Butterfly Happenings

Butterfly News, Stories, Photos and Links

All over the world butterflies soar into the hearts of man, they sail boundless and free, speaking the universal language of beauty - K. D'Angelo

Photo of the Month

Capture the beauty of butterflies with your child in a photograph. us your digital butterfly inspired image and be sure to include your child's first name, age and a short description of your picture.

Kailey and Mickenzie Release Painted Lady Butterflies

9 year old Kailey and little sister Mickenzie hold newly emerged painted lady butterflies.

Painted Lady Butterfly (Vanessa cardui)

Painted Lady Butterflies the most widely distributed butterfly in the world, they can be found on all continents except Australia and Antarctica. The painted lady butterfly sips on nectar from many flowers including thistles, aster, cosmos, blazing star, ironweed, joe-pye weed, red clover, privet, and milkweed. The larvae feed on more than 100 types of host plants, some favorites include thistles (Asteraceae), hollyhock and mallow (Malvaceae), and various legumes (Fabaceae). The caterpillars are often sold in mail-order butterfly rearing kits and are often raised and studied in classrooms by elementary students. To learn more about gardening for the benefit of butterflies, visit our "Butterfly Gardening" page.

DNA Bar coding of Butterflies

A common butterfly, found in a variety of habitats from the southern United States to northern Argentina, is actually comprised of at least 10 separate species. Astraptes fulgerator, a medium-large skipper butterfly, is a routine visitor to urban gardens and tropical rainforests. While the "species" has been known to science since 1775, only now has examination of a small and standardized signature piece of the genome - a technique called DNA barcoding - shown that this "species" is really an amalgam of a number of genetically distinct lineages, each with different caterpillars and preferences in food plant and ecosystem. Read more about the Astraptes fulgerator butterfly and DNA barcoding here.

Butterfly Dreamin' by Kristen D'Angelo

Ever dreamed of the land where palm trees sway? Well, if you're a butterfly enthusiast, there is much more than surf and sand to keep your imagination busy where Southern California is concerned and as for the butterfly gardener, Southern California is a dream come true...click here to read the whole story from the spring 2008 issue of NABA Butterfly Gardener.

Author Kristen D'Angelo is a freelance writer who holds a Bachelor's Degree in Social Ecology from the University of California, Irvine. She was formerly a social worker in California. Now, in addition to her writing, Kristen is a partner in Obsession With Butterflies and an active member of the Orange County Chapter of the North American Butterfly Association (NABA). She resides in southern California.

Butterflies and Moths of North America

A searchable database of verified butterfly and moth records in the United States and Mexico.

The North American Butterfly Association

Butterfly organization working to increase public enjoyment and conservation of butterflies.

Butterfly Conservation Initiative

Dedicated to the conservation of threatened, endangered, and vulnerable North American butterflies and the habitats that sustain them.

Monarch Watch

Educational outreach program in large scale research projects and gets children of all ages involved in science.

The Xerces Society

The Xerces Society is named for the Xerces Blue Butterfly (Glaucopsyche xerces), the first butterfly in the United States known to have become extinct as a result of human activity. This small creature was once common on the San Francisco Peninsula's sandy dunes, where it's host plants, lupine and deerweed grew. The expanding metropolis eventually overwhelmed this delicate coastal habitat: the butterfly was last seen in 1941. The Xerces Society is dedicated to protecting butterflies and all invertebrates from a similar fate.

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