Massachusetts Butterfly Club

Butterfly Photos & Information




Can You ID This Butterfly?

Options:  
1. Mouse over the photo to see the species name.  
2. Click the photo to see the
species web page.  
3. Click here to see a new photo.

Take a look at our photos of the species commonly found in Massachusetts along with several that sometimes stray here from afar...

Links to Photos:

The list with thumbnail photos is organized by taxonomic family using the names from the NABA Checklist of North American Butterflies.

Compare Side-by-Side Photos of Two Species

Butterfly Movies

Dick Walton has graciously provided access to a series of short online butterfly videos. I think these movies illustrate butterfly behavior, and act as aids to identification, in ways that still photos simply cannot. Enjoy! And thanks to Dick Walton for providing them to us. You can check out more of his material at www.rkwalton.com.

Skippers of the Northeast Movies

Butterfly Flight Dates

Erik Nielsen, our club's former records compiler, has generated a handsome chart of butterfly flight dates based on club members' observation records from 1993-2007. The chart can tell you at a glance which species have been observed in Massachusetts at different times of the year and whether observations are rare or common. Be sure to report your butterfly observations to our new records compiler, Mark Fairbrother, so they can be included in the club's yearly summary and in future versions of the flight dates chart.

Photo Credits

We are in the process of compiling digital butterfly photos from club members and other butterfly photographers. We would like to use only photos taken in and near Massachusetts so they reflect the local forms of these species. Many, many thanks to

  • Joe Adams
  • Earle Baldwin
  • Bill Banks
  • Bill Benner
  • Bill Bouton
  • Peter Clark
  • Sue Cloutier
  • Lori Draper
  • Peter Duffy
  • Gregory Dysart
  • Fred Goodwin
  • Richard Gross
  • Karen Haley
  • Howard Hoople
  • Tom Lewis
  • Lesley Mattuchio
  • Mike Maurer
  • Alyce Mayo
  • Frank Model
  • Tom Murray
  • Dan Mushrush
  • Erik Nielsen
  • Ron Nuehring
  • Karen Parker
  • Chuck Pierce
  • Dale Rhoda
  • Marj Rines
  • Mark Rowden
  • Dave Small
  • Eleanor Solberg
  • Barbara Spencer
  • Tom Tyning
  • Mike Walker
  • Tom Whelan
  • Nancy Young

for selflessly sharing their great photos with us! Please note that copyright information, if applicable, is found in the caption of each individual photo on the species pages.

Please contact the webmaster with comments and questions.

Endangered Butterfly Species in Massachusetts

There are currently eight butterfly species listed by the state (or in the process of being listed) as endangered:

Quoting from the Massachusetts List of Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Species:

"Endangered" (E) species are native species which are in danger of extinction throughout all or part of their range, or which are in danger of extirpation from Massachusetts, as documented by biological research and inventory.

"Threatened" (T) species are native species which are likely to become endangered in the forseeable future, or which are declining or rare as determined by biological research and inventory.

"Special concern" (SC) species are native species which have been documented by biological research or inventory to have suffered a decline that could threaten the species if allowed to continue unchecked, or which occur in such small numbers or with such restricted distribution or specialized habitat requirements that they could easily become threatened within Massachusetts.

If you find these species, please take the time to fill out a Rare Animal Observation Form for the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.

More information on endangered species in Massachusetts.