Friends of the Lower Suwannee & Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuges
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Butterflies in the Refuge

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Since 2009, I’ve been regularly surveying native butterflies in the Refuge. Through the years, 90 species of butterflies have been identified both north and south of the Suwannee River. There are still more to be found! My images below are designed to help identify the butterflies that have been documented in the Refuge, and I hope this encourages visitors to appreciate and support the diversity of all wildlife. 
​
Special thanks to Entomologist, Dr. Marc Minno for his assistance with this project.
Please contact me for questions or comments at Lastinstar@gmail.com
Barbara Woodmansee

P.S. Here are my 2020 survey results which give you an idea of how many butterflies can be found on a single day in the refuge.

Hairstreaks and Elfins

​Hairstreaks and Elfins are small butterflies that generally have “tails” on the ends of their hindwings. These tiny hair-like projections, often with a dark spot at their base are thought to represent a false head and antennae. Hairstreaks usually sit with wings closed, waving their hindwings in a sawing motion, moving their tails in a way that may lure a predator to the wrong end, allowing the butterfly to escape. They fly with a rapid, jerking motion, often too fast to follow, and can be found sitting on flowers, tree branches and occasionally on the ground.     
Banded Hairstreak
Gray Hairstreak
Great Purple Hairstreak
Henry's Elfin
Red-banded Hairstreak
Southern Oak Hairstreak
Sweadner's Juniper Hairstreak
White M Hairstreak

Blues

​We have 3 species of blues in the Refuge, all of which are tiny. Like hairstreaks, blues wave their wings in a sawing motion, but our blues lack tails. Blues will often perch with wings open when in bright sunshine, and sometimes twirl around the twig they are standing on. Their flight is erratic, and they are generally found on or very near their host plants, preferring tiny flowers for nectar. 
Cassius Blue
Ceraunus Blue
Eastern Pygmy-Blue

Swallowtails

​We are fortunate to have many swallowtail butterflies in the Refuge – and all can be seen on the same day if you’re lucky! Swallowtails are very large, most with a similar but distinctly different “pipe” pattern on the underside of the hindwings and generally have long slender tails and bright colors. They have soaring or gliding flight patterns, love flowers and are often very approachable.
Black Swallowtail
Giant Swallowtail
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail- black form. Black form is always female.
Palamedes Swallowtail
Pipevine Swallowtail
Spicebush Swallowtail
Zebra Swallowtail

Sulphurs and Whites

Sulphurs and white butterflies are quite common in the Refuge, favoring sunny open areas most of the time. They are rapid fliers, moving quickly from flower to flower. Many are sexually dimorphic – males and females look slightly different, and some have distinct summer and winter “forms”(white or yellow depending on the season).
Barred Yellow
Checkered White
Coudless Sulpher
Dainty Sulpher
Great Southern White
Little Yellow
Sleepy Orange
Southern Dogface

Nymphalids

The Nymphalids or “Brushfoots” are the biggest and most diverse family of butterflies. Generally large and colorful butterflies, there are many species within this family. The nymphalids are long-lived butterflies, some migrate and many mimic other butterflies. This group will be divided into sub-families for ease of identification. 
American Lady
American Snout
Common Buckeye
Gulf Fritillary
Hackberry Emperor
Monarch
Painted Lady
Pearl Crescent
Phaon Crescent
Queen
Question Mark
Red Admiral
Red-spotted Purple
Tawny Emperor
Variegated Fritillary
Viceroy
White Peacock
Zebra Heliconian

Satyrs

Satyrs are generally the shade-loving, moist swamp dwellers. They are attracted to dappled light and are rarely seen nectaring on flowers. Carolina and Viola’s wood satyrs are common, but the others are less often seen. Their flight is bouncy, and they generally remain near or on the ground. 
Appalachian Brown
Common Wood Nymph
Gemmed Satyr
Viola's Little Wood Satyr
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Metalmarks

Although there may be as many as 1500 metalmark species in the neotropics, our Refuge features only one–the beautiful Little Metalmark. Always near the ground, little metalmarks are generally found near their host plant, thistles. They love tiny flowers, and often sit facing the ground on slender plant stems, metallic silver lines flashing, slowly waving their tiny orange wings.

Skippers

Skippers are the most challenging family of butterflies to identify. Our Refuge is full of them, and they are found in every habitat within the LSNWR. With experience, their distinct markings, habits and locations make this group of butterflies an exciting group to observe. Even very experienced butterfly watchers have to put their heads together sometimes when identifying skippers.  
Aaron's Skipper
Brazilian Skipper
Broad-winged Skipper
Byssus Skipper
Clouded Skipper
Confused Cloudywing
Delaware Skipper
Dion Skipper
Dorantes Longtail
Dukes Skipper
Dun Skipper
Eufala Skipper
Fiery Skipper
Horace's Duskywing
Jubenal's Duskywing
Lace-winged Roadside-Skipper
Least Skipper
Little Glassywing
Long-tailed Skipper
Neamanthla Skipper
Northern Broken-dash
Northern Cloudywing
Obscure Skipper
Ocola Skipper
Palatka Skipper
Palmetto Skipper
Sachem
Salt Marsh Skipper
Silver-spotted Skipper
Sleepy Duskywing
Southern Broken-dash
Southern Cloudywing
Southern Skipperling
Swarthy Skipper
Tawny-edged Skipper
Tropical Checkered Skipper
Twin-spotted Skipper
Whirlabout
Zabulon Skipper
Zarucco Duskywing

Ready for a Challenge?

The species below have not been documented in the Refuge...yet! All of them have been seen nearby, and our Refuge contains habitat that should support them. If you see one or more, please take a photograph and let us know.
Eastern Pine Elfin
Georgia Satyr
Harvester
Hayhurst's Scallopwing
Orange Sulphur
Seminole Texas Crescent
Southern Pearly-eye
Striped Hairstreak
White Checkered-Skipper

Butterfly Survey

Every year the North American Butterfly Association (NABA) conducts a survey on the refuge. These are the 2020 results.
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Butterfly and Bird Earrings

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Friends of the Lower Suwannee & Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuges
P. O. Box 532
Cedar Key, FL 32625
friends@friendsofrefuges.org

We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.


  • Home
    • Current News
  • About
    • About Friends >
      • Who We Are
      • What We Do
      • Current News
      • Contact Us
    • About the Refuges >
      • Our Refuges
      • Places of Interest
      • Hunting Brochure
  • Join
    • Donate
  • Maps
    • Paddling Guides
    • Refuge Maps
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  • Wildlife
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    • FWS Hunting Brochure
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  • Store
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