Butterflies

Michigan is home to over 150 of the approximately 750 species of butterflies in the United States. Known for their beautiful wings and dainty flight, butterflies are one of the most well-known insects. Maybe lesser known is their contribution to ecological health, biodiversity, and pollination, making butterflies an important part of our native ecosystems. You can learn more about butterflies, their unique environmental contributions, and how to support them using the resources on this page and in a new module about butterflies in our MSU Pollinator Champions course. 

Butterfly basics

• All about butterflies page from Ontario's Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory discusses butterfly basics, including their habitats, anatomy, and what differentiates them from moths. 
• Learn about the butterfly life cycle from The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University. 
• The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has a page on butterfly pollination, describing how butterflies pollinate and what types of flowers they typically visit. 
• Answer frequently asked questions about butterflies and moths from the Florida Museum. 
• Learn about the Butterflies of the Midwest in this video from the Urban Ecology Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

 

Habitat tips and instructions

The most important thing you can do to help butterfly populations is to create habitat. Butterflies need habitat for caterpillars to grow and develop, and for adult butterflies to get nectar to eat. Learn tips for success in your own butterfly habitat with this MSU butterfly gardening basics factsheet. The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources provides additional information for sustaining butterflies with habitats at home, and the National Wildlife Federation provides tips to create a schoolyard habitat for Monarchs and other pollinators. 

Visit MSU's Planting for pollinators page to learn how to incorporate pollinator plants in your lawns, gardens, or large-scale plantings. 

 

Plant lists

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has lists of the top plants for your pollinator garden. MSU’s Michigan 4-H Children’s Gardens also offer a list of butterfly plants.  

Be sure of what you are planting. Some plant species are beneficial to butterflies, but there may be a plant with a similar name that is actually harmful. For example, there are two common species of “wild lupine” but only one is beneficial; the other is highly invasive. Read What’s in a name? and A tale of two lupines to learn more.  

The best way to know what plants to use is to work with a native plant producer. Use the Michigan native plant and seed producer directory to find someone in your area. 

 

Why are butterflies important? 

Read about the various ways butterflies provide value to their environment and the world:  

• Why care about butterflies, Xerces Society
• An overview on butterflies significance, International Journal of Entomology Research
• Butterflies and their contribution in ecosystem: A review, Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies
• Monarch butterflies bring together conservation and culture between U.S. and Mexico, The Nature Conservancy 

 

Threats to butterflies

Butterflies, like other pollinators, face many threats, including habitat loss and fragmentation, pesticide exposure, invasive species, and climate change. These threats compound on one another, making the stress even greater. Even for species that are adaptable, the stressors may still have significant impacts on their health and populations. 

Drivers of declines in butterfly populations, Xerces Society  

Threats, Monarch Joint Venture – details the many threats and stressors monarchs and other butterflies face 

 

Studies on butterfly threats and stressors: 

• Study raises the possibility of a country without butterflies, MSU Today. Study by C. Edwards et al., in partnership with MSU researchers
• Rising carbon dioxide levels pose a previously unrecognized threat to monarch butterflies University of Michigan News. Study by L. Decker, University of Michigan.
• Global hotspots of butterfly diversity are threatened in a warming world | Nature Ecology & Evolution Nature Ecology and Evolution. Study by S. Pinkert et al., University of Marburg
• Insecticides found to be primary driver of butterfly decline - Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics MSU CANR. Study by B. Van Deynze, in partnership with MSU researchers

Learn ways you can support native pollinators, including butterflies, in your area.  

 

Rare butterflies of Michigan

Learn about rare butterflies in Michigan and how you can support them.  

 

Learn more from butterfly organizations

North American Butterfly Association (NABA)

Michigan Butterfly Network - Kalamazoo Nature Center

Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA)

 

Additional resources

Michigan butterflies & skippers: A field guide and reference, Mogens C. Nielsen, MSU Extension 

Butterfly, moth, and skipper identification, a resource to help identify butterflies and moths in North America 

Support Monarchs, MSU Extension

Pollinator conservation biocontrol: Butterflies, University of Minnesota

State of the butterflies in the United States: A roadmap for butterfly conservation in the 21st century, Xerces Society