Scientific Names

Common Name

Scientific Name

Caterpillar Host

Adult Food

Natural Habitat

Red-‐spotted Purple or WhiteAdmiral	Limenitis arthemis	Leaves of wild cherry, aspen, poplar, cotton- wood, oaks, hawthorn, deerberry, birch, willows, basswood, shadbush	Sap flows, rotting fruit, carrion, dung, sometimes nectar from small white flowers like spiraea, privet, viburnum	White Admiral: northern deciduous broadleaf or mixed evergreen forests dominated by aspen or birch. Red-Spotted Purple: southern deciduous or mixed forests, moist uplands, valley bottoms
Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Willows, poplars, cottonwoods	Aphid honeydew, carrion, dung, decaying fungi, asters, goldenrod, joe‐pye weed, shepherd’s needle, Canada thistle	Moist open or shrubby areas like lakes, swamp edges, willow thickets, valley bottoms, wet meadows, and roadsides
Hackberry Emperor	Asterocampa celtis	Hackberries and sugarberry	Sap, rotting fruit, dung, carrion	Wooded streams, forest glades, river edges, wooded roadsides
Tawny Emperor	Asterocampa clyton	Elm family trees	Tree sap, rotting fruit, dung, carrion	Densely wooded riparian areas, dry woods, open woods, cities, fencerows, parks
Aphrodite Fritillary	Speyeria aphrodite	Various violets	Nectar from milkweed and viper’s bugloss	Moist prairies, high mountain meadows, opening in barrens, brushland, dry fields, open oak woods, bogs
Diana Fritillary	Speyeria diana	Various violets	Dung and nectar from common and swamp milkweeds, ironweed, red clover, butterflybush	Fields, edges, and openings in moist, rich, forested mountains and valleys
Great Spangled Fritillary	Speyeria cybele	Various violets	Nectar from milkweeds, thistles, ironweed, dogbane, mountain laurel, verbena, vetch, bergamot, red clover, joe–‐pye weed, purple coneflower	Open, moist places like fields, valleys, pastures, meadows, open woodland, prairies
Gulf Fritillary	Agraulis vanillae	Various passion-vines	Nectar from lantana, shepherd’s needle, cordias, composites, etc.	Pastures, open forest edges
Meadow Fritillary	Boloria bellona	Various violets	Nectar from black-eyed susans, dandelions, ox-eyed daisy	Wet aspen groves, marshes
Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta Claudia	Maypops, mayapple, violets, purslane, stonecrop, moonseed	Nectar from butterflyweed, common and swamp milkweed, dogbane, peppermint, red clover, tickseed sunflower	Prairies, fields, pastures, roadsides
Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Milkweeds	Nectar from milkweed, when milkweed not in bloom eat nectar from dogbane, lilac, red clover, lantana, thistles, goldenrods, blazing stars, ironweed, tickseed, sunflower	Fields, meadows, marshes, weedy areas, roadsides
American Snout	Libytheana carinenta	Various hackberry	Nectar from aster, dogbane, dogwood, goldenrod, sweet pepperbush	Forest clearings and edges, brushy fields, roadsides
American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Sunflower family, everlasting, plantain–‐leaved pussy toes, wormwood, ironweed, burdock	Nectar from dogbane, aster, goldenrod, marigold, selfheal, common milkweed, vetch	Open areas, meadows, forest edges
Baltimore Checkerspot	Euphydryas phaeton	Turtlehead, hairy beardtongue, English plantain, false foxglove, arrowwood, common lousewort, Japanese honeysuckle, white ash	Nectar from milkweed, viburnum, wild rose	Dry, open, or wooded hillsides
Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Snapdragon, toadflax, ruellia	Nectar from aster, chickory, gumweed, knapweed, tickseed sunflower	Open, sunny areas with low vegetation and some bare ground
Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	American elm, hops, nettle, false nettle, wood nettle	Rotting fruit and tree sap	Deciduous woodlands, woods near rivers, marshes, swamps
Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Black willow, weeping willow, silky willow, American elm, cottonwood, aspen, paper birch, hackberry	Oak tree sap and rotting fruit	Woods, openings, riparian areas
Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Thistles, hollyhock, mallow, various legumes	Nectar from thistles, aster, cosmos, blazing star, ironweed, joe-pye weed, red clover, buttonbush, privet, milkweeds	Open or disturbed areas, fields
Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Asters	Nectar from dogbane, swamp milkweed, shepherd’s needles, asters, winter cress	Pastures, roadsides, fields, open pine woods
Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	American elm, red elm, hackberry, Japanese hop, nettles, false nettles	Rotting fruit, tree sap, dung, carrion. If these sources unavailable eat nectar from common milkweed, aster, sweet pepperbush	Wooded areas with some space
Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Stinging nettle, tall wild nettle, wood nettle, false nettle, pellitory, mamaki	Tree sap, fermenting fruit, bird droppings. If these unavailable, eat nectar from common milkweed, red clover, aster, alfalfa	Moist woods and fields, marshes
Silvery Checkerspot	Chlosyne nycteis	Black-eyed susans, sunflowers, wingstem	Nectar from red clover, common milkweed, dogbane	Moist, somewhat open places like streamsides, meadows, forest openings
Harvester	Feniseca tarquinius	Woolly aphids	Aphid honeydew	Deciduous or mixed woodlands along streams
Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Queen Anne’s Lace, carrot, celery, dill	Nectar from red clover, milkweed, thistles	Fields, marshes, roadsides
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Wild cherry, sweetbay, basswood, tulip tree, birch, ash, cottonwood, mountain ash, willow	Nectar from wild cherry, lilac, milkweed, joe-pye weed	Deciduous broadleaf woods, forest edges, river valleys
Pipevine Swallowtail	Battus philenor	Pipevines	Nectar from thistles, bergamot, lilac, viper’s bugloss, azaleas, phlox, teasel, dame’s rocket, lantana, petunias, verbenas, lupines, yellow star thistle	Open woodland, woodland edges
Spicebush Swallowtail	Papilio troilus	Spicebush, sassafras, tulip tree, sweetbay, camphor, redbay	Nectar from Japanese honeysuckle, jewelweed, thistles, milkweed, azalea, dogbane, lantana, mimosa, sweet pepperbush	Deciduous woodlands, fields, roadsides, pine barrens, wooded swamps
Zebra Swallowtail	Eurytides marcellus	Shrubs of Asimina and Annonaceae families	Nectar from blueberry, blackberry, lilac, redbud, viper’s bugloss, verbena, dogbane, common milkweed	Moist lowlands, open fields, brushy areas
Common Checkered– Skipper	Pyrgus communis	Globemallows, mallow, hollyhock, alkali mallos, velvet–‐leaf, poppy mallow	Nectar from shepherd’s needles, fleabane, asters, red clover, knapweed, beggar’s ticks	Prairies, meadows, fields, roadsides, openings
Dreamy Duskywing	Erynnis icelus	Willows, poplars, aspens, birch	Nectar from blueberry, wild strawberry, blackberry, Labrador tea, dogbane, New Jersey tea, winter cress, purple vetch, lupine	Woodland openings or edges
Golden Banded– Skipper	Autochton cellus	New Mexico locust, hog peanut	Nectar from arbutus, blackberry, abelia, hollyhock	Damp, wooded ravines with permanent water sources
Hoary Edge	Achalarus lyciades	Beggar’s ticks, false indigo, bush clover, pea family	Nectar from common milkweed, dogbane, buttonbush, Japanese honeysuckle, New Jersey tea	Open woodland and brushy areas, particularly oak or pine woods with sandy soil
Horace’s Duskywing	Erynnis horatius	Willow oak, northern red oak, scrub oak, water oak, post oak, live oak	Nectar from dogbane, buttonbush, sneezeweed, goldenrod, peppermint, boneset, winter cress	Open woodlands and edges, clearings, wooded swamps, open fields, roadsides
Juvenal’s Duskywing	Erynnis juvenalis	Oaks	Nectar from winter cress, dandelion, wild plum, wisteria, blueberry, Carolina vetch, redbud, lilac	Oak woods and associated edges/fields
Long-tailed Skipper	Urbanus proteus	Vine legumes like beans, hog peanuts, beggar’s ticks, blue peas, wisteria	Nectar from bougainvillea, lantana, shepherd’s needles	Brushy fields, edges of woods, disturbed open habitat
Northern Cloudywing	Thorybes pylades	Beggar’s ticks, bush clover, clover, lotus	Nectar from dogbane, selfheal, Crown vetch, Japanese honeysuckle, thistles, common milkweed, Deptford pink, hoary vervain	Open or scrubby boreal woodland and forest edges
Silver–‐spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Black locust, honey locust, false indigo	Everlasting pea, common milkweed, red clover, buttonbush, blazing star, thistles	Disturbed and open woods, foothill streamcourses, prairie waterways
Sleepy Duskywing	Erynnis brizo	Scrub oak and other shrubby oaks	Nectar from wild azalea, blueberry, blackberry, dandelion	Oak or oak-pine scrub
Southern Cloudywing	Thorybes bathyllus	Beggar’s ticks, bush clover, clover, milkvetch, fuzzybean, wild bean	Nectar from dogbane, selfheal, crown vetch, Japanese honeysuckle, thistles, common milkweed	Open, scrubby places like dry meadows and prairie hills
Wild Indigo Duskywing	Erynnis baptisiae	Wild indigo, lupine, false lupine, crown vetch	Nectar from white sweet clover, dogbane, sunflower, crimson clover	Open woods
Zarucco Duskywing	Erynnis zarucco	Black locust, hairy bush clover, Colorado River hemp, Sesbania longifolia	Nectar from Shepherd’s needle	Wood edges, open fields, scrub