.
Photographed and identified by: Eric Blehaut. Nice job on the identification, Eric! Location: Suan Luang Park, Bangkok, Thailand. Date: 13 February, 2021.

Mimic eggfly, also known as danaid eggfly, female, Hypolimnas misippus, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ This is one of several forms of the female mimic eggfly. She is a mimic of another species found in her area: the plain tiger (Danaus chrysippus). The plain tiger is toxic, so by having a copycat appearance, the female mimic eggfly can hide in plain site and avoid predation.
Photographed by: Bhuvan Raj. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India. Date: 22 May, 2020.

Great Eggfly butterfly (Hypolimnas bolina)

Great eggfly, female, Hypolimnas bolina, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ This is the female great eggfly, which has brown wings with white spots and markings along the edges. Some, as seen above, have large white marks on the forewings and hindwings.
□ The male has black wings with two elongated white spots on each forewing and one round white spot on each hindwing — his spots are ringed with iridescent bluish-purple. To see the male, click here (Florida Museum).
Photographed by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org with help from the Florida Museum. Location: Butterfly Rainforest (a butterfly exhibit) at the Florida Museum, Gainesville, Florida, USA. Date: 25 May, 2018.

Great eggfly, female, Hypolimnas bolina, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ This female great eggfly lacks the large white markings of the female in the previous entry. This helps to show off the small patches of blue-metallic scales on her forewings.
□ The Natural History Museum in London calls this butterfly “a stunning species with a disturbing diet” that includes rotting flesh and human sweat. To read more, click here (Natural History Museum).
□ This species is found from Australia to India and Madagascar.
Photographed and identified by: Eric Blehaut. Great ID, Eric! Location: Thailand. Date: 17 September, 2023.

Malachite (underwings), Siproeta stelenes, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The underwings of the malachite look like a green and brown watercolor painting.
Photographed by: Gene Fleszar. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Detroit Zoo Butterfly Garden, Royal Oak, Michigan, USA. Date: 2014.

Malachite (upper wings), Siproeta stelenes, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ Although yellowish green in this photo, the markings on many malachites are vivid green. The vivid green is the color of the mineral malachite, which is how this butterfly gets its name.
Photographed by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Brookgreen Gardens (a butterfly exhibit), South Carolina, USA. Date: 31 August, 2017.

Rosita patch, Chlosyne rosita, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ This set of photos shows the caterpillar and adult of the rosita patch. Its distribution ranges from Central America up to the southern United States. The adults are fairly large with a wingspan of up to 2 inches (5 cm).
□ To learn more about the rosita patch caterpillar, click here (KnowYourInsects.org caterpillar/pupa page).
Photographed and identified by: Robert E. Carpenter. See Robert’s collection of butterflies of Texas here, and his slow-motion insect videos here. Location: Kerrville, Texas, USA. Date: 14 October, 2016.

Bordered patch, Chlosyne lacinia, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The bordered patch has a wide band of orange across both hindwings with tiny white — or sometimes orange — dots behind the band, and a border row of white rectangles on both the forewings and hindwings. In some individuals, the tiny dots are even tinier than those in these photos.
Photographed and identified by: Robert E. Carpenter. Well done on the ID, Robert! See Robert’s collection of butterflies of Texas here, and his slow-motion insect videos here. Location: Kerrville, Texas, USA. Date: 8 June, 2019.

Elada Checkerspot (Microtia/Texola elada)

Elada checkerspot, Texola elada or Microtia elada, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The elada checkerspot is a small butterfly with a wingspan of only 1-1.25 inches (2.5-3.2 cm). Its main distinguishing characteristics are on the underside of the hindwing: bands of white markings running across the wing, and a thin orange band along the edge. Some sources list this genus as Texola and others as Microtia.
Photographed and identified by: Robert E. Carpenter. Well done on the ID, Robert! See Robert’s slow-motion nature video here. Location: Junction, Texas, USA. Date: 8 April, 2023.
Robert photographed this butterfly on a huisache daisy ( Amblyolepis setigera), also known as a honey daisy for its honey-like smell.

Baltimore checkerspot, Euphydryas phaeton, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The underside of the wings on this Baltimore checkerspot have beautiful patterning. The topsides of the wings have a bit less patterning, but are equally beautiful.
Photographed and identified by: Jeff Goff. Location: Munising, Michigan, USA. Date: 9 August, 2016.

Chalcedon checkerspot, Euphydryas chalcedona, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The chalcedon checkerspot has a striking black, orange, and white wing pattern from both the top and bottom views; bright orange legs; and an orange, black and white abdomen. The antennae may be all orange, all yellow, or orange with yellow tips. An alternate common name is variable checkerspot. For more details, click here (University of California, Irvine).
Photographed and identified by: Thomas Langhans. Well done on the ID, Thomas! See his full-size photos here and here. Location: on San Bruno Mountain in Buckeye Canyon, Brisbane, California, USA. Date: 24 April, 2024.

□ Butterflies in the Nymphalidae family have much-reduced front legs, which they hold up near the head. These legs look almost spiky mouthparts.

Field crescent, Phyciodes pulchella, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The field crescent often rests with its wings spread, as seen here, which displays its checkered arrangement of orange and white markings on a black or brown background.
Photographed and identified by: Thomas Langhans. Nicely done, Thomas! See his full-size image here. Location: the San Bruno City side of Sweeney Ridge, county of San Mateo, California, USA. Date: 4 May, 2024.
Thomas described it as “about the size of a common checkered skipper and it reminded me of one right away.”

Northern crescents, Phyciodes coctya, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The photographer captured a group of northern crescents flitting through her planting of beets. Some appear to have orange tips on the antennae — those would be the males. The crescent species look very much alike, so the geographic location and time of year can be helpful in the identification.
Photographed and identified by: Mindy Smith. Nicely done, Mindy! Location: British Columbia, Canada. Date: 14 July, 2024.

Northern crescent, Phyciodes cocyta, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The northern crescent is a more northerly species than the very similar-looking pearl crescent (Phyciodes tharos), and it is much more common than the pearl crescent in the part of Canada where this butterfly was photographed. Pearl crescents are shown elsewhere on this page.
Photographed and identified by: Dave Hare. Location: Haliburton, Ontario, Canada. Date: 6 July, 2022.

A crescent in the genus Phyciodes, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The northern crescent (Phyciodes cocyta) and pearl crescent (Phyciodes tharos) both occur in the region where this photo was taken, and look alike. In fact, until recently, they were considered the same species. Tip: If it has all-black clubs on the ends of its antennae, it is a male pearl crescent. Female pearl crescents and both sexes of northern crescents have orange tips on the clubs, as the one in this photo has. Pearl crescents are shown elsewhere on this page.
Photographed and identified by: Leslie Mertz. Location: Michaywé, Otsego County, Michigan, USA. Date: 18 June, 2015.

□ Crescent butterflies get their common name from one or more white crescent shapes that decorate the underside of the hindwings.

Pearl crescent, Phyciodes tharos, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ This is photo shows a pair of pearl crescents: a male in front with open wings and and a female in back with closed wings.
□ The male is distinguished by having an all-black club on the end of each antenna. The female has black clubs but with a tiny orange tip (not evident in this photo). To see the orange tip, click here (bugguide.net).
Photographed and identified by: Kelly McKinne (@gonzonaturalist). Nicely done, Kelly! Location: Black Swamp Bird Observatory, Ohio, USA. Date: 9 August, 2015.
Kelly says, “A beautiful pair of pearl crescents sharing some ‘whitewash’ at the marsh. ;-)”

Pearl crescent, female, Phyciodes tharos, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The underwing pattern of pearl crescents can have a considerable amount of variability. One characteristic feature, however, is the ivory-colored crescent marking seen at the rear edge of the hindwing — in this specimen, the crescent is right in front of a similar-sized, but oval-shaped marking.
Sheldon L. Boyd. Location: The Villages, Florida, USA. Date: 18 September, 2018.

Phaon crescent, Phyciodes phaon, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ A feature of the phaon crescent is the line of ivory or cream markings on each forewing. Compare this butterfly to the pearl crescent shown elsewhere on this page — they are almost identical!
Photographed and identified by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Location: The Villages, Florida, USA. Date: 4 June, 2018.

Texas crescent, Anthanassa texana, subfamily Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The central row of squarish ivory spots in each hindwing helps identify the Texas crescent (in some individuals that row looks more like a light-colored smear on the bottomside of the hindwing). It is often seen in wide-open spaces, including deserts, and is found from the southern United States through parts of Mexico and Central America.
Photographed and identified to genus by: Robert E. Carpenter. Identified to species by: KnowYourInsects.org. See Robert’s slow-motion nature video here. Location: Kerrville, Texas. Date: 23 April, 2023.

American snout, Libytheana carinenta, subfamily Libytheinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ (Be sure to read the photographer’s comment below.) Note the long “snout” on this American snout. It is actually composed of a pair of labial palps (close-up at right), which are scale-covered appendages that are located on each side of the mouthparts. All butterflies actually have labial palps, but they are much, much smaller in most butterflies. This individual is perched on a wildflower called thoroughwort (Eupatorium serotinum).
Photographed and identified by: Robert E. Carpenter. See Robert’s collection of butterflies of Texas here, and his slow-motion insect videos here. Location: Kerrville, Texas, USA. Date: 24 May, 2015.
Robert says, “This butterfly swarms every few years in South Texas. In 1995, I flew into Monterey, Mexico, in a small plane. The pilot came from Longview, Texas, and picked me up at Kerrville, Texas. He said the butterflies were swarming there, too. We never got out of them all the way to Monterey, with a few of them flying over 4,000 feet high. I estimated the swarm to be in the billions.”

American snout, Libytheana carinenta, subfamily Libytheinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ American snout butterflies sometimes migrate en masse, forming clouds numbering in the millions of these butterflies. According to a 2021 study, the large migrations come during periods of high precipitation, which causes rapid growth of the American snout’s host plants — sugarberry (Celtis laevigata) and hackberry (Celtis pallida).
Photographed by: JP Yousha. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Midland County, western Texas, USA. Date: 26 October, 2021.

Queen, Danaus gilippus, subfamily Danainae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The queen butterfly’s orange wings are speckled with white spots, almost like a constellation of stars, and bordered with black/dark brown. From the underside, the wings look similar except that the veins are highlighted with black/dark brown.
Photographed by: Bob McCarthy. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Butterfly exhibit, Arizona, USA. Date: 2019.

Queen, Danaus gilippus, subfamily Danainae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The underside of this queen butterfly’s wings looks similar to those of a monarch (shown elsewhere on this page), but unlike the monarch, each of the queen’s hindwings has white areas adjacent to the black veins, and the forewings lack noticeable black veins.
Photographed by: JP Yousha. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Midland County, western Texas, USA. Date: 26 October, 2021.

□ Not all monarchs are migratory; some stay in the same area all year-round. Those that are migratory are grouped together as a subspecies: Danaus plexippus plexippus. Unfortunately, the number of migratory monarchs has been declining precipitously in recent years.

Monarch Butterfly, male, (Danaus plexippus)

Monarch, male, Danaus plexippus, subfamily Danainae, family Nymphalidae.
□ Male monarchs have scent glands, which are visible as oval thickenings in the veins of the hindwing. Do you see them in this specimen?
Photographed and identified by: Leslie Mertz. Location: Benzie County, Michigan, USA. Date: 28 June, 2010.

Monarch (underwings), Danaus plexippus, subfamily Danainae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The wings get all the attention, but the body of a monarch is also quite beautiful with a white pattern on a black background.
Photographed and identified by: Leslie Mertz. Location: Kalkaska County, Michigan, USA. Date: 28 May, 2012.

Monarch (underwings), Danaus plexippus, subfamily Danainae, family Nymphalidae.
□ Monarchs are known for their mass migrations. Every fall, thousands of them leave their summer homes in the United States and Canada, and fly south more than a thousand miles — many as far as 3,000 miles! Those in the eastern/central U.S. and Canada overwinter in the mountain forests of central Mexico, while those in the Pacific Northwest overwinter in southern California.
Photographed and identified by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Location: Key West, Florida, USA. Date: October, 2015.

Monarch (underwings), Danaus plexippus, subfamily Danainae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The photographer captured this pair of mating monarch butterflies. A male monarch will pursue a female in the air, and then push her to a landing surface for mating. Here, a pair is perched on a milkweed leaf.
Photographed and identified by: Annette Raper. Location: Waterdown, Ontario, Canada, USA. Date: 22 August, 2019.

Monarch (underwings), Danaus plexippus, subfamily Danainae, family Nymphalidae.
□ During their mass migrations (described in other monarch entries on this page), monarchs fly during the day, and bunch together at night in trees. These “bunches” can include thousands of monarchs that fill tree branches — an amazing sight!
Photographed and identified by: Maggie Merriman. Nicely done, Maggie! Location: Ringgold, Georgia, USA. Date: 28 August, 2020.

Western monarch, Danaus plexippus plexippus, subfamily Danainae, family Nymphalidae.
□ Monarchs that live west of the Rocky Mountains in North America are known as western monarchs. They spend the spring and summer inland, and then migrate mainly to the coast of California to overwinter. A much larger population of monarchs live east of the Rocky Mountains, and they migrate to a small area near Mexico City, Mexico. Note: All monarchs are members of the same species and look the same.
□ The number of western monarchs has fallen significantly in recent years, dropping from a historical population of 3-10 million butterflies to a 200,000-300,000 by 2017 (journal article in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution). According to the Xerces Society, which is monitoring the population, it is approximately 200,000 as of 2022. For more on current numbers and the society’s Western Monarch Call to Action, click here.
Photographed and identified by: Thomas Langhans. Nicely done, Thomas! See his full-size images here, here and here. Location: San Bruno, county of San Mateo, California. Date: 18 October, 2022.
Thomas says this butterfly is shown on the flowers of an arbutus ‘marina’ tree. He adds, “The first monarch I have ever seen and it was in the backyard! I just happened to look out the right window and saw it land. Had to run and get my camera and get outside before it flew away. Was only here for about perhaps two minutes.”

□ While all monarchs are genetically identical, a study (Emory University) shows those living west of the Rocky Mountains in the U.S. behave differently during migration than do eastern populations: westerns fly more quickly but cover shorter distances compared to eastern monarchs.

Plain tiger, Danaus chrysippus, subfamily Danainae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The plain tiger is also sometimes called an African monarch for its similar appearance to the monarch (Danaus plexippus). Its caterpillars also eat similar foods to the monarch. Both favor plants in the milkweed family. Compare this adult to one of the mimics of this species: the mimic eggfly (Hypolimnas misippus). Both the mimic eggfly and monarch are pictured elsewhere on this page.
Photographed and identified by: Eric Blehaut. Location: Bang Krang, Thailand. Date: 3 March, 2023.

Common tiger butterfly, Danaus genutia, subfamily Danainae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The common tiger butterfly has orange wings with black veins, and a row of large white patches on its forewings. Notice also the orange abdomen. From the underside, the hindwing may be pale orange or occasionally partially white.
Photographed and identified by: Eric Blehaut. Nicely done, Eric! Location: Bang Krang, Nonthaburi, Thailand. Date: 31 March, 2023.

Blue glassy tiger, Ideopsis vulgaris subfamily Danainae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The blue glassy tiger has sky-blue, sometimes almost-white, areas on its wings. It is very similar in appearance to the blue tiger (Tirumala limniace), which is in the same subfamily (Danainae) and shares much of the same geographic distribution. To see the blue tiger for comparison, click here (Dilma Conservation).
Photographed by: Margaret Minor. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Kam Shan Country Park, Hong Kong. Date: 20 July, 2019.

Blue glassy tiger, Ideopsis vulgaris, subfamily Danainae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The blue glassy tiger has light-blue stripes and spots on the underside of its wings, as seen above. The topside of its wings are also black and white, but have a very different and quite checkered pattern. To see the top view, click here (Dilma Conservation).
Photographed and identified by: Eric Blehaut. Great ID, Eric! Location: Bang Krang, Nonthaburi, Thailand. Date: December 2023.

Paper kite, also known as a rice paper butterfly or large tree nymph, Idea leuconoe, subfamily Danainae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The intricate black pattern really shows up against the white in the paper kite. It has a wingspan of up to 4.5 inches (about 11.4 cm). This species is found in Southeast Asia, northern Australia and Taiwan.
Photographed by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org with help from the Florida Museum. Location: Butterfly Rainforest (a butterfly exhibit) at the Florida Museum, Gainesville, Florida, USA. Date: 25 May, 2018.

Chestnut tiger, Parantica sita, subfamily Danainae, family Nymphalidae.
□ On both the top- and bottomsides of its wings, the chestnut tiger has lovely dark veins on a white background.
Photographed and identified by: Eric Blehaut. Nicely done, Eric! Location: Bhubing Palace Gardens, Chiang Mai, Thailand. Date: 2 August, 2016.

Gaudy baron, Euthalia lubentina, subfamily Limenitidinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The white areas really stand out against the green forewings of the gaudy baron. Some individuals are more blue than green.
Photographed by: Spoorthi Sv. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Shivamogga (Shimoga), Karnataka state, southwest India. Date: 29 September, 2020.

Common baron, male, Euthalia aconthea, subfamily Limenitidinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The male common baron has forewings with either tiny flecks of white or no white at all. The female, on the other hand, has a row of fairly large white spots running down the center of the forewings. Adults may be mostly brown, olive or gray, and all have a row of small, evenly spaced black spots running across the hindwings.
□ The caterpillar has amazing camoflague when it lines up with the vein of a leaf: to see it, click here (inaturalist.org).
Photographed and identified to order by: Rakshanda Yadav. Identified to species by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: India. Date: 30 January, 2021.

Common baron, Euthalia aconthea, subfamily Limenitidinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ This appears to be a female common baron: the female is typically lighter in overall hue and with larger white spots than the male (sometimes the white spots are tiny or absent in the male). Both male and female have dark-outlined oval-ish markings on the forewings and hindwings, and a row of dark spots near the border of each hindwing.
Photographed and identified by: Eric Blehaut. Well done on the ID, Eric! Location: Ban Daam, Chiang Rai, Thailand. Date: 15 January, 2024.

Red-spotted purple, Limenitis arthemis astyanax, subfamily Limenitidinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ Although “purple” is in the red-spotted purple’s common name, this butterfly is more blue than purple. This is one of two subspecies within the species Limenitis arthemis. The other is the white admiral (Limenitis arthemis arthemis), which has a wide white band that is clearly visible on the top- and bottomsides of each wing (pictured elsewhere on this page).
Photographed and identified by: Mireille Weiland. Nicely done, Miereille! Location: Red River Gorge, Kentucky, USA. Date: 3 September, 2017.

Red-spotted purple (underwings), Limenitis arthemis astyanax, subfamily Limenitidinae, family Nymphalidae.
Photographed by: Kathy van Bommel-Pol. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Mississippi bordering the state of Louisiana, USA. Date: August or September, 2000 or 2001.
Kathy says, “We walked just into this forest and I saw this butterfly. I had my camera with me fortunately (hanging around my neck). I had never seen this size butterfly before (and yes, everything IS bigger in America!!!)” Kathy is from The Netherlands :-)

Red-spotted purple (underwings), Limenitis arthemis astyanax, subfamily Limenitidinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ When resting, the red-spotted purple typically sits like this with the orange-spotted underside of the wings showing, and the blue of the uppersides hidden.
Photographed by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Brookgreen Gardens (a butterfly exhibit), South Carolina, USA. Date: 31 August, 2017.

White admiral, Limenitis arthemis arthemis, subfamily Limenitidinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The white admiral, shown here in both dorsal and ventral views (top- and bottomsides), has a wide white band across the wings.
□ The white admiral and red-spotted (shown elsewhere on this page) are subspecies of the same species. The white admiral is more of a northerly subspecies than the red-spotted purple, but they do overlap and mate with one another, producing offspring that can show characteristics of both subspecies.
Photographed and identified by: Celia Godwin. Location: eastern Ontario, Canada. Date: 11 August, 2014.

□ Sometimes a species has forms that look so different from one another that they get their own common names. That is the case with the white admiral and red-spotted purple. See both on this page.

Weidemeyer’s admiral, Limenitis weidemeyerii, subfamily Limenitidinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ From the dorsal (top) view, Weidemeyer’s admiral displays a broad white band on all four wings. The underside of tis wings have deep-red accents.
□ The range for Weidemeyer’s admiral extends throughout much of the western half of the United States. This one was spotted in Utah.
Photographed by: Victoria Lang. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Pine Valley, Utah, USA. Date: 16 June, 2021.

Weidemeyer’s admiral, Limenitis weidemeyerii, subfamily Limenitidinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ Weidemeyer’s admiral bears a striking resemblance to the white admiral (pictured elsewhere on this page), but Weidemeyer’s has a dotted line of white spots between the wide white band and the border, whereas the white admiral has a row of blue smudges and another of blue dashes.
Photographed and identified by: Robert E. Carpenter. Nicely done, Robert! See Robert’s slow-motion nature video here. Location: South Fork, Colorado, USA. Date: 18 July, 2022.
Robert says, “This one flitted around our cabin for six days.”

Lorquin’s admiral, Limenitis lorquini, subfamily Limenitidinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ Lorquin admiral’s is a fighter: The males will defend their territories, not only attacking other intruding males, but also buzzing large birds that venture into their turf.
□ Lorquin’s admiral gets its name from entomologist Pierre Joseph Michel Lorquin. Originally from France, he traveled the world from 1849-1869, studying insects in northwestern Africa, Spain, China, the Philippines, Southeast Asia, Colombia, New Guinea and the western United States. Quite a life!
Photographed and identified by: Thomas Langhans. See his full-size images here and here. Location: San Bruno, county of San Mateo, California, USA. Date: 25 July, 2016.

Lorquin’s admiral, Limenitis lorquini, subfamily Limenitidinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ Although deceased, this Lorquin’s admiral is an excellent example of the black, brown and white patterning on the top- and undersides of the wings. It is a species of western North America, extending from southwestern Canada to far northwestern Mexico.
Photographed by: Sarah Park. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Seattle area, Washington, USA. Date: 12 July, 2018.

A sailor in the genus Neptis, possible a common sailor, Neptis hylas, subfamily Limenitidinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ Several similar species of sailors (sometimes spelled sailers) exist in warm climates. This one might be the common sailor. Note: The almost-identical-looking hill sargeant (Athyma opalina) has an obvious light-colored band across the middle of the abdomen and a slightly different shape to the forewings. To see the hill sargeant, click here (ifoundbutterflies.org).
Photographed by: Sharon Graca Pinto. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: North Goa, India. Date: 29 September, 2020.

Common sailor, Neptis hylas, subfamily Limenitidinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The common sailor (sometimes spelled sailer) has a green thorax, which can show up very well under some lighting conditions (see right photo). This species is found in southeastern Asia from India and Sri Lanka to Indonesia and China.
□ Like many butterflies, the sailor can make use of rising warmer air (called thermals) by spreading its wings and gliding with upward airflow — an efficient method for staying aloft. Some birds, such as vultures, do the same thing. For more on this so-called “thermal coasting” click here (Audubon.org).
Photographed and identified by: Eric Blehaut. Location: Goa, Mandovi River, India. Date: 21 November, 2021.

Common earl, male, Tanaecia julii, subfamily Limenitidinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The male common earl has a swath of metallic, light-blue color on its hindwings. The female lacks the swath of blue, and instead has patches of white on her forewings. The undersides of the male’s wings are beige to light brown; and in females, they are light brown for the forewings and silvery for the hindwings. To compare males to females, click here (Butterflies in Indochina website).
Photographed and identified by: Eric Bleheut. Nice ID, Eric! Location: Doi Tung, Mae Fah Luang, Thailand. Date: 15 January, 2024.

Ringlet, Aphantopus hyperantus, subfamily Satyrinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The photographer notes the “nice bright outline on the edges of the spread wings” of this ringlet. The underside of the wings (right photo) have a pattern of eyespots, and those on the hindwing help to identify this species.
Photographed and identified by: Bryan Wenham-Baker. Location: Ivybridge, South Hams, South Devon, England UK. Date: 5 July, 2018.
Bryan says, “The markings on the underside show why the butterfly is named as such.” This was Bryan’s first experience seeing a ringlet — so exciting!

Common Ringlet butterfly (Coenonympha tullia)

Common ringlet, Coenonympha tullia, subfamily Satyrinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ The common ringlet is quite variable in appearance. This one has some typical features: the small eyespot on each forewing (it is larger in some individuals), slightly redder forewings than hindwings, and a white zigzig bar running through each hindwing.
Photographed and identified to order by: Thomas Langhans. See Thomas’ full-size image here. Identified to species by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: San Bruno, county of San Mateo, California. Date: 14 October, 2019.
Thomas says, “I have never seen this butterfly before and I was only able to get an image like this of it before it flew away.”

Common ringlet, Coenonympha tullia, subfamily Satyrinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ This common ringlet has only one small black spot on the hindwing, and no spots on the forewing. Many, however, have a second small black spot on the hind wing, and some have one or two black spots on the forewing too.
Photographed and identified to order by: Thomas Langhans. See Thomas’ full-size image here. Identified to species by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: San Bruno Mountain in Buckeye Canyon, city of Brisbane, county of San Mateo, California. Date: 15 May, 2024.

Common ringlet, Coenonympha tullia, subfamily Satyrinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ This also appears to be a common ringlet, but this one has hindwings that are covered with long setae/hairs — more than are typically seen.
Photographed and identified to order by: Thomas Langhans. See Thomas’ full-size image here. Identified to species by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: San Bruno Mountain in Buckeye Canyon, city of Brisbane, county of San Mateo, California. Date: 15 May, 2024.

Common ringlet, Coenonympha tullia, subfamily Satyrinae, family Nymphalidae.
□ This is another common ringlet, but one with a large eyespot on the forewing and the hindwing, plus one or two more faint eyespots on the hindwing.
□ Be sure to click on each of this set of ringlet photos to zoom in and see the amazing detail, or click on the link for the full-size images below.
Photographed and identified to order by: Thomas Langhans. See Thomas’ full-size image here. Identified to species by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: San Bruno Mountain in Buckeye Canyon, city of Brisbane, county of San Mateo, California. Date: 15 May, 2024.