Regional Butterfly and Moth Information
Top 20 Commonly Reported Butterflies and Moths of California
These are the most commonly reported butterflies and moths in California. If you do not see the species you found, look at all photographs submitted in California, or visit the California page to see recently submitted sightings.
Acmon Blue
Plebejus acmon
Monarch
Danaus plexippus
Chalcedon Checkerspot
Euphydryas chalcedona
California Sister
Adelpha californica
Painted Lady
Vanessa cardui
Gray Hairstreak
Strymon melinus
Lorquin's Admiral
Limenitis lorquini
Fiery Skipper
Hylephila phyleus
Boisduval's Blue
Plebejus icarioides
Gray Buckeye
Junonia grisea
Mylitta Crescent
Phyciodes mylitta
Western Tiger Swallowtail
Papilio rutulus
Edith's Checkerspot
Euphydryas editha
Anise Swallowtail
Papilio zelicaon
Silvery Blue
Glaucopsyche lygdamus
Callippe Fritillary
Speyeria callippe
West Coast Lady
Vanessa annabella
Gulf Fritillary
Agraulis vanillae
Pale Swallowtail
Papilio eurymedon
Orange Sulphur
Colias eurytheme
We can help identify your butterfly or moth!
If you know the date and location where the photograph was taken, we can help. It's simple!
A coordinator will review your submission, and you will get an email with the identification.
We will store your submitted data. Your submission will contribute to our species profiles, checklists, and database. You can track all your submissions and create a personal species list.
Identifying Caterpillars
Do you have a photograph of a caterpillar? If so, when you submit your photograph, please provide us with host plant information if possible. Consider raising it to the adult stage before submitting photographs.
Surprisingly, most of the larval stages of butterflies and moths are simply unknown, and caterpillar photographs can be very difficult to identify. It may take some time for a coordinator to identify your caterpillar.
Please donate!
We depend on donations to keep Butterflies and Moths of North America freely available. We want to express our gratitude to all who showed their support by making a contribution this year. You can donate to support this project at any time.
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