[lassa8]

How do you tell the difference between the two? What's a good general insect guide? And the real goal of this post...I saw this on a hiking trail in NE Missouri today...and after going through a good deal of the Missouri Conservation Dept's list of butterflies, I've come up empty. Any thoughts?

[gthang]

I have no experience with moths, butterflies, etc. but I did see a Swallowtail today. probably the biggest North American butterfly! I have a pic of it in my gallery.

[Rasmus Boegh]

Can't help you on species, but the somewhat curled wings may very well indicate that it's newly "hatched" from the pupae.

Two guides on North American butterflies are:

1) "Butterflies of North America - A Natural History and Field Guide" by J. Scott.

2) "A Guide to the More Common American Species of Butterflies and Moths - A Golden Guide" by Robert T Mitchell and Herbert S. Zim

The first of the two is more extensive in coverage of species. Do note, that though both books seem to be available today, they are somewhat dated, being more than 15 years old.

A more updated book (therefore probably better than the above) is:
"Peterson Field Guide to Eastern Butterflies" by Paul A. Opler and Vichai Malikul. There's another guide for western.

[Charles Harper]

How big is it? I don't have a bug book any more, but it looks like a copper butterfly, if it is quite small (an inch or a bit across); if it is larger (3-inch or so wingspread), it may be a fritillary.

[harry eales]

Hello Lassa8

It's not a Skipper Butterfly, but a Fritillary Butterfly, apparently with some damage to one wing, possibly due to a problem encountered during wing expansion.

I'm not familiar with North American butterflies unfortunately, but hope this points the way to a correct identification.

However, if you check a good butterfly book relating to the area where you saw the specimen, and try to match the size of the butterfly and the date you saw it against the known flight periods you may get closer to it's correct identity.

Regards,

Harry Eales.

[gthang]

OF course, you can try Enature.com, plug in your zip code (or the zip code where you saw the butterfly, and the site will give you lists of various animals that are in your area. This is how I ID'd my Swallowtail. Why don't you try that?