Common Name: Malachite
Scientific Name: Siproeta stelenes
Host Plant: Plants in the Acanthaceae family, especially Carolina Wild Petunia (Ruellia).
Non-Native to Alabama but native to Florida
Life Span: 2 – 4 weeks
Fun Fact: While adult Malachite butterflies primarily feed on flower nectar, they have been known to consume rotting fruit, bat dung and dead animals.

Common Name: White Peacock
Scientific Name: Anartia jatrophae
Host Plant: Water hyssop (Bacopa monnieri), Lemon Bacopa (Bacopa caroliniensis), Tropical Water Hyssop (Bacopa innominata), Frogfruit (Phyla nodiflora), Lanceleaf Frogfruit (Phyla lanceolata), and Carolina Wild Petunia (Ruellia caroliniana).
Native to Alabama
Life Span: 4 months
Fun Fact: Male White Peacock butterflies will pick out a territory of about 50 square feet full of host plants and will fight other males to defend it. Produces a hissing sound by rubbing its wings together to deter predators, or they just play dead.

Common Name: Buckeye
Scientific Name: Junonia coenia
Host Plant: Narrowleaf Plantain (Plantago lanceolata), Common Greater Plantain (Plantago major), Blue Toadflax (Linaria canadensis), Purple False Foxglove (Agalinia purpurea), Mexican Metunia (Ruellia species), Firecracker Plant (Russelia equisetiformis), American Bluehearts (Buchnera americana), Twinflower (Linnaea borealis) and Cudweed (Gamochaeta purpurea).
Native to Alabama
Life Span: 6-20 days
Fun Fact: Buckeye butterflies “taste” their food using their feet, known as “drumming”.To protect themselves, they have “false eyes” on their wings mimicking larger animals. 

Common Name: Julia
Scientific Name: Dryas iulia
Host Plant: Passionflower Vine (Passiflora suberosa, P. multiflora) 
Non-Native to Alabama but native to Florida 
Life Span: 3-6 weeks
Fun Fact: Male Julia butterflies are known to consume the tears of turtles for scarce minerals like salts and proteins.

Common Name: Orange Barred Sulphur
Scientific Name: Phoebus philea
Host Plant: These feed primarily on plants in the Fabaceae family, like Bahama Cassia (S. mexicana var. bahamensis), Christmas Senna (S. lindheimeriana).
Non-Native to Alabama but native to Florida
Life Span: 2 – 4 weeks
Fun Fact: These butterflies are also known as “puddlers” and can be seen in groups around puddles or damp areas. They are also aggressively territorial and will chase orange objects.

Common Name: Cabbage White
Scientific Name: Pieris rapae
Host Plant: Most of the Cruciferous vegetable or Cabbage family (Brassicaceae)
Non-native to Alabama but are common and widespread throughout the US
Life Span: 5 – 7 days
Fun Fact: These butterflies have significance in both agriculture and ecology, playing a dual role as both a pollinator and a pest due to the caterpillars feeding on anything in the Cabbage family (Brassicaceae) decimating farmers’ crops.

Common Name: Painted Lady
Scientific Name: Vanessa cardui
Host Plant: Most of the Aster family (Asteraceae).
Native to Alabama
Life Span: 2 – 4 weeks
Fun Fact: These butterflies are known for their migration patterns, migrating from North America to Europe. They can migrate up to 100 miles per day and reach a speed of nearly 30 miles per hour. They are found everywhere except Antarctica and Australia.

Common Name: Giant Swallowtail
Scientific Name: Papilio cresphontes
Host Plant: Wild Thyme (Zanthoxylum fagara), Hervules Club (Zanthoxylum clava-herculis), Hop Tree (Ptelea trifoliata) and Citrus varieties (Citrus ssp.)
Native to Alabama
Life Span: 2 – 3 weeks
Fun Fact: This is North America’s largest butterfly! Male Giant Swallowtail butterflies perform elaborate flight patterns to attract females.

Common Name: Polydamas Swallowtail
Scientific Name: Battus polydamas lucayus
Host Plant: Dutchman’s Pipe (Aristolochia macrophylla)
Non-Native to Alabama but native to Florida and Texas
Life Span: 4 – 5 weeks
Fun Fact: The Polydamas Swallowtail lacks the tails on its hindwings, making it one of the few tailless swallowtails in the US.

Common Name: Question Mark
Scientific Name: Polygonia interrogationis
Host Plant: American elm (Ulmus americana), winged elm (Ulmus alata) hackberry (Celtis occidentalis), sugarberry (Celtis laevigata), false nettle (Boehmeria cylindrica), and stinging nettle (Urtica dioica).
Native to Alabama
Life Span: 6 – 20 days
Fun Fact: Its name comes from a silver mark resembling a question mark on its hindwing.

Common Name: Comma
Scientific Name: Polygonia comma
Host Plant: Nettles (Urticaceae ssp.), the American elm (Ulmus americana) and hemps (Cannabaceae ssp.).
Native to Alabama
Life Span: 6 – 10 months
Fun Fact: Unlike other butterflies, the Comma butterfly can hibernate, survive the winter, and reemerge in spring to continue its lifecycle.

Common Name: Zebra Longwing
Scientific Name: Heliconius charithonia
Host Plant: Passionflower vine (Passiflora lutea, Passiflora suberosa)
Native to Alabama
Life Span: 4 – 6 months
Fun Fact: While butterflies typically feed on nectar from flowers, Zebra Longwings also consume pollen, prolonging their lifespan.

Common Name: Tiger Swallowtail
Scientific Name: Papilio glaucus
Host Plant: Black Cherry (Prunus serotina), Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), and Sweetbay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana)
Native to Alabama
Life Span: 2 weeks
Fun Fact: Male tiger swallowtail butterflies are known to partake in “mud-puddling”, a behavior where they gather on moist ground to extract minerals and salts.

Common Name: Black Swallowtail
Scientific Name: Papilio polyxenes
Host Plant: Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), Parsley (Petroselinum crispum), Rue (Ruta graveolens) and Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus carota)
Native to Alabama
Life Span: 1 – 2 weeks
Fun Fact: The plants that the larva of Black Swallowtail butterflies feed on contain toxic chemicals called furanocoumarins which make the larvae distasteful or harmful to predators.

Common Name: Red Admiral
Scientific Name: Vanessa atalanta
Host Plant: All members of the nettles family (Urticaceae)
Native to Alabama
Life Span: 6 – 9 months
Fun Fact: These butterflies have a wide global presence and can be found on every continent except Antarctica.

Common Name: Orange Sulphur
Scientific Name: Colias eurytheme
Host Plant: Alfalfa (Medicago sativa), Clovers (white, red and crimson), Vetch (Vicia spp.) and Black Medic (Medicago lupulina).
Native in Alabama
Life Span: 2 – 4 weeks
Fun Fact: These have been known to play a role in controlling alfalfa weevil populations but also contribute to the damage of clover and alfalfa crops.

Common Name: Queen
Scientific Name: Danaus gilippus
Host Plant: Milkweeds (Asclepias ssp.)
Native to Alabama
Life Span: 1 – 3 months
Fun Fact: Their diet primarily consists of milkweed, making them distasteful to predators and providing them with a natural defense mechanism.

Common Name: Cloudless Sulphur
Scientific Name: Phoebis sennae
Host Plant: Partridge Pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata), Sensitive Plant (Chamaecrista nictitans), and Coffeeweed/Sicklepod (Senna obtusifolia).
Native to Alabama
Life Span: 2 – 4 weeks
Fun Fact: They have a mass migration in the fall from Canada all the way to Florida. They also have a very long proboscis or “tongue.”

Common Name: Mourning Cloak
Scientific Name: Nymphalis antiopa
Host Plant: Willows (Salix ssp.), American elm (Ulmus americana), Cottonwood (Populus deltoides) and Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis).
Native to Alabama
Life Span: 10 – 12 months
Fun Fact: Unlike most butterflies, Mourning Cloaks do not typically feed on flowers; their primary food source is tree sap and rotting fruit.

Common Name: Monarch
Scientific Name: Danaus plexippus
Host Plant: Milkweeds (Asclepias spp.) and plants in the Dogbane (Apocynaceae) family.
Native to Alabama
Life Span: Breeding season 2 – 5 weeks. Migratory or “super generation,” which occurs in the late summer, lives up to 9 months and migrates over 3,000 miles to Mexico.
Fun Fact: Monarch butterflies migrate up to 3,000 miles each year from the Northern US all the way down to Mexico.

Common Name: Variegated Fritillary
Scientific Name: Euptoieta claudia
Host Plant: Passionflower (Passiflora ssp.), Mayapples (Podophyllum peltatum), Violets (Viola ssp.), Purslane (Portculata olercea), Stonecrop (Sedum ssp.) and Moonseed (Menipsermim canadense).
Native to Alabama
Life Span: 2 – 4 weeks
Fun Fact: Their scientific genus name, “Euptoieta,” means “easily scared.” Fitting for such a quick-moving butterfly.

Common Name: Gulf Fritillary
Scientific Name: Agraulis vanillae
Host Plant: Various species of passionflower (Passiflora spp.).
Native to Alabama
Life Span: 2 – 6 weeks
Fun Fact: When threatened, Gulf Fritillary butterflies can release repulsive odors that deter predators.

Common Name: Zebra Swallowtail
Scientific Name: Eurytides marcellus
Host Plant: Common pawpaw (Asimina triloba) and Small Fruit Pawpaw (Asimina parviflora)
Native to Alabama
Life Span: 6 – 14 days
Fun Fact: With each generation, the tails on the end of each wing can grow in length and can get as long as two inches.

Common Name: Great Southern White
Scientific Name: Ascia monuste
Host Plant: Members of the Mustard Family (Brassicaceae), Saltworts (Batis ssp.) and Pepperworts (Lepidium ssp.)
Native to Alabama
Life Span: 5 – 10 days
Fun Fact: These are often found around beaches and in salt marshes, making them common sights to see in coastal habitats. They do a big coastal migration because they can’t handle cold temperatures.

Common Name: Pipevine Swallowtail
Scientific Name: Battus philenor
Host Plant: Woolly Dutchman’s Pipevine (Isotrema tomentosum) and Virginia Dutchman’s Pipe (Endodeca serpemtaria).
Native to Alabama
Life Span: 6 – 30 days
Fun Fact: Other species of swallowtail butterflies tend to mimic the Pipevine Butterfly, specifically the Spicebush Swallowtail.

Common Name: Sleepy Orange
Scientific Name: Abaeis nicippe
Host Plant: Primarily the Fabaceae family, Partridge Pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata), Wild Sensitive Pea (C. nictitans), Coffeeweed (Senna obtusifolia) and Maryland Wild Senna (S. marilandica)
Native to Alabama
Life Span: 2 – 3 weeks
Fun Fact: These butterflies can exhibit a color change based on the season. Their bright orange/yellow color can change to be tan to brick red in the fall.

Common Name: Red Spotted Purple
Scientific Name: Limenitis arthemis astyanax
Host Plant: Black cherry (Prunus serotina), Southern Gooseberry (Vaccinium stamineum), and Willows (Salix ssp.).
Native to Alabama
Life Span: 2 – 3 weeks
Fun Fact: The caterpillars can survive winter by creating a “hibernaculum”, a rolled-up leaf secured with silk. To avoid detection while feeding, the caterpillars create a chain of its own dung to disguise itself.

Common Name: Spicebush Swallowtail
Scientific Name: Papilio troilus
Host Plant: Sassafras (Sassafras albidium) and Smooth Northern Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)
Native to Alabama
Life Span: 1 – 2 weeks
Fun Fact: Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillars are masters of disguise. They can “transform” from brown to a bright green with large, fake eyes resembling snakes to scare of predators.

Common Name: Viceroy
Scientific Name: Limenitis archippus
Host Plant: These butterflies like to feed on trees in the Willow family (Salicaceae), Cottonwoods and Poplars (Populus ssp.) as well as some fruit trees.
Native to Alabama
Life Span: 2 – 3 weeks
Fun Fact: This species is known for its mimicry of the Monarch butterfly.