Butterflies of Texas

Texas has more butterfly species and subspecies than any other state, over 400, partly due to its varied ecological regions.

From the Guadalupe Mountains in the west, to the pine forests in the east to the subtropical climate in the south, Texas offers unique habitats to many species.

From the highest point in Texas at 8,751 feet, to sea level along the Gulf Coast, the environment supports a profusion of butterflies. The wet swamps of southeast Texas and the hot, arrid spaces of West Texas create a unique ecological diversity in which butterflies can thrive.

Three counties in the Lower Rio Grande Valley host about 300 butterfly species: Cameron, Hidalgo and Starr Counties.

And thanks to a long, mild growing season and the large assortment of native and adaptable plants that thrive in Texas, gardeners can easily provide food and shelter for a number of incredible butterflies.

We live in Texas, so we have a special interest in the butterflies around us!

List of Common Texas Butterflies ... and a Few Moths

We're working to spot many of these 400 species, but right now we have posted information and photos on these butterflies that we spot in our home gardens and on our road trips around Texas. Some are frequent visitors, while others are occasional visitors to parts of the state:

Acmon Blue American Lady American Snout Anise Swallowtail Arizona Sister Blue Metalmark Bordered Patch Cabbage White California Sister Checkered White Clouded Sulphur Cloudless Sulphur Common Buckeye Common Mestra Common Wood-nymph Crimson Patch Eastern Black Swallowtail Eastern Comma Eastern Tailed-blue Falcate Orangetip Funereal Duskywing Giant Swallowtail Goatweed Leafwing Gray Hairstreak Great Purple Hairstreak Great Spangled Fritillary Guava Skipper Gulf Fritillary Hackberry Emperor Horace's Duskywing Julia Heliconian Juniper Hairstreak Long-Tailed Skipper Malachite Mexican Bluewing Monarch Mormon Fritillary

Mourning Cloak Orange Sulphur Painted Lady Palamedes Swallowtail Pale Swallowtail Pearl Crescent Pipevine Swallowtail Polydamas Swallowtail Queen Question Mark Reakirt's Blue Red Admiral Red Banded Hairstreak Red Satyr Red Spotted Purple Ruddy Daggerwing Silver Emperor Silver Spotted Skipper Silvery Checkerspot Skippers Soldier Southern Dogface Spicebush Swallowtail Tawny Emperor Texan Crescent Texas Powdered Skipper Tiger Swallowtail Tropical Buckeye Two-tailed Swallowtail Variable Checkerspot Variegated Fritillary Viceroy Weidermeyer's Admiral White Peacock Zebra Hairstreak Zebra Heliconian Zebra Swallowtail Zela Metalmark

Common Texas Moths

Black Witch Moth Cecropia Moth Hummingbird Moth Io Moth Little Pink Moth Luna Moth Painted Schinia Moth Polyphemus Moth Promethea Moth Salt Marsh Moth Spiny Oakworm Moth Tersa Sphinx Moth

Texas State Butterfly

The Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) was adopted as the official state insect by the 74th Texas Legislature in 1995.

The Monarch is the only species of butterfly that does not hibernate, but migrates in changing seasons.

Every fall and spring, millions of Monarch butterflies make their way between Canada and Mexico. They usually stop throughout Texas to take a break from this 3,000 mile trip.

The Founder of Monarch Watch, Dr. Chip Taylor, declared Texas the most important state in the country in the development of the Monarch butterfly population. Texas is often called “the funnel” of the Monarch migration because of its geographic position between Canada and Mexico.  Monarch butterflies must pass through Texas to make their migration. Many Monarchs west of the Rocky Mountains migrate to the Pacifc Ocean coast in winter.

Several other states have also adopted the Monarch as their official butterfly, including Alabama, Idaho, Illinois, Minnesota, and West Virginia.

We try to do our part in helping the Monarchs by becoming a registered Monarch Watch Waystation. Read more about how to register your Monarch waystation

Popular Butterfly Books at our Amazon Store
Butterflies of Houston & Southeast Texas	Butterfly Gardening for Texas
Common Butterflies of Texas Fold-Out Guide	Texas Butterflies and Pollinators
Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America	Peterson First Guide to Butterflies and Moths of North America
Smithsonian Handbook of Butterflies and Moths	Stoke's Butterfly Book: Complete Guide to Gardening, Identification and Behavior
The Life Cycles of Butterflies	Stoke's Beginner's Guide to Butterflies

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Butterfly and Nature Centers in Texas

Cockerell Butterfly Center, at the Houston Museum of Natural Science

South Texas Botanical Gardens and Nature Center in Corpus Christi

Wildseed Farms near Fredericksburg, Texas (Staff Photo)

Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary in McKinney, Texas - Includes the Native Texas Butterfly Garden & House.  The Butterfly house has all native butterflies, and is open from mid-May through September. The Butterfly Garden is open year-round. Visit the Museum's website for details.

Texas Discovery Gardens and the Rosine Smith Sammons Butterfly House in Dallas

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin

Wildseed Farms near Fredericksburg

Butterflies in the Brazos Butterfly Garden - College Station

Fredericksburg Nature Center and Pollinator Gardens

Dallas Arboretum

Connie Hagar Cottage Sanctuary, Rockport-Fulton, Texas

Riverside Nature Center in Kerrville

 

Fredericksburg, Texas Nature Center and Pollinator Gardens (Staff Photo)

Welcome to Lady Bird's Pollinator Garden in Fredericksburg, Texas (Staff Photo)

Butterfly Garden at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin (Staff Photo)

Butterfly Puddling Place sign at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austn (Staff Photo)

 

Photographs of Butterflies in Texas: A Few of Our Favorites

Spicebush Swallowtail Butterfly

Female Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly

American Lady

Black Swallowtail butterfly, on April 4, 2014, after overwintering in its chrysalis in East Texas

 

 

Monarch Butterfly

Buckeye Butterfly on Hydrangea in early summer in Texas

Giant Swallowtail Butterfly

Gulf Fritillary Butterfly on Zinnia in Tyler, Texas

Red-Spotted Purple Butterfly

Queen Butterfly

Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly in East Texas

Zebra Heliconian at Mitchell Lake Audubon Center in San Antonio, Texas

Checkered White Butterfly

Long-Tailed Skipper

Red Admiral Butterfly (wings open)

Variegated Fritillary Butterfly

 

Silver Spotted Skipper on Zinnias

Reakirt's Blue, seen here near Comfort, Texas
(Photo by D. Boorman, May, 2024)

Additional Butterfly Resources in Texas

• Monarch Butterfly and Other Insect Pollinators - Texas Parks & Wildlife
• Butterflies and Moths of Houston - Houston Audubon
• Texas Butterflies - Texas State Historical Association
• Attracting Butterflies to Your Garden - Texas A&M AgriLife
• Texas Butterflies Field Guide - Texas Tech University Center at Junction
• Butterflies of Dallas County - Dallas County Lepidopterists' Society
• Butterflies in Houston County - Rice University
• Monarch Butterflies & Milkweed in Texas - University of Texas at San Antonio
• Checklist of Chihuahuan Desert Butterflies - University of Texas at El Paso
• Butterflies & Moths of the Padre Island National Seashore - NPS

Butterfly Farms & Breeders in Texas

A large number of butterfly breeders are located nationwide, and some breeders are now in operation in Texas, including Vibrant Wings Butterflies in Humble.

For a complete listing, we recommend you visit the website of the International Butterfly Breeders Association (IBBA). Founded in 1998, IBBA is the largest and oldest professional butterfly farming trade association.