A curated visual archive and field guide organized across 4 foundational pillars: Classroom Education, Backyard Habitat Botany, Conservation & Endangered Taxa, and Ethical Husbandry.
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Native Science
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Recovery Protocols
Educator & Conservation Protocol: Designed for teachers, homeschooling pods, and naturalists. Features sterile diet cup protocols, observation printables, and NGSS K-8 lesson plans.
Featured Field Specimen
The Monarch — Asclepias host obligate
Filter by textures, spines, stripes & host plants
Zone 3–9 frost dates, seed chill & brood timing
Select a species to view full lifecycle photography, instar development milestones, native host flora pairings, and ethical husbandry guidelines.
The iconic North American wanderer celebrated for its epic multi-generational migration to central Mexico and coastal California.
A resilient, velvety black butterfly with striking blue and yellow markings. Extremely rewarding for backyard gardeners with herb patches.
One of the largest and most majestic butterflies in North America, sporting brilliant tiger stripes and false eye spots on mature larvae.
A radiant orange southern resident with shimmering silver underwing spangles, strictly dependent on native passionvines (Passiflora).
An iridescent cobalt blue swallowtail containing sequestered aristolochic acid toxins from Dutchman’s pipe (Aristolochia).
The most widespread butterfly in the world, capable of fast-paced multi-host rearing on mallow, thistles, and borage.
A luminous, ethereal emerald green silkmoth with elongated sweeping tails. Adults do not feed and live purely to reproduce.
A territorial, energetic flyer with vibrant crimson bands, feeding exclusively on nettles (Urtica dioica and Boehmeria).
One of the longest-lived butterflies (up to 10 months), overwintering as an adult in tree bark and emerging during early spring snowmelt.
A swift, sun-loving butterfly recognized by its large target-like eyespots and iridescent violet-blue centers designed to startle predators.
A radiant lemon-yellow flyer with strong northward summer migrations, feeding on native senna and partridge pea (Cassia).
A delicate white-and-black triangular flyer with sword-like tail streamers, strictly dependent on native pawpaw trees (Asimina triloba).
Famous for its stunning false-snake eye larva that rolls sassafras and spicebush leaves into secure daytime sleeping tents.
The largest butterfly in North America, whose bizarre bird-dropping mimic caterpillars feed on native prickly ash and hoptree.
The famous Müllerian mimic of the Monarch, featuring a distinct transverse black line across its hindwings, feeding on willows and poplars.
North America’s largest native moth, spanning up to 6–7 inches. Features rich russet-red, mahogany, and white crescent crescents, and an extraordinary multi-colored tuberculate larva.
Identify mystery larvae by body stripes, fleshy filaments, branching spines, and host plant associations.
Look up frost dates, spring emergence windows, and autumn southward migration departure timelines.
Head capsule micrometers, frass production rates, and silk button spinning mechanics.
Diagnose tachinid fly strings, black death liquid decay, and safe pre-eclosion discoloration.
Every resource, printable, and calculator is rooted in verifiable entomological science, native biodiversity preservation, and cruelty-free husbandry.
Painted Lady 4-week school calendar, printable observation journals, student lab duties, and NGSS K-8 curricula.
Host vs nectar botany, 4 garden bed blueprints, DIY puddlers, soil calculators, and organic gear pairings.
Monarch & bumblebee declines, pesticide science, waystation conversion criteria, and citizen science monitoring.
Sterile mesh hygiene, instar feeding intervals, OE diagnostic microscopy, and safe pupation handling techniques.
Raise virtual caterpillars from microscopic eggs to flying adults, discover "Which Butterfly Are You?" in our illustrated quiz, test your reflexes in the leaf-crunch arcade, and print your official Junior Lepidopterist Certificate!
Raising butterflies in classrooms and homes should never replace wild habitat restoration. We advocate for a "Habitat-First" model where 10 native host plants are established in the ground for every single caterpillar studied indoors.