If you have recently spotted an orange butterfly or a butterfly with orange coloration, you may wonder what type of butterfly it is.
We have compiled a list of the most common butterflies with orange coloration in the United States to help you identify them easily. Continue reading below for more information.
Table of Contents
1. Monarch
The Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) can grow to 12.4cm in wing span.
The male is bright orange with black borders and veins. The female is orange/brown with black borders and the black veins are blurred. They both have white spots on the black borders on the apex.
As adults, they bask in the sun with their wings open and facing the sun. The female lays her eggs singly under a host leaf, the caterpillars then eat the leaves and flowers. You are likely to see this butterfly from August to October when they fly to the California coast to hibernate.
The caterpillar hosts on milkweeds and the adults feed on the nectar of all milkweeds. They are seen in open habitats, such as marshes, roadsides, fields, and meadows. You are likely to see this butterfly in Southern Canada and all through the United States.
2. Gulf Fritillary
This butterfly (Dione vanillae) is bright orange with black markings. The three white dots are circled in black on the fore wing. They are brown on the underside with orange at the base. There are silver spots on the elongated wings.
They can grow to 9.5cm in wingspan and are seen throughout the year in Florida and South Texas and from January to November in the north. They feed on the nectar of shepherd’s needle, composites, and lantana.
You will see this butterfly in South America and the southern United States where they are seen in open fields, city gardens, and subtropical forests.
3. Pearl Crescent
The Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos) is a beautiful butterfly and is variable in color. The males have black antenna knobs. It is orange with black borders and fine black marks on the submarginal areas. Under the hind wing, you will see a dark patch with a light crescent. This butterfly can grow to 4.5cm in wing span.
You will often see the male patrolling in open areas for a female. She then lays her eggs in small batches under the leaf of a host plant. The caterpillar hosts on smooth-leaved true asters, while adults feed on the nectar of a variety of flowers.
These orange butterflies prefer open areas including road edges, fields, vacant lots, pastures, and open pine woods in Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, southeastern California, and New Mexico.
4. Painted Lady
The Painted Lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui) is orange/brown with dark wing bases. The fore wing has a black apex patch with a white bar on the leading edge. The hind wing has a row of five black spots. Under the wings is black, brown, and gray with four eye spots.
This butterfly can grow to 7.3cm in wing span and is commonly seen from May to October. Caterpillars host on more than one hundred plants with thistles and hollyhock being their favorite. Adults feed on the nectar of composites that are up to six feet in height.
You will likely encounter this butterfly in most habitats, including disturbed areas. They are seen in old fields, dunes, and home gardens. It is the most widely distributed butterfly in the world and can be found on most continents except Antarctica and Australia.
5. Fiery Skipper
The Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus) has short antennae. The males have a wide black stigma. Under the hind wing, they have small black spots. The female is dark brown with an irregular orange band and they can grow to 3.8cm in wing span.
The males are often encountered on grassy lawns waiting for a female. They are seen throughout the year in South Texas and Florida. As caterpillars, they feed on Bermuda grass, crabgrass, and St Augustine grass. As adults, they feed on nectar from a wide variety of plants.
It is more common in the southern United States where you can encounter them in open areas, including roadsides, second-growth scrub, lawns, fields, and gardens.
6. American Lady
The American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis) has an uneven pattern on its wings of yellow, orange, and brown. The fore wing has a black patch and a small white dot in an orange field, just below the patch. There is a white bar at the leading edge. The hind wing has two large eye spots underneath.
These butterflies are pale in color and smaller during the winter months and become larger and brighter during summer. They can grow to 6.7cm in wing span. You can encounter them in the afternoons from May to November.
The caterpillar hosts on the sunflower family, while adults feed on flower nectar from goldenrods, marigolds, common milkweed, dogbane, aster, and selfheal. This butterfly prefers open areas with low vegetation and is often seen in meadows, forest edges, and parks.
7. Variegated Fritillary
This butterfly (Euptoieta claudia) is a tawny orange with dark markings and veins. It has black spots near the margin. The hind wing has an angled margin that is slightly scalloped. Under the hind wing, you will see a mottled pattern. They grow up to 8cm in wing span.
They fly short distances during the day in open spaces from April to October in the north and February to March in the south. The female lays her eggs on a variety of plants including may apple, violets, moon seed, and maypops.
As adults, they feed on plant nectar from butterfly weed, peppermint, red clover, tickseed sunflower, common milkweed, and dogbane. You can encounter this butterfly in sunny areas including fields, prairies, road edges, landfills, and pastures. They prefer higher elevations in the southern United States.
8. Queen
The Queen butterfly (Danaus gilippus) is chestnut brown with black borders on the fore wings. There are two rows of white spots. Under the hind wing is visible black veins. The black borders on both wings have two rows of white spots.
This butterfly can grow to 9.8cm in wing span and fly throughout the year in Florida and South Texas. As caterpillars, they host on milkweed and milkweed veins, while adults feed on the nectar from flowers. They are common in open and sunny areas such as roadsides, dunes, waterways, deserts, and fields. They are found in the extreme southern United States.
9. Great Spangled Fritillary
This (Speyeria cybele) is a large butterfly that can grow to 10.1cm in wing span. The male is tan or orange with black scales on the veins of the fore wings. The female is darker and tawnier than the male. They have a wide submarginal band with large silver spots under the hind wing.
The caterpillar will host on several violet species, while adults feed on flower nectar from thistles, dogbane, verbena, bergamot, red clover, purple coneflower, and milkweeds. They prefer open and moist areas including fields, pastures, meadows, prairies, valleys, and open woodland.
You can encounter this butterfly in central California, New Mexico, northern Georgia, and central Arkansas. They are the most common fritillary in the eastern United States.
10. Viceroy
The Viceroy (Limenitis archippus) is orange and black. It looks very similar to the Monarch butterfly, with the only difference being the Viceroy has a black line across the hind wing. There is also a single row of white dots in the black band on the margin. They grow to 8.6cm in wing span.
The male can be seen sitting on vegetation or patrolling close to the host plants to find a female. The female will lay her eggs on the tip of the leaf of the host plant, where she deposits up to three eggs per plant and then moves on to the next.
The caterpillar hosts on willow trees, while adults feed on aphids, carrion, dung, decaying fungi, and honeydew. Later generations tend to feed on flowers. They prefer moist and open areas, including swamp edges, willow thickets, valley bottoms, roadsides, and wet meadows.
They are encountered throughout the eastern United States.
11. Question Mark
The Question Mark butterfly (Polygonia interrogationis) has a hooked fore wing that is red/orange with black spots. The hind wing is mostly black in the summer and orange n the winter. Under the wings is light brown with a white question mark in the center. They grow to 7.6cm in wing span.
As caterpillars, they host on American elm, red elm, Japanese hop, nettles, and false nettles. Adults feed on tree sap, dung, carrion, and rotting fruit. They will visit flowers when they are unable to find these foods.
This butterfly prefers wooded areas and some open space, often encountered in suburbs, city parks, and fence rows. They are common in the eastern United States except in Peninsular Florida and the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains.
12. Peck’s Skipper
The male is brown with red/orange patches on the fore wing. Females are darker. Under the hind wing, you will see they have large yellow spots that are surrounded by dark brown. They (Polites peckius) are small butterflies and only grow to 3.2cm in wing span.
The males are seen during the day waiting in sunny and open areas for a female. Females lay one single egg on the leaves of the host plant, which the caterpillar then uses as food. Caterpillar hosts include bluegrass and rice cutgrass. The adults feed on the nectar of flowers.
They are encountered in open and grassy habitats, which include lawns, marshes, roadsides, vacant lots, meadows, and prairies. They can be seen in British Columbia to southern Canada and south to northeastern Oregon, northwest Arkansas, southern Colorado, and northern Georgia.
13. Eastern Comma
The Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma) has short hind wing projections. The fore wing is brown/orange with dark spots with one dark spot at the bottom edge. The hind wing has two patterns; in summer they are black and in winter they are orange with black spots. Under the wings is brown with a central silver or white comma.
This butterfly grows to 6.4cm in wing span and is often seen in wooded areas close to rivers, swamps, and marshes. They can be encountered in the eastern United States. The caterpillar hosts on the elm and nettle families, while adults feed on tree sap and rotting fruits.
14. Silvery Checkerspot
This butterfly (Chlosyne nycteis) is pale orange/yellow with dark markings and borders. The hind wing has white submarginal spots. They grow to 5.1cm in wing span and are seen from May to September.
The male spends his day searching for females in open areas. The females lay eggs in batches of around one hundred under the leaves of host plants. The young caterpillars move in groups as they feed on the leaves.
Caterpillar hosts include different composites, including sunflowers, black-eyed Susan, and wingstem. Adults feed on the nectar of flowers, mostly dogbane, milkweed, and red clover. They prefer moist areas and can be found south of Wyoming and Colorado to southern New Mexico, south-central Texas, and Mississippi.
15. Phaon Crescent
The Phaon Crescent (Phyciodes phaon) is dark orange and black with a cream median band. Under the hind wing is cream to yellow. They grow to 3.8cm in wing span and are often encountered in forests, dunes, pastures, and road edges.
The caterpillar hosts include fog fruit and mat grass. You will often see males patrolling near these plants during the day looking for a willing female. Females lay their eggs in small groups under the leaves of the host plant.
As adults, they feed on flower nectar of composites, which includes shepherd’s needle. They can be seen in southern California, South Texas, Florida, South Carolina, Eastern Colorado, Nebraska, Missouri, and Kansas.
16. Least Skipper
The Least Skipper (Ancyloxypha numitor) has a short antenna and orange fore wings with a wide black border on the outer margin. The hind wing is orange/yellow with a black margin. Under the fore wing is black with an orange border at the tip and under the hind wing is orange/yellow. They are small butterflies and grow to 2.9cm in wing span.
This butterfly has a low and fluttery flight, often seen in grassy areas. The female lays eggs on grass plates. The caterpillar hosts on various grass, including rice cutgrass, cultivated rice, and marsh millet. As adults, they feed on flower nectar from low-growing plants, including chickory, white clover, and swap verbena.
It prefers moist and wet open spaces where there is tall grass, such as old fields, hillsides, slow streams, marshes, and ditches. They are common in the eastern states of Florida, Texas, southeastern Arizona, and central Colorado.
17. California Tortoiseshell
The California Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis californica) can grow to 7cm in wing span. This orange/brown butterfly has large black spots and dark wing borders. Under the wings looks like a dead leaf with dark mottled brown and dark wing bases. There is a silver spot in the center of the underside of the hind wing.
The male will be seen searching for a female in the late afternoon. She lays her eggs in batches on a host plant, which the caterpillars then feed on. The caterpillars feed together when young. You will encounter the California tortoiseshell from spring through to May.
As adults, they feed on flower nectar, while caterpillars host on several wild lilac species. They are seen in woodlands, forest clearings, forest edges, and chaparral. They are common in British Columbia along the Pacific Coast to Baja California and east to Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. Some have migrated to Pennsylvania, Michigan, Vermont, and New York.
18. Woodland Skipper
The Woodland Skipper (Ochlodes sylvanoides) is an orange butterfly with brown borders. The males have a black stigma on their fore wing and females have a diagonal black band. The hind wings have a large red patch. Under the wings range from yellow to red, sometimes brown. This small butterfly can grow to 3.2cm in wing span.
You may see a male woodland skipper perching on the ridges in California or gullies in Colorado waiting for a female. The adults feed on flower nectar, while the caterpillars’ hosts are various types of grasses. They are common in grassy areas in chaparral, woodlands, gardens, and sagebrush.
They are a very common butterfly in British Colombia and southern California. You can also see them in Arizona, Colorado, and Montana.
19. Mylitta Crescent
This bright red/orange butterfly (Phyciodes mylitta) has narrow dark markings. Under the wings is yellow/orange with rusty orange markings. This is a small butterfly that grows to 3.8cm in wing span and is common from sea level to 8000 feet in fields, roads, vacant lots, fence rows, meadows, mountains, and parks.
Males will spend their day waiting near host plants for a female. The caterpillar hosts on native thistles, European thistles, and milk thistles. Adults feed on flower nectar. Their range includes the Rocky Mountains, British Columbia, California, Oregon, and Washington.
20. Northern Crescent
The Northern Crescent butterfly (Phyciodes cocyta) is orange/brown with dark borders. The male has orange antenna clubs, while the female is darker than the male. They are orange/brown with dark borders. Under the hind wing is orange with a tan patch. These butterflies grow to 4.8cm in wing span.
The caterpillar hosts on the sunflower family, while adults feed on flower nectar from fleabane, white clover, and dogbane. They are seen in moist and open areas, usually in rocky areas, such as wooded streams, shale barrens, and marsh edges.
This caterpillar can be observed in Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Utah, and British Columbia.
21. West Coast Lady
The West Coast Lady (Vanessa annabella) is an orange/brown butterfly with an orange bar on the leading edge of the fore wing. The hind wing has four blue submarginal spots and underneath the wings is a complex pattern with eye spots and other markings. These butterflies can grow to 5.7cm and are seen throughout the year in California and the summer and fall in the Rocky Mountains.
As adults, they feed on flower nectar, while the caterpillar hosts include numerous plants from the mallow family, including bush mallow, hollyhock, and tree mallow. They can be seen in open areas, which include gardens, fields, disturbed areas, weeded areas, and foothills.
You are likely to encounter the West Coast Lady in western North America from British Columbia to California and Montana to New Mexico.
22. Meadow Fritillary
This butterfly (Boloria bellona) has a squared-off fore wing, just below the tip. They grow to 5.1cm in wing span and are orange/red with black markings. Under the hind wing, you will see orange and purple/brown with a white basal patch.
The male spends his day looking for females in meadows at a low flight. Females lay eggs on plants and twigs. They are commonly seen from April to mid-October. The caterpillar will host on violets from the northern white violet to the woolly blue violet.
Adults prefer the nectar from composites, including black-eyed Susan, ox-eyed daisies, and dandelions. They are seen in wet areas, such as wet aspen groves and marshes. You will likely encounter this butterfly if you are in British Columbia, Oregon, Colorado, Tennessee, and North Carolina.
23. Hobomok Skipper
The Hobomok Skipper butterfly (Lon hobomok) has rounded wings. The male is yellow/orange with black borders. Under the hind wing, the male is purple/gray on the inner margin. Females have two forms. The upper side of the normal form is dull and less orange than the male, with the underside of the hind wing being orange with a purple/gray margin. The second form is purple/black with some dull white spots on the fore wing. Under the wing is purple-black with an obscured pattern.
This butterfly can grow to 4.3cm in wing span and you will often see the male sitting about six feet above the ground in woodland clearings, waiting for a female. She will deposit single eggs on or near host grass leaves, which the caterpillars eat.
As caterpillars, they feed on a range of different grasses, including bluegrasses and panic grasses. As adults, they feed on flower nectar from henbit, blackberry, and viper’s bugloss. This butterfly prefers the openings and edges of damp woods and you may see them in city parks, along streams, and on the edges of bogs.
If you live in New Jersey, northern Georgia, Arkansas, eastern Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, or Northern New Mexico, then you are likely to encounter the Hobomok skipper.
24. Whirlabout
This small butterfly (Polites vibex) grows to 3.9cm in wing span. The males and females are different. The males have yellow/orange fore wings with a black stigma and a black square patch. The hind wing has black margins. The underside is yellow/orange and you will see some black spots under the hind wing.
The females are dark brown with some clear spots. Under the wings is gray/yellow with a central patch, which has dark scales surrounding it.
As caterpillars, they live in a tube made of silked-together leaves, where they feed at night on a range of grasses, including Bermuda grass, thin paspalum, and St Augustine grass. As adults, they feed on flower nectar from shepherd’s needle and lantana.
These orange butterflies are often observed in open habitats, including fields, forest openings, parks, yards, dunes, and pine woods. They can be found in the southeastern United States.
25. Essex Skipper
The Essex Skipper (Thymelicus lineola) can grow to 2.9cm in wing span with burnt orange wings with black borders. The male fore wing has a narrow black stigma. The males fly low to the ground in grassy areas looking for a female. During the day you will see them on grass stalks, basking in the sun with the wings at a seventy-degree angle.
As caterpillars, they feed on Timothy and other grasses, while adults feed on low-growing flowers, which include thistles, daisies, white clover, swamp milkweed, and orange hawkweed. They prefer open grassy areas and are observed in hayfields, abandoned homesteads, grassy road edges, and pastures.
This butterfly was accidentally introduced to North America from London in the early 1900s and today can be found in North Dakota, southern Illinois, western South Carolina, Colorado, Montana, Idaho, and British Columbia.
26. Hoary Comma
This butterfly (Polygonia gracilis) is common in boreal North America from New England to New Mexico and the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. They have a distinctive ragged edge on their wings. As adults, they feed on tree sap and nectar from sweet everlasting and some flowers.
As caterpillars, they feed on shrub leaves, including mock azalea, currant, and western azalea. They lay eggs in the spring and the butterfly emerges in mid-summer.
27. Northern Checkerspot
The Northern Checkerspot (Chlosyne palla) grows to 4.8cm in wing span with the male being brown/red with a median band. The base of the hind wing is dark. Under the wing is brown/orange with cream white bands. Females are similar in color, or they can be black with white spots.
The female lays eggs in groups under the leaves of host plants, which then become food for the caterpillars. The caterpillars feed in groups when young, sometimes in a silk web. Once partially grown, they will hibernate.
While the adults feed on flower nectar, the caterpillars feed on goldenrods, asters, and rabbitbrush. They can be found in open woodlands, meadows, stream sides, and coastal chaparrals. They are common in British Columbia, California, Rocky Mountains, Colorado, and Utah.
28. Atlantis Fritillary
This butterfly (Speyeria atlantis) is orange/brown with a black outer margin. The male has black scales on the veins. Under the hind wing is chocolate brown/purple with silvered hind wings. They can grow to 7cm in wing span and are seen from mid-June to September.
The female lays individual eggs on leaf litter, right next to a host plant. The caterpillar emerges in the spring and feeds on leaves. The caterpillars feed on violets, while adults feed on flower nectar from mint, mountain laurel, ox-eyed daisy, and spiraea. They are common in forest openings, bogs, moist canyons, and meadows.
They are very common in the maritime provinces and the northeastern United States, including West Virginia, the Great Lakes, Rocky Mountains, and Colorado.
29. Aphrodite Fritillary
This butterfly (Speyeria aphrodite) varies depending on where it is located. They are red to orange/brown on the upper side of their wings. The male has a black spot and no black scales on the fore wing. They can grow to 8.3cm in wing span. The female walks on the ground, laying single eggs near violets.
As caterpillars, they feed on various violet species and as adults, they feed on flower nectar from viper’s bugloss and milkweed. They are often observed in moist prairies, barren openings, high mountain meadows, open oak woods, bogs, and dry fields.
This butterfly can be observed in the Rocky Mountains, east-central Arizona, northern New Mexico, and northern Georgia.
30. Mormon Fritillary
This (Speyeria mormonia) is a small butterfly with large rounded antenna clubs. They grow to 6.1cm in wing span and are orange/brown with an orange/brown underside to the hind wing. They often have silver spots.
The male spends the day searching for females in open areas, close to the ground. The female will lay single eggs on leaf litter near violets. As adults, they feed on flower nectar from a variety of flowers, including goldenrods.
They are common in the western mountains from Alaska to Manitoba and Dakotas to California, Nevada, Arizona, and northern New Mexico.
31. Julia Heliconian
The Julia Heliconian (Dryas iulia) has elongated fore wings. The male is bright orange above and below the wings. On the upper side of the hind wing, there is a narrow black border. Females are dull in color with more black markings on orange. This is a large butterfly that can grow to 9.2 cm in wing span.
Males spend their full day searching for a female. Females then lay single eggs on new growth for the caterpillars to eat the leaves. As adults, they forage along a route of nectar sources every day, this is known as “trap lining.”
As caterpillars, they feed on passion vines, while the adults feed on flower nectar. They prefer subtropical hammock openings and edges often found near fields. They can be found throughout Central America, Mexico, peninsular Florida, South Texas, and eastern Nebraska.
32. Satyr Comma
This butterfly (Polygonia satyrus) can grow to 6.4cm in wing span and is bright orange/yellow. The fore wing has two black spots near the bottom edge and center. The hind wing has a black spot in the center of the wing with no dark border. Under the wings is dark golden brown with a median band. The hind wing has a silver comma in the center.
Males search for a female in the late afternoon in woodland openings. Females will lay eggs in stacks or groups on the lower side of nettle leaves, which the caterpillars then eat. As caterpillars, they feed on various nettles, while adults prefer tree sap, rotting fruit, and flower nectar.
They are observed along streams, marshes, riparian wood openings, moist wood edges, and wooded prairie ravines. You can find them in Canada and the western United States, as well as New England and Nova Scotia.
33. Vesta Crescent
The Vesta Crescent (Phyciodes graphica) is orange with fine black lines on the top of the wings. The fore wing has post-median and submarginal orange circles with a dark background. They grow to 3.8 cm in wing span. This butterfly can be seen all year in Mexico, from February to December in South Texas, and from April to September in the north.
The male spends his day searching for females in low areas. The female lays eggs in clumps on host plant leaves. Caterpillars feed on the acanthus family and Hairy tube tongue, while adults feed on flower nectar.
This butterfly can be observed in the desert, prairies, dry stream beds, thorn and mesquite woodlands, and road edges in Mexico, Guatemala, southeast Arizona, central Texas, Colorado, Nebraska, and Arkansas.
34. Purplish Copper
The male Purplish Copper (Tharsalea helloides) is brown with iridescence purple, the female is orange. They have a broad orange band on the hand wing and can grow to 3.8 cm in wing span. The female lays her eggs at the base of the host plant. The eggs hibernate and when the caterpillar emerges it feeds on the leaves.
The caterpillar feeds on the buckwheat family and knotweeds, while adults feed on flower nectar. They are often observed in disturbed areas, including open fields, roadsides, marches, valleys, wet meadows, and stream sides.
You will find them throughout the northern Midwest, Baja California, and British Columbia. They are difficult to differentiate from the Dorcas Copper in the Rocky Mountains.
35. Callippe Fritillary
This beautiful butterfly (Speyeria callippe) is a bright red/brown with dark markings. Under the wings are triangular silver spots with narrow brown edges. There may be other large silver spots present. They grow to 5.4 cm in wing span.
The female will lay eggs near violets. First stage caterpillars hibernate until spring and then feed on the violet leaves. This butterfly can be observed in dry woodlands, prairie hills, chaparral, and sagebrush.
They are found in Central British Columbia, south Dakota, Manitoba, southern California, Colorado, Utah, and Nevada. The species is threatened with extinction in the San Francisco Bay Area.
36. Silver-bordered Fritillary
This butterfly (Boloria selene) can grow to 5.4 cm in wing span and is orange with black markings. Under the hind wing, are metallic silver spots and small black post-median spots. As caterpillars, they feed on violets, while adults feed on composite flower nectar, including black-eyed Susan and goldenrods.
They are seen in bogs, marshes, and wet meadows in Central Alaska, central Washington, the Rocky Mountains, northern New Mexico, Virginia, Maryland, and Illinois.
37. Green Comma
The Green Comma (Polygonia faunus) has ragged wing edges and varies in color based on geographic location. They are usually red/brown with wide borders. The hind wing border has yellow spots and is brown under the wing with green submarginal spots. They grow to 6.4 cm in wing span.
Males are often observed sitting on rocks or plants in the late afternoon waiting for a female. The female lays single eggs on the upper surface of the host plant. Caterpillars are solitary and will rest on the underside of the leaves. As adults, they hibernate and mate the following spring.
The caterpillars of the green comma feed on black birch, alder, gooseberry, western azalea, and pussy willow. As adults, they feed on carrion, dung, and flower nectar. They are common in canyons, forests, and mountain stream sides.
You can encounter the green comma in Boreal North America, south of the tundra. They are common in Central Alaska, central California, northern New Mexico, the Great lakes, New England, and the Maritimes.
38. Northwestern Fritillary
This large butterfly (Speyeria hesperis) can grow to 7 cm in wing span and is orange/brown with a darker base. There are black outer margins on the fore wing. Males have black scales on their veins. Under the hind wing is a light brown to orange/brown band with silver spots.
As caterpillars, they feed on violets, while adults feed on flower nectar from rabbitbrush, purple minds, shrub cinquefoil, and Gaillardia. If you are in western Alaska, California, Arizona, and New Mexico you will likely encounter this beautiful butterfly. They prefer open hillsides, forest openings, and meadows.
39. Ruddy Daggerwing
The Ruddy Daggerwing (Marpesia petreus) is a large butterfly that grows to 9.5 cm in wing span with elongated fore wings. The hind wing has a long dagger-like tail. The wings are orange with three black lines. Under the wings is mottled back and brown, which looks like a dead leaf.
The male will sit up to thirty feet above the ground on a sunlit tree looking for a female. They are seen throughout the year in Florida but are most common from May to July. As caterpillars, they feed on common fig and wild banyan trees, while adults feed on the nectar from giant milkweed in Florida and Cordia, Lantana, and Mikania in the tropics.
This butterfly can be seen in tropical lowland forests and hardwood hammocks in Brazil, Central America, Mexico, West Indies, Florida, Colorado, Kansas, South Texas, Arizona, and Nebraska.