Types of Butterflies in Iowa
Iowa has 118 recorded butterfly species, about 50 of them common enough to meet in an ordinary summer, on a landscape that was once almost entirely tallgrass prairie and is now mostly corn and soybeans. The state has no official state butterfly, but the Monarch is its emblem in practice: Iowa sits in the heart of the species' summer breeding range, and milkweed planting across the state is a major conservation effort. The prairie remnants of the Loess Hills and the north-east hold the Regal Fritillary, Gorgone Checkerspot and Olympia Marble, while the largest butterfly in the state is the Giant Swallowtail, with a wingspan of up to 15 cm.
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Butterflies of Iowa at a glance
Iowa's butterfly list stands at 118 species, a respectable total for a state with no mountains and no coast. About 50 of them are common; the rest are prairie specialists surviving on scattered remnants, woodland species of the wooded river valleys and the north-east, or southern immigrants that arrive in late summer and vanish with the first frost. Less than a tenth of one per cent of the original tallgrass prairie survives, so the butterflies that depend on it are now the rarest in the state.
The brush-footed butterflies are the largest family here, with the fritillaries, crescents and checkerspots of open ground, the anglewings and tortoiseshells of the woods, and the Monarch. The gossamer-winged family comes next, unusually rich in coppers, with the Gray, Bronze and Purplish Coppers of wet prairie all present. Duskywings and cloudywings dominate the skippers, the whites and sulphurs add a dozen species, six swallowtails patrol the river bottoms, and a single metalmark, the Swamp Metalmark, clings to a few fens in the north-east.
Signature Iowa butterflies
The Monarch is the butterfly of Iowa. The first adults arrive from the south in May, two or three generations breed on common milkweed through the summer, and the September generation leaves for the mountains of central Mexico. The Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium, formed in 2015 by farm groups, agencies and Iowa State University, aims to add hundreds of thousands of acres of milkweed and nectar habitat, because the Corn Belt is where the eastern population produces most of its butterflies.
The Regal Fritillary is the prairie's own butterfly, a large fritillary with a black hindwing spotted white in the female, flying in July over big bluestem and violets on the Loess Hills and the northern prairie preserves. Its smaller cousin the Great Spangled Fritillary is common everywhere, and the Viceroy mimics the Monarch along every willow-lined creek.
The Giant Swallowtail is the largest butterfly in Iowa, breeding on prickly-ash in the southern woodlands, while the Zebra Swallowtail is confined to the pawpaw thickets of the south-east corner. The Gorgone Checkerspot and Olympia Marble are prairie species that most eastern states lack, and the Common Buckeye is the eyespotted brown butterfly on bare ground and roadsides from July onward.
The Iowa butterfly calendar
Iowa winters are hard, and the season starts late. The Mourning Cloak, Eastern Comma and Question Mark, which hibernate as adults, fly on the first warm days of late March, and the freshly emerged Spring Azure and Olympia Marble follow in April on sandy prairie and woodland edges. May brings the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, the first Monarchs and the spring duskywings, and by early June the Silver-bordered and Meadow Fritillaries are over the wet meadows.
The peak runs from late June through August, when the prairie is in full flower. Regal and Great Spangled Fritillaries, coppers, hairstreaks on milkweed blossom, the Baltimore Checkerspot in fens and the second brood of swallowtails all overlap in July. August adds the immigrants: Painted Ladies, Common Buckeyes, Dainty Sulphurs, Reakirt's Blues and the occasional Cloudless Sulphur or Gulf Fritillary from the south. September is the Monarch flight, when thousands roost overnight in shelterbelts and cottonwoods on their way south; our butterfly migration guide follows them to Mexico. Clouded and Orange Sulphurs are the last to fly, over alfalfa fields into a mild November.
Where to see butterflies in Iowa
Any prairie remnant or restored prairie in July will show the state's best butterflies; the roadside ditches of the western counties are often surprisingly good too.
- Loess Hills, western Iowa — the Regal Fritillary, Gorgone Checkerspot, Ottoe Skipper and Olympia Marble on the dry ridge prairies from Sioux City to Council Bluffs.
- Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, Prairie City — thousands of acres of reconstructed tallgrass prairie with Regal Fritillaries, Monarchs and a full run of summer skippers.
- Hayden Prairie and Kalsow Prairie State Preserves — the largest original prairie remnants in the north, with coppers, fritillaries and the Arogos Skipper.
- Effigy Mounds and the Mississippi bluffs — woodland species, Hackberry and Tawny Emperors, Red-spotted Purples and the northern hairstreaks.
- Reiman Gardens, Ames — Iowa State University's indoor butterfly wing, open all year, with native plantings outside.
Iowa shares its prairie fauna with Minnesota to the north and its woodland species with Illinois across the Mississippi.
Host plants and butterfly gardening in Iowa
The most useful thing an Iowa gardener can do is plant native milkweed. Common, swamp and butterfly milkweed all feed Monarch caterpillars and provide nectar for everything else, and they survive the winter and the summer heat without care. Beyond milkweed, the best host plants for the state are the prairie natives: violets for fritillaries, asters and sunflowers for the Pearl Crescent, Silvery and Gorgone Checkerspots, wild indigo and lupine for the duskywings, clovers and alfalfa for the sulphurs and the Eastern Tailed-Blue, and big bluestem and little bluestem for the grass skippers.
Trees matter as well. Black cherry and cottonwood raise Eastern Tiger Swallowtails and Viceroys, hackberry feeds both emperors and the American Snout, willows support Mourning Cloaks and Viceroys, and prickly-ash is the Giant Swallowtail's food in the south. For nectar, stagger the bloom: wild bergamot and butterfly milkweed in July, blazing star, ironweed and Joe-Pye weed in August, and goldenrod and New England aster for the September Monarch flight.
Rare and threatened butterflies in Iowa
The prairie skippers have suffered most. The Poweshiek Skipperling was named in 1873 after Poweshiek County, Iowa, but it has not been seen in the state for years and is now federally endangered, surviving on a handful of sites in Michigan, Wisconsin and Manitoba. The Dakota Skipper, federally threatened, is also gone from Iowa, and the Ottoe and Arogos Skippers hang on at a few remnants. The Regal Fritillary has vanished from most of its former range east of Iowa and is a species of greatest conservation need here, dependent on unploughed prairie with violets and on management that burns only part of a site in any year.
The Swamp Metalmark, a tiny rusty butterfly of calcareous fens, is known from only a few sites in north-east Iowa and is one of the rarest butterflies in the Midwest. The wider concern is the Monarch: the eastern population overwintering in Mexico has fallen by more than 80 per cent since the 1990s, and the loss of milkweed from Corn Belt fields is a leading cause, which is why Iowa's roadside and farm habitat programmes matter well beyond the state.
Butterflies found in Iowa
95 species listed for Iowa, grouped by family. Linked names have a full profile on this site with pictures of every life stage.
Brush-Footed (Nymphalidae)
Limenitis arthemisRed Spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis)The red-spotted purple is a large, tailless North American brush-footed butterfly whose upperside shines iridescent blue-black, a pattern copied from 
Limenitis archippusViceroy (Limenitis archippus)The viceroy (Limenitis archippus) is an orange-and-black North American butterfly that looks like a small monarch but carries one extra black line cur
Asterocampa celtisHackberry Emperor (Asterocampa celtis)The hackberry emperor is a medium-sized tan and brown butterfly of eastern and central North America that never strays far from a hackberry tree, and 
Speyeria aphroditeAphrodite Fritillary (Speyeria aphrodite)The Aphrodite fritillary (Speyeria aphrodite) is a large orange-and-black butterfly of prairies, dry fields and open woodland across southern Canada aSpeyeria idaliaRegal Fritillary (Speyeria idalia)Big, fast and unmistakable, the regal fritillary is the butterfly of the North American tallgrass prairie: orange forewings, near-black hindwings stud
Speyeria cybeleGreat Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele)A big orange butterfly of summer meadows, the great spangled fritillary is named for the sheet of silver spangles on the underside of its hindwings.
Boloria bellonaMeadow Fritillary (Boloria bellona)The meadow fritillary is a small orange-and-black butterfly of damp meadows and pastures across southern Canada and the northern United States, and th
Euptoieta claudiaVariegated Fritillary (Euptoieta claudia)Half fritillary and half longwing, the variegated fritillary is the orange butterfly of American roadsides, pastures and vacant lots.
Agraulis vanillaeGulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae)The Gulf fritillary is a long-winged orange butterfly of the southern United States, Mexico, the Caribbean and tropical America, and its defining markDanaus plexippusMonarch (Danaus plexippus)The monarch is a large orange butterfly with black-outlined wing veins and a black, white-spotted border, found across North America and now on severa
Danaus gilippusQueen (Danaus gilippus)A warm chestnut-brown milkweed butterfly of the southern states and the tropics, the queen is the monarch's smaller, darker cousin.
Vanessa carduiPainted Lady (Vanessa cardui)No other butterfly lives on so much of the planet.
Vanessa atalantaRed Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)The red admiral (Vanessa atalanta) is a medium-sized blackish butterfly marked with one bright orange-red band across each forewing and a scatter of w
Nymphalis californicaCalifornia Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis californica)The California tortoiseshell (Nymphalis californica) is a fast, hook-winged orange butterfly of the brushfields and mountain forests of western North 
Nymphalis antiopaMourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa)The mourning cloak (Nymphalis antiopa) is a large dark butterfly of woodland, riverbank and suburb across North America and temperate Eurasia, and not
Polygonia commaEastern Comma (Polygonia comma)The eastern comma is an orange-and-black woodland butterfly of eastern North America with deeply ragged wing edges and a silvery comma-shaped mark on 
Polygonia interrogationisQuestion Mark (Polygonia interrogationis)The question mark is the largest of the North American anglewings, an orange-and-black woodland butterfly of the eastern United States, southeastern C
Phyciodes tharosPearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos)Small, orange and endlessly busy, the pearl crescent is one of the butterflies most people in North America see without ever naming.
Chlosyne nycteisSilvery Checkerspot (Chlosyne nycteis)A medium-sized orange-and-black brush-foot of damp meadows and stream banks across eastern North America, the silvery checkerspot is named for the pal
Junonia coeniaCommon Buckeye (Junonia coenia)Six large eyespots on a brown ground make the common buckeye one of the easiest North American butterflies to name and one of the hardest to approach.
Aglais milbertiMilbert’s Tortoiseshell (Aglais milberti)Milbert’s tortoiseshell (Aglais milberti) is a medium-sized brush-footed butterfly of northern North America, from Alaska and Canada south through the
Euphydryas phaetonBaltimore Checkerspot (Euphydryas phaeton)Black wings tiled with cream squares and rimmed in brick orange, the Baltimore checkerspot is the state insect of Maryland and one of the most tightlyShow all 14 other brush-footed species names
- White Admiral (Limenitis arthemis arthemis)
- Astyanax' Red-spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis astyanax)
- Common Mestra (Mestra amymone)
- Tawny Emperor (Asterocampa clyton)
- Goatweed Leafwing (Anaea andria)
- Atlantis Fritillary (Speyeria atlantis)
- Silver-bordered Fritillary (Boloria selene)
- American Snout (Libytheana carinenta)
- American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis)
- Compton Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis vaualbum)
- Gray Comma (Polygonia progne)
- Green Comma (Polygonia faunus)
- Tawny Crescent (Phyciodes batesii)
- Gorgone Checkerspot (Chlosyne gorgone)
Gossamer-Winged (Lycaenidae)
Lycaena phlaeasCommon Copper (Lycaena phlaeas)The common copper (Lycaena phlaeas), known as the small copper in Europe and the American copper in North America, is a small, fast-flying butterfly o
Atlides halesusGreat Purple Hairstreak (Atlides halesus)The great purple hairstreak (Atlides halesus) is the largest hairstreak in the United States, a tailed gossamer-wing of the southern states and Mexico
Callophrys gryneusJuniper Hairstreak (Callophrys gryneus)The juniper hairstreak (Callophrys gryneus) is a small North American butterfly, barely over an inch across, whose underside is a clear leaf green cro
Calycopis cecropsRed-banded Hairstreak (Calycopis cecrops)The red-banded hairstreak is a small grey-brown butterfly of the southeastern United States, named for the broad white-and-red line that runs across t
Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus)Small, slate-grey and almost impossible to avoid, the gray hairstreak is the most widespread hairstreak in North America and probably the least fussy Cupido comyntasEastern Tailed Blue (Cupido comyntas)Barely an inch across and never far from a clover lawn, the eastern tailed blue is one of the most abundant butterflies in the eastern United States a
Celastrina neglectaSummer Azure (Celastrina neglecta)A pale, frosted blue butterfly barely an inch across, the summer azure is the one that flies when the spring azures have finished.
Glaucopsyche lygdamusSilvery Blue (Glaucopsyche lygdamus)One of the first blues on the wing each spring, the silvery blue flashes metallic silver-blue in flight and then settles to show a plain grey undersidShow all 16 other gossamer-winged species names
- Harvester (Feniseca tarquinius)
- Gray Copper (Lycaena dione)
- Bronze Copper (Lycaena hyllus)
- Purplish Copper (Lycaena helloides)
- Henry's Elfin (Callophrys henrici)
- Coral Hairstreak (Satyrium titus)
- Acadian Hairstreak (Satyrium acadica)
- Hickory Hairstreak (Satyrium caryaevorus)
- Edwards' Hairstreak (Satyrium edwardsii)
- Banded Hairstreak (Satyrium calanus)
- Striped Hairstreak (Satyrium liparops)
- White-M Hairstreak (Parrhasius m-album)
- Marine Blue (Leptotes marina)
- Reakirt's Blue (Echinargus isola)
- Melissa Blue (Lycaeides melissa)
- Greenish Blue (Icaricia saepiolus)
Whites and Sulphurs (Pieridae)
Pieris rapaeCabbage White (Pieris rapae)The cabbage white is probably the most-seen butterfly on the planet: a small, chalk-white insect with one or two black spots that drifts over allotmen
Pontia protodiceCheckered White (Pontia protodice)The checkered white is a medium-sized white butterfly of dry, open, disturbed ground across the United States and northern Mexico, recognised by the g
Colias philodiceClouded Sulphur (Colias philodice)The clouded sulphur is the plain yellow butterfly of North American roadsides, clover lawns and alfalfa fields, common from Alaska to the Gulf.
Colias eurythemeOrange Sulphur (Colias eurytheme)The orange sulphur is a medium-sized orange-and-black butterfly of open fields, roadsides and alfalfa farms across almost the whole of North America, 
Phoebis sennaeCloudless Sulphur (Phoebis sennae)The cloudless sulphur is a large, fast-flying lemon-yellow butterfly of the Americas, resident from Argentina north through the tropics to the southerColias eurythemeOrange Sulphur (Colias eurytheme)The orange sulphur is a medium-sized orange-and-black butterfly of open fields, roadsides and alfalfa farms across almost the whole of North America, 
Eurema lisaLittle Yellow (Eurema lisa)A thumbnail-sized sulphur that flutters low over roadsides and fallow fields, the little yellow is one of the most numerous butterflies in eastern Nor
Eurema nicippeSleepy Orange (Eurema nicippe)The sleepy orange is a small, deep-orange sulphur of the southern United States, Mexico and Central America, easily known by the ragged black border t- Olympia marble (Euchloe olympia)
- Southern dogface (Zerene cesonia)
- Mexican Yellow (Eurema mexicana)
- Dainty sulphur (Nathalis iole)
Metalmark (Riodinidae)
Swallowtail (Papilionidae)
Papilio polyxenesBlack Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes)The black swallowtail is a black, yellow-spotted butterfly of open country across most of North America, and its caterpillar is the familiar green-and
Papilio glaucusEastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)The eastern tiger swallowtail is a large yellow butterfly with four black tiger stripes on each forewing and a tail on each hindwing, and it is the coPapilio cresphontesGiant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes)The largest butterfly in the United States and Canada, the giant swallowtail sails over citrus groves and woodland edges on dark wings crossed by a ba
Papilio troilusSpicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus)The spicebush swallowtail is a black swallowtail of eastern North American woodland edges and swamps, marked by a row of ivory spots along the forewin
Battus philenorPipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor)The pipevine swallowtail is a large black North American swallowtail with an iridescent blue to blue-green hindwing and a single curved row of seven o
Protographium marcellusZebra Swallowtail (Protographium marcellus)The zebra swallowtail is a white-and-black striped butterfly of the eastern United States with the longest tails of any North American swallowtail, anSkipper (Hesperiidae)
Show all 15 other skipper species names
- Columbine Duskywing (Erynnis lucilius)
- Wild Indigo Duskywing (Erynnis baptisiae)
- Dreamy Duskywing (Erynnis icelus)
- Sleepy Duskywing (Erynnis brizo)
- Horace's Duskywing (Erynnis horatius)
- Juvenal's Duskywing (Erynnis juvenalis)
- Persius Duskywing (Erynnis persius)
- Mottled Duskywing (Erynnis martialis)
- Northern Cloudywing (Thorybes pylades)
- Southern Cloudywing (Thorybes bathyllus)
- Common Checkered-Skipper (Pyrgus communis)
- Hayhurst's Scallopwing (Staphylus hayhurstii)
- Hoary Edge (Achalarus lyciades)
- Common Sootywing (Pholisora catullus)
- Common Streaky-Skipper (Celotes nessus)
How to identify butterflies in Iowa
Large orange butterflies are the first puzzle. A Monarch has black veins and a white-spotted border; a Viceroy is smaller with a black line across the hindwing; fritillaries have silver spots on the underside, and the Regal Fritillary alone has a dark, white-spotted hindwing above. Big yellow-and-black butterflies are Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, and the rarer Giant Swallowtail shows a diagonal yellow band across dark forewings. Small orange butterflies over asters are Pearl Crescents, unless they have a white spot on the hindwing, which makes them the Silvery Checkerspot.
The coppers need a close look at the underside: the Bronze Copper is large with an orange hindwing band, the Gray Copper pale grey below, and the American and Purplish Coppers small. Sulphurs, duskywings and the grass skippers are the hardest groups anywhere in the Midwest, and the state-by-state guides show which species Iowa shares with its neighbours. Late-summer strays such as the Gulf Fritillary, Queen, Marine Blue and California Tortoiseshell are worth photographing, because most are recorded in the state only a few times a decade.
Frequently asked questions about Iowa butterflies
How many different species of butterflies live in Iowa?
Iowa has 118 recorded butterfly species, of which about 50 are common in a normal summer. The rest are prairie specialists surviving on remnants, woodland species of the eastern river valleys, and southern immigrants such as the Cloudless Sulphur, Dainty Sulphur and Gulf Fritillary that appear in late summer but cannot survive an Iowa winter.
What is the largest butterfly found in Iowa?
The Giant Swallowtail is the largest butterfly in Iowa, with a wingspan of up to about 15 cm (6 inches). It breeds on prickly-ash in the southern woodlands and wanders north in late summer. The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail is nearly as large and far more common, and the Monarch is the biggest of the state's brush-footed butterflies.
When is the best time of year to see butterflies in Iowa?
Late June to August is the best time to see butterflies in Iowa, when the prairie is in full bloom and fritillaries, coppers, hairstreaks, skippers and swallowtails all fly together. September brings the Monarch migration, with overnight roosts in shelterbelts. The first Mourning Cloaks and commas appear in late March after wintering as adults.
Does Iowa have an official state butterfly?
No. Iowa has not designated a state butterfly or a state insect, although bills to name the Monarch have been introduced in the legislature. In practice the Monarch is Iowa's emblem: the state lies in the core of its summer breeding range and runs one of the largest milkweed habitat programmes in the country.
Are Monarch butterflies found in Iowa?
Yes. Monarchs arrive in Iowa in May, breed on common milkweed for two or three generations through the summer, and leave in September for the mountains of central Mexico. Iowa is part of the Corn Belt where most of the eastern Monarch population is produced, which is why the Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium targets milkweed planting on farms and roadsides.
Is the Viceroy butterfly found in Iowa?
Yes. The Viceroy is common across Iowa wherever willows and cottonwoods grow, from June to September. It looks like a smaller Monarch but has a black line curving across the hindwing that the Monarch lacks. Its caterpillars, which resemble bird droppings, feed on willow and poplar and overwinter as tiny larvae in rolled leaves.
Which butterflies are most common in Iowa?
The Cabbage White, Clouded Sulphur and Orange Sulphur are the most common butterflies in Iowa farmland, followed by the Monarch, Pearl Crescent, Eastern Tailed-Blue, Red Admiral, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Black Swallowtail, Silver-spotted Skipper and, on roadsides in late summer, the Common Buckeye and Painted Lady.
What is the Regal Fritillary and where is it found in Iowa?
The Regal Fritillary is a large prairie butterfly with orange forewings and a black hindwing marked with white spots, on the wing from late June to August. In Iowa it survives on unploughed tallgrass prairie with violets, chiefly in the Loess Hills and on preserves such as Hayden Prairie and Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge. It is a species of greatest conservation need.
Which Iowa butterflies are endangered?
The Poweshiek Skipperling, named after Poweshiek County, Iowa, is federally endangered and no longer found in the state; the federally threatened Dakota Skipper has also disappeared from Iowa. The Regal Fritillary, Ottoe Skipper, Arogos Skipper and Swamp Metalmark survive on a small number of prairie remnants and fens and are listed as species of greatest conservation need.
What plants attract butterflies in Iowa?
Native milkweeds are the single best choice, feeding Monarch caterpillars and nectaring everything else. Add violets for fritillaries, asters for crescents and checkerspots, clover and wild indigo for sulphurs and duskywings, and prairie grasses for skippers. For nectar plant wild bergamot, blazing star, ironweed, goldenrod and New England aster so that something blooms from June to October.
Published January 6, 2020 · Last updated September 21, 2026