Butterflies of the Midwest Field Guide

Identify butterflies with this easy-to-use field guide, organized by color and featuring full-color photographs and helpful information!

Butterflies are fascinating, beautiful, and a joy to behold. Now observing them is even better with the Butterflies of the Midwest Field Guide. This handy book by acclaimed author and professional entomologist Jaret C. Daniels makes field identification simple and informative. It features 198 species of butterflies (and common moths) organized by color for ease of use. Detailed photographs present the species as you'll see them in nature, and a "compare" feature helps you to decide between look-alikes.

Inside you'll find:

• 198 species: Butterflies and common moths
• Simple color guide: See a butterfly with prominent blue? Go to the blue section
• Jaret's Notes: Naturalist tidbits and facts
• Professional photos: Crisp, stunning images

The information is applicable to Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. So grab the Butterflies of the Midwest Field Guide for your next hike, walk in the park, or visit to your garden--to help ensure that you positively identify the butterflies that you see.

ISBN-13: 9781647552855

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: Adventure Publications - Incorporated

Publication Date: 05-16-2023

Pages: 364

Product Dimensions: 4.30(w) x 6.00(h) x 0.90(d)

Series: Butterfly Identification Guides

Jaret C. Daniels, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Entomology at the University of Florida and Director of the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity at the Florida Museum of Natural History, specializing in insect ecology and conservation. He has authored numerous scientific papers, popular articles, and books on wildlife conservation, insects, and butterflies, including butterfly field guides for Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Ohio, and Michigan, as well as butterfly quick guides for various regions throughout the United States. He is also the author of such books as Vibrant Butterflies, Backyard Bugs, and Our Love of Bees. Jaret lives in Gainesville, Florida, with his wife, Stephanie.

Read an Excerpt

Pipevine Swallowtail
Battus philenor

Above: overall black; male has iridescent greenish-blue scaling on hindwings; female is duller black with a single row of white submarginal spots

Below: hindwings with broad iridescent blue scaling on outer half with a row of prominent orange spots

Compare: Spicebush Swallowtail (pg. 25) is larger with prominent crescent-shaped submarginal spots; Red-spotted Purple (pg. 79) lacks hindwing tails; female Black Swallowtail (pg. 31) is larger with orange hindwing spot; dark-form female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (pg. 29) is much larger and often has faint black stripes, especially on the ventral surface.

Wingspan: 2.75–4.0" (7.0–10.2 cm)

Habitat: open woodlands, forest margins and adjacent open areas including clearings, roadsides, yards and gardens

Range: primarily southern portions of the region; absent from ND, SD; uncommon in NE; uncommon stray or temporary breeding colonist northward; unlikely able to survive winters in more northern portions of the range.

Abundance: rare to common

Sexes: dissimilar, female is dull black with a prominent row of white spots

Broods: two; overwinter as a pupa

Egg: brownish-orange, round, laid singly or in small clusters

Larva: velvety black with orange spots and numerous fleshy tubercles; superficially resembles a centipede

Larval Host Plants: various pipevines (Aristolochia spp.) including Virginia snakeroot (Aristolochia serpentaria), woolly dutchman’s pipe (A. tomentosa) and pipevine (A. macrophylla)

Notes: Our smallest black-colored swallowtail, it is most common throughout the southeastern half of the region. It is absent, rare or locally sporadic farther north and west, temporarily colonizing available planted pipevines. Farther south, one or more native pipevine species naturally occur. The Pipevine Swallowtail’s fleshy larvae sequester toxins from their host plants, rendering them and the resulting adults highly distasteful to certain predators. The butterfly’s bold orange and black ventral hindwing pattern visibly advertise this unpalatability. Adults have a very swift, frenetic flight but are quite fond of flowers.

Table of Contents

What Are Butterflies?

Butterfly Basics

The Butterfly Life Cycle

Butterfly Families

Observing Butterflies in the Field

Determining a Butterfly’s Color

Color Section Troubleshooting

Butterfly Gardening

Butterfly Q & A

Butterfly Quick Compare

Sample Page

The Butterflies

• Black
• Blue
• Brown
• Gray
• Green
• Orange
• White
• Yellow

Butterfly Societies and Other Resources

Plants for Your Butterfly Garden

Checklist/Index

About the Author