Butterflies and Moths of North America

collecting and sharing data about Lepidoptera

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

Chalcedon Checkerspot
Euphydryas chalcedona

California Sister
Adelpha californica

Painted Lady
Vanessa cardui

Gray Hairstreak
Strymon melinus

Lorquin's Admiral
Limenitis lorquini

Mylitta Crescent
Phyciodes mylitta

Fiery Skipper
Hylephila phyleus

Gray Buckeye
Junonia grisea

Western Tiger Swallowtail
Papilio rutulus

Anise Swallowtail
Papilio zelicaon

Boisduval's Blue
Plebejus icarioides

Edith's Checkerspot
Euphydryas editha

Callippe Fritillary
Speyeria callippe

West Coast Lady
Vanessa annabella

Silvery Blue
Glaucopsyche lygdamus

Gulf Fritillary
Agraulis vanillae

California Tortoiseshell
Nymphalis californica

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!

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  Submit a Sighting

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.

Browse all caterpillar images

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