Maine is home to 40 species in 19 genera. If you know which species you have or are interested in learning about, click on the appropriate link from the species list below. Otherwise, to determine which genus your butterfly belongs to, refer to the table below the species list.

   Aglais (1 species)
      Aglais milberti - Milbert’s tortoiseshell
   Boloria (5 species)
      Boloria eunomia - bog fritillary
      Boloria selene - silver-boardered fritillary
      Boloria bellona - meadow fritillary
      Boloria frigga - Frigga fritillary
      Boloria chariclea - purple lesser fritillary
   Cercyonis (1 species)
      Cercyonis pegala - common wood nymph
   Chlosyne (2 species)
      Chlosyne nycteis - silvery checkerspot
      Chlosyne harrisii - Harris’s checkerspot
   Coenonympha (1 species)
      Coenonympha tullia - inornate ringlet
   Danaus (1 species)
      Danaus plexippus - monarch
   Euphydryas (1 species)
      Euphydryas phaeton - Baltimore checkerspot
   Euptoieta (1 species)
      Euptoieta claudia - variegated fritillary
   Junonia (1 species)
      Junonia coenia - common buckeye
   Lethe (3 species)
      Lethe anthedon - northern pearly-eye
      Lethe eurydice - eyed brown
      Lethe appalachia - Appalachian brown
   Libytheana (1 species)
      Libytheana carinenta - American snout
   Limenitis (2 species)
      Limenitis arthemis - white admiral
      Limenitis archippus - viceroy
   Megisto (1 species)
      Megisto cymela - little wood satyr
   Nymphalis (2 species)
      Nymphalis I-album - Compton tortoiseshell
      Nymphalis antiopa - mourning cloak
   Oeneis (2 species)
      Oeneis jutta - Jutta arctic
      Oeneis polixenes - Katahdin arctic
   Phyciodes (2 species)
      Phyciodes tharos - pearl crescent
      Phyciodes cocyta - northern crescent
   Polygonia (6 species)
      Polygonia interrogationis - question mark
      Polygonia comma - eastern comma
      Polygonia satyrus - satyr comma
      Polygonia faunus - green comma
      Polygonia gracilis - hoary comma
      Polygonia progne - gray comma
   Speyeria (4 species)
      Speyeria cybele - great spangled fritillary
      Speyeria aphrodite - Aphrodite fritillary
      Speyeria idalia - regal fritillary
      Speyeria atlantis - Atlantis fritillary
   Vanessa (3 species)
      Vanessa atalanta - red admiral
      Vanessa cardui - painted lady
      Vanessa virginiensis - American lady

red font = character state unique or nearly so	char. 1	char. 2	char. 3	char. 4	char. 5
Aglais
Boloria
Cercyonis
Chlosyne
Coenonympha
Danaus
Euphydryas
Euptoieta
Junonia
Lethe
Libytheana
Limenites
Megiste
Nymphalis
Oeneis
Phyciodes
Polygonia
Speyeria
Vanessa

Aglais (tortoiseshell)
[information to be added]

Aglais milberti (Milbert’s tortoiseshell) - [information to be added]

Boloria (elfin)
[information to be added]

red font = character state unique or nearly so	char. 1	char. 2	char. 3	char. 4	char. 5
B. eunomia
B. selene
B. bellona
B. frigga
B. chariclea

Boloria eunomia (bog fritillary) - One subspecies (dawsoni has been reported from Maine.

Boloria selene (silver-bordered fritillary) - Two subspecies (atrocostalis and myrina have been reported from Maine.

Boloria bellona (meadow fritillary) - One subspecies (toddi has been reported from Maine.

Boloria frigga (Frigga fritillary) - One subspecies (saga has been reported from Maine.

Boloria chariclea (purple lesser fritillary) - One subspecies (grandis has been reported from Maine.

Cercyonis (wood nymph)
[information to be added]

Cercyonis pegala (common wood nymph) - Twp subspecies (nephele and alope have been reported from Maine.

Chlosyne (checkerspot)
[information to be added]

	char. 1	char. 2	char. 3	char. 4	char. 5
C. nycteis
C. harrisii

Chlosyne nycteis (silvery checkerspot) - [information to be added]

Chlosyne harrisii (Harris’s checkerspot) - One subspecies (albimontana has been reported from Maine.

Coenonympha (ringlet)
[information to be added]

Coenonympha tullia (inornate ringlet) - One subspecies (inornata has been reported from Maine.

Danaus (monarch)
[information to be added]

Danaus plexippus (monarch) - The host plant and especially its younger leaves for this species is milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). The images below (left to right) show a larvam a chrysalis, and an adult male [note the black spot on each hind wing] on milkweed.
      
(click on an image to enlarge)

Euphydryas (checkerspot)
[information to be added]

Euphydryas phaeton (Baltimore checkerspot) - [information to be added]

Euptoieta (fritillary)
[information to be added]

Euptoieta claudia (variegated fritillary) - [information to be added]

Junonia (buckeye)
[information to be added]

Junonia coenia (common buckeye) - [information to be added]

Lethe (pearly-eye / brown)
[information to be added]

red font = character state unique or nearly so	char. 1	char. 2	char. 3	char. 4	char. 5
L. anthedon
L. eurydice
L. appalachia

Lethe anthedon (northern pearly-eye) - One subspecies (borealis has been reported from Maine.

(photo by Carol Muth; click on image to enlarge)

Lethe eurydice (eyed brown) - [information to be added]

Lethe appalachia (Appalachian brown) - [information to be added]

Libytheana (snout)
[information to be added]

Libytheana carinenta (American snout) - One subspecies (bachmanii has been reported from Maine.

Limenitis ([?])
[information to be added]

	char. 1	char. 2	char. 3	char. 4	char. 5
L. arthemis
L. archippus

Limenitis arthemis (white admiral) - [information to be added]

(click on image to enlarge)

Limenitis archippus (viceroy) - [information to be added]

Megisto (wood satyr)
[information to be added]

Megisto cymela (little wood satyr)
[information to be added]

Nymphalis (tortoiseshell)
[information to be added]

	char. 1	char. 2	char. 3	char. 4	char. 5
N. i-album
N. antiopa

Nymphalis i-album (Compton tortoiseshell) - One subspecies (j-album has been reported from Maine.

Nymphalis antiopa (mourning cloak) - [information to be added]

Oeneis (arctic)
[information to be added]

	char. 1	char. 2	char. 3	char. 4	char. 5
O. jutta
O. polixenes

Oeneis jutta (Jutta arctic)
[information to be added]

Oeneis polixenes (Katahdin arctic) - One subspecies (katahdin has been reported from Maine.

Phyciodes (crescent)
[information to be added]

	char. 1	char. 2	char. 3	char. 4	char. 5
P. tharos
P. cocyta

Phyciodes throes (pearl crescent) - [information to be added]

Phyciodes cocyta (northern crescent) - [information to be added]

Polygonia ([?])
[information to be added]

red font = character state unique or nearly so	char. 1	char. 2	char. 3	char. 4	char. 5
P. interrogationis
P. comma
P. satyrus
P. faunus
P. gracilis
P. progne

Polygonia interrogationis (question mark)

(photo by Carol Muth; click on image to enlarge)

Polygonia comma (eastern comma)

(photo by Amy Gagnon; click on image to enlarge)

Polygonia satyrus (satyr comma) - One subspecies (neomarsyas has been reported from Maine.

Polygonia faunus (green comma) - [information to be added]

Polygonia gracilis (hoary comma) - [information to be added]

Polygonia progne (gray comma) - [information to be added]

Speyeria (fritillary)
[information to be added]

red font = character state unique or nearly so	char. 1	char. 2	char. 3	char. 4	char. 5
S. cybele
S. aphrodite
S. idalia
S. atlantis

Speyeria cybele (great spangled fritillary) - Two subspecies (cybele and novascotiae have been reported from Maine.

Speyeria aphrodite (Aphhrodite fritillary) - Two subspecies (aphrodite and winni have been reported from Maine.

(click on image to enlarge)

Speyeria idalia (regal fritillary) - [information to be added]

Speyeria atlantis (Atlantis fritillary) - [information to be added]

Vanessa ([?])
[information to be added]

red font = character state unique or nearly so	char. 1	char. 2	char. 3	char. 4	char. 5
V. atalanta
V. cardui
V. virginiensis

Vanessa atalanta (red admiral) - One subspecies (rubra has been reported from Maine.

(click on image to enlarge)

Vanessa cardui (painted lady) - [information to be added]

(click on image to enlarge)

Vanessa virginiensis (American lady) - [information to be added]

(click on image to enlarge)