Butterflies

… and Moths

Click on the links below to access:

2023 butterfly counts in Southwestern Ontario
Reports of past butterfly counts
Other organizations interested in butterflies and moths
Online resources for identifying butterflies and moths

2023 Butterfly Counts in Southwestern Ontario

Sunday, July 2, Skunk’s Misery
Sunday, July 30, Clear Creek
Sat. July 1 (2), Pinery Provincial Park & N.Lambton Brenda Kulon, (519) 869-2833, kulon@cogeco.ca. Counters should arrive by 8:30 to register and get on a team. Meet outside the Nature Administrative Building. Wear hats, bring bug spray (ticks), a hat, long socks, long pants (for poison ivy). Bring a lunch please.

Other Organizations

Toronto Entomologists’ Association https://www.ontarioinsects.org/
North American Butterfly Association https://www.naba.org/
eButterfly https://www.e-butterfly.org/

Online Resources

Check the websites of the organizations
Use iNaturalist to help with species identification of your photos

Please send corrections and suggestions for addition content to Glenn Berry, nlwebguy@gmail.com.

Where and When

Look in almost any park or public garden with flowers, which means mostly in the summer. You may start to notice that some flowers are popular with many species, while some species seem to specialize. You will be rewarded when you visit the same area one or two weeks later.

Toolkit

If you plan to wade through deep grass, beware of ticks. At a minimum, tuck your pants into to your socks.

Much of the time, you can get a good photo of a butterfly when it is feeding on a blossom with a mobile phone’s camera. Of course, you can get more and better photos with fancier camera gear.

Common Butterflies in London – A Baker’s Dozen

The 13 most frequently reported butterfly species in London, Ontario, in iNaturalist. Larger species and more urban species may generate more reports.

Common Name	Number of Observations
Monarch	312
Black Swallowtail	174
Small White (Cabbage White)	114
Mourning Cloak	105
Red Admiral	88
Eastern Comma	73
Red-spotted Purple	73
Northern Crescent	70
Viceroy	70
Silver-spotted Skipper	69
Question Mark	61
Eastern Giant Swallowtail	58