🦋

Butterflies & Moths

Order Lepidoptera

809 species

Known for their large, often colorful wings covered in tiny scales. Lepidoptera undergo complete metamorphosis through egg, larva, pupa, and adult stages.

Species in this Order

Sphingidae

Yam Hawk Moth

Theretra oldenlandiae

A widespread tropical hawk moth with olive-brown forewings and contrasting dark and light lateral bo...

50-65 mm
Nymphalidae

Yellow Glassy Tiger

Parantica aspasia

A delicate danainae butterfly with semi-transparent wings marked with black veins and margins and pa...

70-85 mm wingspan
Hesperiidae

Yucca Giant-Skipper

Megathymus yuccae

One of North America's largest skippers with dark wings spotted in yellow-orange. Its massive caterp...

45-70 mm wingspan
Lycaenidae Not Evaluated

Zanzibar Blue Butterfly

Uranothauma crawshayi

A delicate blue butterfly found on Zanzibar and coastal East Africa. Males have shimmering blue uppe...

25-30 mm wingspan
Nymphalidae

Zebra Longwing

Heliconius charithonia

A neotropical butterfly with elongated jet-black wings bearing bold pale yellow stripes. It is unusu...

72-100 mm wingspan
Papilionidae

Zebra Swallowtail

Eurytides marcellus

A pale greenish-white swallowtail with bold black stripes and very long hindwing tails. Its striking...

64-100 mm wingspan
Pieridae Endangered

Zegris eupheme

Zegris eupheme

A white butterfly with orange wingtip patches found in steppe grasslands from Spain to Central Asia....

4-5 cm wingspan
Riodinidae

Zela Metalmark

Emesis zela

A small butterfly with rust-brown wings marked with fine dark lines and subtle metallic scaling. It ...

25-30 mm wingspan
Uraniidae

Zodiac Moth

Alcides metaurus

A spectacular day-flying moth with iridescent green and black wings resembling a swallowtail butterf...

8-10 cm wingspan