There are 50 species of butterflies you can find in Franklin County, Maine. Not all of them are common. In fact, some of the butterflies on our list are quite rare sights in Franklin County. The butterflies on our list are grouped by the following categories:
Brush-footed Butterflies in Franklin County, Maine
American Lady
The American Lady butterfly is a beautiful butterfly that is found throughout much of North America. They are commonly seen flying around flowers and are commonly mistaken for a butterfly of a different species. The American Lady butterfly is most commonly found in meadows, fields, and forests.
Aphrodite Fritillary
A Aphrodite Fritillary butterfly is typically a beautiful, delicate butterfly with a wingspan of about two inches. They are usually seen flying near streams and rivers in the summertime, and their larval food source is flowers.
Atlantis Fritillary
Atlantis Fritillary butterflies are beautiful, delicate creatures that can be found in a variety of habitats, including forests and meadows. They are quite rare, and are often spotted flying close to water.
Baltimore Checkerspot
The Baltimore Checkerspot butterfly is a beautiful, colorful butterfly that is found in the eastern United States. They are commonly seen in open areas with lots of flowers, such as meadows and parks.
Common Ringlet
A Common Ringlet butterfly looks like a small, delicate butterfly with a brightly colored wingspan. They are typically found in forests and other wooded areas, but can also be found near streams and lakes.
Common Wood-Nymph
Common Wood-Nymph butterflies are small, delicate butterfly that can be difficult to spot. They are typically brown, with a yellow stripe down the center of their wings. They are found in forests and other wooded areas.
Compton Tortoiseshell
The Compton Tortoiseshell butterfly is a large butterfly with a distinctive pattern of brown and yellow on its wings. They are found in the dry scrublands and open oak forests of the American West.
Gray Comma
A Gray Comma butterfly is a medium-sized butterfly with a gray and white body. They are found in open areas with lots of flowers, such as meadows and forests.
Great Spangled Fritillary
A Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly is a beautiful butterfly that is found in the forests of North America. They are usually a dark brown or black with bright yellow and red markings on their wings. They are usually found in open areas where there are plenty of flowers to feed on.
Green Comma
A Green Comma butterfly is a small, lime green butterfly with a black border around its wings. They are most commonly found in open areas with plenty of flowers, such as fields, meadows, and gardens.
Hoary Comma
The Hoary Comma butterfly is a large, black and white butterfly with a comma-shaped white patch on its wings. They are found in meadows, forests, and gardens throughout North America.
Meadow Fritillary
A Meadow Fritillary butterfly is a small, delicate butterfly with a bright yellow and black wings. They are usually found in meadows and other lightly forested areas, but can also be found in gardens.
Milbert’s Tortoiseshell
A Milbert’s Tortoiseshell butterfly has a dark brown body with yellow and black markings on its wings. They are found in wet areas, such as rain forests and wetlands, and usually live near water.
Monarch
A Monarch butterfly is a beautiful, colorful butterfly that can be found in many different habitats across North America. They are the national symbol of the United States and can be found flying around in beautiful colors in summertime.
Mourning Cloak
A Mourning Cloak butterfly is an insect that belongs to the family Nymphalidae. The Mourning Cloak butterfly is a small butterfly that is typically dark brown or black and has a wingspan of about 2.5 inches. The Mourning Cloak butterfly is typically found in open habitats, such as fields, meadows, and forests, but can also be found in urban areas.
Northern Crescent
The Northern Crescent butterfly is a beautiful butterfly that can be found in the northern regions of North America. The butterfly is typically found near bodies of water, such as rivers and lakes.
Northern Pearly-eye
Northern Pearly-eye butterflies are light brown with a metallic sheen and a blue-violet eye. They live in open, sunny habitats, such as prairies and meadows.
Painted Lady
The Painted Lady butterfly is a beautiful butterfly that is found in the eastern United States and Canada. They are usually found in open areas with many flowers, but can also be found in forests. They are usually seen in warm weather, but can be found in colder areas if they have access to flowers in the winter.
Pearl Crescent
The Pearl Crescent butterfly is a medium-sized butterfly that is mostly blue with black markings on the wings. The butterfly is found in the Palearctic region, including Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. The butterfly prefers to live in open spaces, such as meadows and fields, where it can sip nectar from flowers.
Red Admiral
The Red Admiral butterfly is a beautiful butterfly with a wingspan of up to 2 inches. They are usually red, but can also have blue, purple, or yellow wings. They often feed on nectar from flowers, but will also eat small insects. They are common in open areas such as fields, meadows, and woods.
Red-spotted Purple or White Admiral
A Red-spotted Purple or White Admiral butterfly looks like a small, brightly coloured butterfly with a distinctive red spot on its wing. They are common to find in open woodland and grassy areas, but can also be found near water.
Silver-bordered Fritillary
A Silver-bordered Fritillary butterfly has a metallic sheen to its wings, which are a light blue color on the outer margins and a darker blue-black on the center. They are found in open areas with lots of flowers, such as meadows and woodlands.
Viceroy
The Viceroy butterfly is a colorful butterfly that is found in tropical forests. Viceroy butterflies are usually found in areas close to water.
White Admiral
The White Admiral butterfly is a large and colorful butterfly. It has a wingspan of up to 2.5 inches. The butterfly is found in tropical and subtropical regions around the world. It is often found in open areas with lots of flowers.
Gossamer-wing Butterflies in Franklin County, Maine
Brown Elfin
A Brown Elfin butterfly is a small butterfly that typically has a light brown body and wings. They are found in open areas with dense vegetation, such as meadows and forests.
Early Hairstreak
Early Hairstreak butterflies are typically small and brown, with slightly fringed wings. They are commonly found in open areas with a lot of grass and flowers, such as meadows and fields.
Eastern Tailed-Blue
A Eastern Tailed-Blue butterfly is typically a light blue or blue-green color with a darker band across its wings. They are found in open areas with plenty of flowers, such as meadows, gardens, and woodlands.
Greenish Blue
A Greenish Blue butterfly has blue wings with a greenish hue. They are found in open, sunny areas near water.
Harvester
The Harvester butterfly is a small, black and orange butterfly that is found in open, grassy areas. They are attracted to flowers and nectar, and like other butterflies, they are proficient fliers.
Hoary Elfin
The Hoary Elfin butterfly is a beautiful butterfly that is found in the mountains of North America. It is one of the most difficult butterflies to find, as it prefers to live in dense forests.
Silvery Blue
A Silvery Blue butterfly is a small, delicate-looking butterfly with a blue wingspan. They are common visitors to gardens and are usually seen flitting around near flowers. They are found in a variety of habitats, including meadows, forests, and parks.
Striped Hairstreak
The Striped Hairstreak butterfly is a beautiful butterfly with a colourful wingspan. They are typically seen in open, sunny areas such as fields and woods.
Parnassian and Swallowtail Butterflies in Franklin County, Maine
Canadian Tiger Swallowtail
The Canadian Tiger Swallowtail butterfly is a beautiful butterfly with a bright yellow and black wings. They prefer warm, humid areas such as forests and gardens.
Skipper Butterflies in Franklin County, Maine
Arctic Skipper
A Arctic Skipper butterfly is a small, brown butterfly with yellow markings on its wings. It is found in the Arctic region, where it feeds on nectar from flowers.
Common Branded Skipper
The Common Branded Skipper butterfly is a small butterfly with a wingspan of about one inch. The butterfly has a distinctive black and yellow striped pattern on its wings. The butterfly is typically found in open areas such as meadows, fields, and forests.
Common Roadside-Skipper
The Common Roadside-Skipper butterfly is a small butterfly with a wingspan of about 2.5 inches. The wings are a light color with a few dark spots. The habitat of the Common Roadside-Skipper butterfly is gardens, meadows, and woodlands.
Hobomok Skipper
The Hobomok Skipper butterfly has a wingspan of about 1 1/2 inches. The wings are light brown with black markings. They live in open areas with lots of flowers, such as meadows and prairies.
Indian Skipper
The Indian Skipper butterfly is a small, brown and yellow butterfly. It is found in the eastern United States and southern Canada. It lives in forested areas with a lot of flowering plants.
Least Skipper
A Least Skipper butterfly has a brown body with black spots, and a yellow tail. It lives in damp areas, such as wetlands and seepages, and is usually seen near water.
Leonard’s Skipper
A Leonard’s Skipper butterfly has a wingspan of about 1.5 inches. It is a medium-sized butterfly with a bright blue wings and a yellow-orange tip to the wings. It lives in open areas with scattered trees, such as meadows and woodlands.
Long Dash
A Long Dash butterfly is a beautiful butterfly with a wingspan of up to three inches. They are usually found in open habitats such as grasslands, meadows, and forests.
Northern Cloudywing
Northern Cloudywing butterflies are cream-colored with a dark band across their wings. They live in meadows, woodlands, and other open areas with lots of flowers.
Pepper and Salt Skipper
The Pepper and Salt Skipper butterfly is a delicate butterfly with a wingspan of about 1.5 inches. It is usually light green with a yellow or brown patch on the forewing. It is found in warm, dry areas with grassy slopes and forests.
Tawny-edged Skipper
The Tawny-edged Skipper butterfly is a medium-sized butterfly with a yellow and brown border around the edge of each wing. They are most commonly found in open areas with some kind of vegetation, such as fields, meadows, and forests.
Two-spotted Skipper
The Two-spotted Skipper butterfly is a small butterfly that looks like a skipper, but with two spots on its wings. This butterfly is found in open country, such as fields and meadows, but is also common in gardens.
White and Sulphur Butterflies in Franklin County, Maine
Cabbage White
Cabbage White butterflies are small, delicate creatures with a wingspan of about two inches. Their wings are a lightly colored blue, and they have bright yellow eyes. They live in open areas near streams and rivers, and their diet consists mainly of flowers.
Clouded Sulphur
The Clouded Sulphur butterfly is a beautiful butterfly that can be found in the Appalachian Mountains. They are often seen flying around in the open spaces of the forest. They are also known to inhabit meadows and grasslands.
Little Yellow
A Little Yellow butterfly is small, yellow, and has wings that are short and stout. They are found in open areas, such as fields, gardens, and meadows.
Mustard White
A mustard white butterfly looks like a small, delicate butterfly with a light blue and white wings. They usually reside in areas with plenty of milkweed plants, but can be found in other types of butterfly habitats as well.
Pink-edged Sulphur
The Pink-edged Sulphur butterfly is a small, delicate butterfly with a pink edge to its wings. The butterfly is most common in open, sunny habitats such as meadows and roadside ditches.
That’s the end of our look at the butterflies in Franklin County, Maine. Interested in learning about more butterflies in Maine? We have lists for each of the 16 counties in the state.