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butterflies identification

Butterfly identification & natural history

Types of Butterflies: Identification, Species, Habitat and Life Cycle

Types of Butterflies is a simple and beginner-friendly place to learn about butterfly species, how to identify them, where they live, what they eat, and how their life cycle works. Whether you are just curious, trying to recognize a butterfly from your garden, or looking for easy-to-follow guides, you can start with our species pages, identification tips, and butterfly facts.

How to Identify a Butterfly

Browse Butterflies by Color

Start with the colours you noticed, then confirm with wing pattern, size, place and season.

Butterfly Identification Guides

Step-by-step guides for recognising butterflies from the field marks a beginner can actually see.

Browse all identification guides

Explore Butterfly Species

Species profiles covering identification, range, habitat, host plants and life cycle.

Butterfly Life Cycle

How a butterfly develops from egg to caterpillar, chrysalis and adult, and how long each stage lasts.

Butterflies by Region

Regional guides to the butterflies most often seen in a particular place.

Featured Educational Guides

Habitat, adult food, nectar flowers and caterpillar host plants.

Browse habitat and diet guides

About This Encyclopedia

Types of Butterflies is run by an editorial team dedicated to making butterfly knowledge simple, accurate, and enjoyable to explore. We create beginner-friendly guides to help readers identify species and learn more about butterfly life, habitat, and behavior.

Every guide is reviewed for clarity and factual accuracy before it is published or updated. We aim to present butterfly information in a way that is both trustworthy and easy to follow.