Why would you want to identify butterflies?  They are worse than birds - always on the move and tiny too!

First, few things in nature enchant both children and adults more than butterflies.  Whether feeding on a flower or basking in the sun, butterflies, in every imaginable color, with patterns and markings that only nature could create, delight the soul.  And like all things in nature we love, we want to know more about them.

Second, they are important pollinators.  Their immense diversity and ability to adapt to many environments - including mountain tops, rainforests and mangrove swamps - benefit plants because butterflies transfer pollen while feeding. Traveling long distances and responsible for one in every three bites of food we consume, butterflies contribute over 200 billion dollars to the food economy worldwide. It seems appropriate to know more about which of these essential creatures are visiting our gardens.

For tools and tips that will help you identify butterflies, read on.

Butterfly identification is hampered by the fact that butterflies often don’t stay still long enough for us to even whip out our field guides, let alone find whatever page the unknown butterfly might be on. Thank goodness for smart phone cameras.  Snap a photo the second you see an unknown butterfly, before it even thinks of taking off.  That way, if it does, at least you have something to help you identify it.  If it doesn’t – you will learn to be faster.

While the smart phone camera is one of the best tools for identifying butterflies, you will also find these tools useful:

1. A butterfly identification guide. My review of the butterfly guides at the Dakota County library and the MN Landscape Arboretum Gift shop suggests finding the right one is a tricky business. The big, fat guides listing all 170,500+ butterflies found in the world can be expensive.  In addition, you are probably not interested in identifying every butterfly in the world because only about 160 of these - plus a few strays - ever visit Minnesota. For my reviews and recommendations of field guides click here. 

2.  Close focusing binoculars. Next to the smart phone camera, this tool has been the single greatest aid to field identification of butterflies. Consider getting them if you decide to get serious about butterfly identification and want to spend the money. For more information about them, click on this link.

All that said, it is OK not to be “serious” about butterfly identification. On the other hand, you may be in-between “serious” and not caring at all.  About eighteen butterflies are commonly found in Minnesota. You may want to get to know all of those or maybe just a few. So, you may or may not want to spend money on close focusing binoculars. Start by trying to identify butterflies and see how it goes.  Click here for images from the Minnesota Zoo of some of the most commonly seen butterflies in this area and here is information on the top commonly reported butterflies and moths in Minnesota.

Here are some other useful things to know when trying to identify butterflies:

Butterfly Anatomy: Look up photos of butterfly anatomy. Identification guides will refer to dorsal and ventricle wings, eyespots and other butterfly “parts”.  If you do not know to what these terms refer, you won’t know what your field guide is talking about when it tells you that black swallowtails, a common butterfly seen in MN, have “tails”.  Additionally, without this knowledge you will not have the vocabulary to note what you see. 

Where to find butterflies: 

·       Sun preferences: Sun loving butterflies - like Monarchs and Viceroys - are usually found in bright, open spots like fields, pastures, parks, and roadsides.  If you know someone with a butterfly garden, invite yourself over, or visit one of Minnesota’s pollinator gardens.  (location in Minneapolis; location in St. Paul).  Shade-loving butterflies, on the other hand, favor sheltered spots like forests and woodland edges, places with less sunlight.

·       Host plants: Every butterfly has a specific plant or plants where it deposits its larvae (caterpillars) - its “host plant”.  The larvae feed on the host plant and subsequently turn into butterflies.  Monarchs, for example, feed exclusively on the leaves of milkweed. Learn about which plants are hosts to your favorite butterflies.

·       Colorful flowers: They tend to attract butterflies because butterflies rely on the sugar-rich nectar. However, some butterflies, like the Question Mark, never visit flowers.  Look for them around rotting fruit, animal dung, dead animal carcasses, or tree sap.

·       Mud puddles and stream banks: “puddle club” butterflies gather at mud puddles and stream banks to drink water and take in salts and other nutrients.

·       Movement corridors: As previously noted, butterflies are usually moving so other good places to find them are “movement corridors”.  Movement corridors are forest trails, waterways, woodland edges, and even, believe it or not, power lines!  Butterflies use these flyways for many purposes, including migrating long distances and locating mates.

When to find butterflies:  Butterflies are most active during the day between 10 in the morning and 5 in the afternoon.  Warm, sunny days are crucial for butterfly viewing because butterflies are cold-blooded.  Unable to generate the body heat they need to warm up and fly, they must rely on sunlight.  Thus cool, cloudy days are bad for butterfly viewing.  Ditto for windy days.  Strong winds also interfere with flight as do rain and even mild showers.

How to approach butterflies:  If you have ever tried to sneak up on a butterfly, you know they can take off before you are even halfway there.  So, approach slowly and with caution.  Butterflies have excellent eyesight and startle easily (so don’t let them see you coming).   Sneak up from the lowest angle possible.  Butterflies are on the alert for predators, which usually attack from above, so that is where they will be looking for danger. Pay attention to your shadow.  Sudden changes in light may signal a potential predator to a butterfly so it will take off.

Now that you have spotted a butterfly, how can you identify its type?

·       Moth or butterfly: Is this flying insect actually a butterfly?  Or could it be a moth?  It is easy to be fooled because many moths are more colorful than some butterflies.  Notice the antenna:  butterflies have long antenna with a ball or club-like tip.  Moths have “fuzzy” antenna.  

·       Size: Field guides will list butterfly wingspans in inches and/or centimeters which is rarely helpful in the field.  Notice instead whether the butterfly is Small, Medium, or Large.  The Monarch and the Swallowtail, for example, are LARGE butterflies. Using the them as a comparison helps you determine which butterflies are medium and small-sized.

·       Color:  Notice the butterfly’s overall color. 

·       Patterns or markings: Does the butterfly have distinct stripes, bands or eye spots? Where are they? Upper or lower wing?  Edges?   Center?

·       Wing shape: The wing shape will help you identify the family to which your butterfly belongs, considerably shortening the number of pages you will have to turn to find your butterfly.  Swallowtails, for example, belong to the family “Papilionidae.”  Most of its members have ‘tails.’

·       Flight pattern and behavior: Butterflies have four wings that are connected in a way that allows the wings to move independently, allowing a wide variety of flight patterns. Therefore, observing flight patterns is a good way to identify butterflies.  For example, does the butterfly flutter slowly with a weak, relaxed motion or whiz past with a strong, rapid flight?  Does it fly low to the ground or soar far overhead?  Does the butterfly bob up and down or periodically glide following a series of quick wing beats?  “Skipper butterflies,” for example, are called skippers because their flight pattern resembles a series of “skips”. 

·       Range: Many butterfly species are found only in certain regions of Minnesota, or even the country.  Consult a field guide range map and always start with the most probable identification.

Initially, noticing all these features and remembering them may be overwhelming.  It helps to record your observations and take a photo.  Once you have made them, you can consult your butterfly guide. Over time your skills will increase. You will soon learn to recognize many common Minnesota butterflies like:  Monarchs (our state butterfly) and Viceroys (often mistaken for Monarchs and vice versa) and Mourning Cloaks, one of 8 or so butterflies that overwinter in Minnesota.  

Identifying butterflies can be a fun summer activity for adults and children alike. Following these tips can make the experience more rewarding.  Happy butterfly watching!

REFERENCES

https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/gardens/butterfly/index.html

Carter, David, Butterflies and Moths, Smithsonian Handbooks, NYC, New York, 2023

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission,  Farris Bryant Building620 S. Meridian St. • Tallahassee, FL • (850) 488-4676

Minnesota Butterflies, inaturalist, https://www.inaturalist.org/guides/1647?taxon=47922

https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_w7000_0752.pdf

https://www.birdsandblooms.com/gardening/attracting-butterflies/focus-on-natives-giant-swallowtail-butterfly/

https://www.birdsandblooms.com/gardening/butterfly-behavior-basics/

Wing, Scarlett & 3 more, Butterflies and Moths (Smithsonian Kids First Discovery Books) Board book – Touch and Feel, April 29, 2019

http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Main/Butterflies.html#:~:text

ecoredux.com https://www.ecoredux.com › butterflies-are-important

Daniels, Jaret, Butterfly Watching Basics, University of Florida, IFAS Extension, July 2008; produced with cooperation and funding from FL Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the FL Museum of Natural History.

https://www.lccmr.mn.gov/projects/2014/finals/2014_05j1_MNZoo_ButterflyNeighbor_ENG.pdf

 https://www.lccmr.mn.gov/projects/2014/finals/2014_05j1_MNZoo_ButterflyNeighbor_ENG.pdf

Photo 1, credit: commons.wikimedia.org (all creative commons)

Photo 2, credit: publicdomainpictures.net (all creative commons)

Photo 3, credit: flickr.com (all creative commons)

Photo 4, credit: en.wiktionary.org (all creative commons)

Photo 5, credit: Jeff Hahn, University of Minnesota Extension

Photo 6, credit: Marylandbiodiversity.com (all creative commons)