Common Kansas Butterflies

Over 190 different species have been documented within Kansas, but we’ll stick to the most common ones.

Detailed species profiles coming soon.

Full List of KS Documented Species

The following uses information sourced from The Great Plains Nature Center’s “Checklist of Kansas Butterflies” and the Butterflies and the Moths of North America’s online database.

Species recorded in Kansas whose normal range is in an adjoining state are indicated as strays.


 

BRUSH-FOOTS

(Nymphalidae)

 

Libytheinae (Snouts)

  • American Snout - All

Danainae (Milkweed Butterflies)

  • Monarchs - All

  • Queens - Stray S 1/2

  • Eratics - Extremely rare, but documented

    • Tiger Mimic-Queen {normally South}

Satyrinae (Satyrs & Wood-Nymphs)

  • Northern Pearly Eye – Stray E 1/4

  • Gemmed Satyr – Stray SE 1/8

  • Little Wood Satyr – E 2/3

  • Red Satyr – Stray SW

  • Common Wood Nymph - All

  • Eratics - Extremely rare, but documented

    • Creole Pearly Eye {normally SE}

    • Eyed Brown {normally N}

    • Carolina Satyr {normally SE}

Heliconiinae (Longwings)

  • Gulf Fritillary - Stray S

  • Eratics - Extremely rare, but documented

    • Julia {from the South}

    • Zebra Longwing {normally S}

    • Isabella’s Heliconian {normally S}

    • Banded Orange Heliconian {normally S}

Limenitidinae (Admirals & Relatives)

  • Red-spotted Purple - E 1/2

  • Viceroy - All

  • California Sister – Stray SW

  • Eratics - Extremely rare, but documented

    • Weidemeyer’s Admiral {normally W}

    • Many-banded Daggerwing {normally S}

    • Ruddy Daggerwing {normally SW}

Apaturinae (Emperors)

  • Hackberry Emperor - All

  • Tawny Emperor – E 2/3

Nymphalinae (True Brushfoots)

  • Variegated Fritillary - All

  • Great Spangled Fritillary – NE 2/3

  • Aphrodite Fritillary – Stray N

  • Regal Fritillary – All, Stray W 1/2

  • Edwards’ Fritillary – Stray W

  • Fulvia Checkerspot – W 1/2

  • Bordered Patch – SW 1/4

  • Gorgone Checkerspot - All

  • Silvery Checkerspot – E 1/2

  • Graphic Crescent – Stray S

  • Phaon Crescent – SE

  • 1/2 Pearl Crescent - All

  • Painted Crescent – W 1/4

  • Baltimore Checkerspot – Stray E

  • Question Mark - All

  • Eastern Comma – NE 1/2

  • Hoary Comma – Stray W

  • Gray Comma – E 1/4

  • Mourning Cloak - All

  • American Lady - All

  • Painted Lady - All

  • West Coast Lady – Stray W

  • Red Admiral - All

  • Common Buckeye - All

  • Eratics - Extremely rare, but documented

    • Texan Crescent {normally S}

    • Field Crescent {normally W}

    • Dotted Checkerspot {normally W}

    • Milbert’s Tortoiseshell {normally W}

    • White Peacock {normally S}

    • Malachite {normally S}

Biblidinae (Tropical Brushfoots)

  • Eratics - Extremely rare, but documented

    • Florida Purplewing {normally S}

    • Common Mestra {normally S}

Charaxinae (Leafwings)

  • Goatweed Leafwing - All

  • Eratics - Extremely rare, but documented

    • Tropical Leafwing {normally S}

 

SWALLOWTAILS

(Papilionidae)

 

Eastern Black Swallowtail - All

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail - E 2/3

  • Giant Swallowtail - E 1/2

  • Pipevine Swallowtail - All but NW 1/8

  • Spicebush Swallowtail - Eastern 1/4

  • Zebra Swallowtail - SE 1/4

  • Anise Swallowtail - Stray W

  • Eratics - Extremely rare, but documented

    • Baird’s Old World Swallowtail {normally NW}

    • *Thoas Swallowtail {normally S}

    • *Ornythion Swallowtail {normally S}

    • *Two-tailed Swallowtail – Stray W

    • *Ruby-spotted Swallowtail {normally S}

 

WHITES, SULPHURS, AND ORANGE-TIPS

(Pieridae)

 

Checkered White - All

  • Cabbage White - All

  • Olympia Marble - All

  • Falcate Orangetip – SE 1/4

  • Clouded Sulphur – All

  • Orange Sulphur - All

  • Southern Dogface - All

  • Cloudless Sulphur - All

  • Mexican Yellow – All but NE 1/8

  • Little Yellow – E 2/3

  • Sleepy Orange – All but NW 1/8

  • Dainty Sulphur - All

  • Erratics - Extremely rare, but documented

    • Florida White {normally S}

    • Western White {normally W}

    • Great Southern White {normally S}

    • Giant White {normally S}

    • White Angled-Sulphur {normally SW}

    • Orange-barred Sulphur {normally S}

    • Apricot Sulphur {normally S}

    • Large Orange Sulphur {normally S}

    • Statira Sulphur {normally S}

    • Lyside Sulphur {normally S}

    • Tailed Orange {normally S}

    • Mimosa Yellow {normally S}

 

GOSSAMER-WINGS

(Lycaenidae)

 


  • Harvester – E 1/4

  • American Copper – Stray E

  • Gray Copper -All

  • Bronze Copper - All

  • Purplish Copper – Stray NW

  • Great Purple Hairstreak – Stray S

  • Soapberry Hairstreak- SC 1/4

  • Coral Hairstreak – All but W 1/4

  • Acadian Hairstreak – Stray N

  • Edwards’ Hairstreak – Stray E

  • Banded Hairstreak – E 2/3

  • Hickory Hairstreak – Stray E

  • Striped Hairstreak – NE 1/8

  • Southern Hairstreak - SE 1/4

  • Henry’s Elfin – E 1/3

  • 'Olive' Juniper Hairstreak – E 2/3

  • White M Hairstreak – Stray E

  • Gray Hairstreak - All

  • Red-banded Hairstreak – Stray SE

  • Western Pygmy-Blue – SW 1/4

  • Marine Blue – All but NE 1/8

  • Reakirt’s Blue - All

  • Eastern Tailed-Blue - All

  • Spring Azure – All

  • Summer Azure - All

  • Silvery Blue {W}

  • Melissa Blue – W 1/2

  • Lupine Blue – W 1/2

  • Eratics - Extremely rare, but documented

    • Dusky-blue Groundstreak {normally S}

    • Gray Ministreak {normally S}

    • Cassius Blue {normally S}

    • Ceraunus Blue {normally S}

 

SKIPPERS

(Hesperiidae)

 

Sleepy Duskywing – Stray E

  • Juvenal’s Duskywing - E 1/4

  • Horace’s Duskywing – E 1/2

  • Mottled Duskywing – Stray E

  • Funeral Duskywing – All

  • Wild Indigo Duskywing – E 1/2

  • Common Checkered-Skipper - All

  • Common Sootywing – All

  • Swarthy Skipper – Stray SE

  • Least Skipper – All

  • Orange Skipperling - W 1/4

  • Fiery Skipper – All

  • Uncas Skipper – W 1/3

  • Ottoe Skipper – All

  • Leonard’s Skipper – NW 1/4

  • Pahaska Skipper – Stray W

  • Cobweb Skipper – Stray SE

  • Green Skipper – W 1/3

  • Dotted Skipper – Stray SC

  • Rhesus Skipper – Stray W

  • Peck’s Skipper – NE 1/4

  • Tawny-edged Skipper – E 1/2

  • Crossline Skipper – E 1/2

  • Southern Broken-dash – Stray SE

  • Northern Broken-dash – Stray E

  • Little Glassywing – Stray NE

  • Sachem - All

  • Arogos Skipper – All but SW 1/4

  • Delaware Skipper – All

  • Byssus Skipper – SE 1/4

  • Hobomok Skipper – E 1/2

  • Zabulon Skipper – E 1/2

  • Dion Skipper – Stray SE

  • Two-Spotted Skipper – Stray N

  • Dun Skipper – All

  • Dusted Skipper - All

  • Bronze Roadside-Skipper – Stray SW

  • Linda’s Roadside-Skipper - Stray SE

  • Oslar’s Roadside-Skipper – W 1/4

  • Nysa Roadside-Skipper- E 2/3

  • Common Roadside-Skipper – All

  • Bell’s Roadside-Skipper – SE 1/4

  • Eufala Skipper – All

  • Yucca Giant-Skipper – W 1/2

  • Strecker’s Giant-Skipper – SW & NW

  • Erratics - Extremely rare, but documented

    • Hermit Skipper {normally S}

    • White-patched Skipper {normally S}

    • Columbine Duskywing {normally NE}

    • Afranius Duskywing {normally W}

    • Persius Duskywing {normally W}

    • Mexican Sootywing {normally SW}

    • Russet Skipperling {normally W}

    • Clouded Skipper {normally SE}

    • Dotted Roadside-Skipper {normally SW}

    • Brazilian Skipper {normally S}

 

  1. Schwilling, Marvin, and Charles Ely. “April 1991 by Marvin Schwilling and Charles Ely.” Edited by Jim Mason, Great Plains Nature Center, Kansas School Naturalist, Apr. 1991, https://gpnc.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2017/11/CheckKsBflies.pdf.

  2. “Family Nymphalidae (Brush-Footed Butterflies).” Family Nymphalidae (Brush-Footed Butterflies) | Butterflies and Moths of North America, https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy/Nymphalidae.