Popular Butterflies in South Florida: At Each Stage of Their Lifecycle & Their Host Plants
Species Egg Caterpillar Chrysalis Butterfly Host Plant Key Facts Monarch Tropical Milkweed • Most widely known (Danus • Millions make trek to Mexico for winter - up plexippus) to 3,000 miles) • Caterpillar stores poisonous chemicals in leaves & becomes poisonous itself
Queen Tropical Milkweed • Related to Monarchs (Danaus • Differences include: 3 (vs. 2) sets of tentacles gilippus) (to feel around) and chrysalis color varies more and often smaller
Orange Bahama Cassia • Largest Sulphur in South Florida Barred • Fast flying Sulphur • Caterpillars that eat (Phoebis leaves tend to be green philea) whereas those that feed on flowers are more yellow
Cloudless Bahama Cassia • One of most common in Florida Sulphur • Relatively long (Phoebis proboscis helps get sennae) nectar of some flowers that others cannot
Species Egg Caterpillar Chrysalis Butterfly Host Plant Key Facts Atala Coontie • Small with 1.5” (Eumaeus atala) wingspan and short proboscis • It’s an imperiled species • Most attracted to white flowers • Caterpillars stay in a group
Cassius Blue Plumbago • Tiny with .75” wingspan (Leptotes • Caterpillars are so cassius) camouflaged they look like plant buds
White Frog fruit • Wings resemble Peacock antique lace (Anartia • Common in jatrophae) Florida, often seen in warm open fields where water is abundant
Species Egg Caterpillar Chrysalis Butterfly Host Plant Key Facts Black Dill • Caterpillar emerging from egg appears very Swallowtail different than in its final (Papilio stage polyxenes) • Caterpillar eats leaves but prefers flowers
Giant Wild Lime • Largest species in Florida Swallowtail • Young caterpillars look (Heraclides much like wet bird cresphontes) droppings • They fly relatively slowly
Polydamas Dutchmen’s • It has no tail Pipevine • Eggs laid in groups and Swallowtail young caterpillars feed (Battus in clusters often polydamas) defoliating the vines
Monk Saw Palmetto • Common in S. Florida Skipper • Often perches low down (Asbolis and stays still so easy capucinus) to spot
Long Tail Beggar-Ticks • Hangs upside down under leaves Skipper • Caterpillars take shelter (Urbanus inside leaves- use silk proteus) to bring the leaf around them
Species Egg Caterpillar Chrysalis Butterfly Host Plant Key Facts Julia Corky Stem Passion Flower • Mostly in South Florida Passion Vine and Texas Heliconian • When resting resemble (Dryas iulia) dead leaves • Caterpillars have long bristles
Zebra Corky Stem Passion Flower • Florida’s State butterfly Passion Vine • Only butterfly known to longwing eat pollen, which is why (Heliconius they have a long lifespan charithonia) (6 months vs 1 month for most species)
Gulf Corky Stem Passion Flower Passion Vine • Occurs in in all Florida Fritillary – counties (Agraulis • Prefers open, sunny vanillae) habitats
*All butterfly and nearly all caterpillar photos were taken by Duncan Jurman in the NSU University School Vivarium and Garden with the exception being the long tail skipper. Some of the egg, caterpillar and chrysalis photos are courtesy of butterfliesandmoths.org and the host plant photos are sourced from regionalconservation.org and butterfliesandmoths.org