California Butterflies and California Native Plants

Most of the butterfly pictures taken on this page and on the web site have been taken in the Las Pilitas Nursery, Santa Margarita, garden. They are all alive and often going about their business as usual undisturbed by the photographer (my father or myself.) If you have ever looked at dried specimens you will notice that although it may be more difficult to see identifying characteristics the live specimens are far more colorful and intense. Colors fade and change with drying and chemical preserves. You can also see behavior patterns, posture,etc. These are things you will never see in a shriveled, spread specimen!

Click on the butterfly picture to learn more about what plants the butterfly uses and see more pictures of it!

Order Lepidoptera Butterflies and Moths

Family Danidae Milkweed Butterflies

Monarch Butterfly
Monarch Butterfly

Striated Queen Butterfly
Striated Queen Butterfly


Family Nymphalidae Brush-footed Butterflies

american painted lady butterfly
American Painted Lady Butterfly

west coast lady butterfly
West Coast Lady Butterfly

Painted Lady butterfly
Painted Lady Butterfly

Lorquin's Admiral butterfly
Lorquin's Admiral Butterfly

California Sister Butterfly
California Sister Butterfly

Calippe Fritillary butterfly
Callippe Fritillary Butterfly


 Calecedon Checkerspot butterfly
Chalcedon Checkerspot Butterfly

Buckeye butterfly
Buckeye Butterfly

California Tortoise Shell butterfly
California Tortoise Shell Butterfly

Hoary Comma Butterfly, Polygonia graclis
Hoary Comma Butterfly


Family Papilionidae Swallowtail and Parnassian Butterflies

Anise Swallowtail butterfly
Anise Swallowtail Butterfly

Pale Swallowtail butterfly
Pale Swallowtail Butterfly

Western Tiger Swallowtail butterfly
Western Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly

Family Pieridae White, Sulfur, Marbel, and Orange-tip Butterflies

Common White female butterfly
Common White Butterfly female

Common White butterfly male
Common White Butterfly male

 Sara Orange-tip butterfly
Sara Orange-tip Butterfly

California Dog-face butterfly male
California Dog-face Butterfly, male

California Dog-face butterfly male
California Dog-face Butterfly, male

Alfalfa butterfly
Alfalfa Butterfly

Family Riodinidae Metalmark Butterflies

Behr's Metalmark butterfly
Mormon Metalmark Butterfly



Family Lycaenidae Hairstreak, Copper, and Blue Butterflies

tailed Copper butterfly
Tailed Copper Butterfly open

tailed copper butterfly
Tailed Copper Butterfly closed


Acmon Blue butterfly Male
Acmon Blue Butterfly, male

Acmon Blue butterfly female
Acmon Blue Butterfly, female

Acmon Blue butterfly
Acmon Blue Butterfly, closed

California Hairstreak butterfly
California Hairstreak Butterfly

Green Hairstreak butterfly
Green Hairstreak Butterfly


Family Megathymidae Giant Skipper Butterflies

Large White Skipper butterfly
Large White Skipper Butterfly



Family Hesperiidae Skippers

Mournful Dusky-wing butterfly
Mournful Dusky-wing Butterfly

Common Checkered Skipper butterfly
Common Checkered Skipper Butterfly


Family Saturniidae, Ceanothus Moths

Ceanothus Silk Moth
Ceanothus Moth



Family Sphingidae Sphinx moths, Hummingbird Moths

White-lined Sphinx
White-lined Sphinx Moth

Great Ash Sphinx
Great Ash Sphinx Moth

Bumblebee Moth
Bumblebee Moth