Identify Butterflies and other Insects in North Central Florida
Identify Butterflies in Marion, Putnam and, Alachua Counties, Florida
It’s now easier to identify butterflies in Florida!
While far from complete, this growing list identifies common butterflies and other “bugs” in Florida near Gainesville, Palatka and Ocala. While hiking and backpacking the region, I found myself taking picture of butterflies I could not identify. I depended on Google and other search engines to identify them, using very basic terminology of size, shape, and coloration. I have provided those very basic descriptions thinking others may search similarly. With the right ID in hand, it’ll be easy to find any information online that you need!
Hiking or backpacking in Alachua, Marion, or Putnam counties and beyond? Find more than 50 hiking trails in north central Florida near Gainesville, Palatka and Ocala. Each hiking trail has its own page with location and trail maps, images, fees, equestrian access, and other information free to enjoy at this site!
Butterfly Identification
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (male) is a large Florida butterfly, black body, and yellow and black wings without blue spots
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (female) is a large Florida butterfly with yellow and black striped wings and more blue on the wings than the male
Palamedes Swallowtail butterfly, dark brown or black wings with orange, blue, and white spots
Gulf Fritallary – Agraulis vanillae with orange body, and orange wings with black stripes and spots and white spots on underwings
Eastern Black Swallowtail – a butterfly with darks wings, black and blue with white spots on edge of wings
Cloudless Sulphur Phoebis sennae has yellow wings with brown specks and appears abundantly in autumn
Zebra Longwing Butterfly – large black and yellow striped butterfly with light yellow spots on its wings and body
Buckeye Butterfly is mostly brown but stands out due to its orange and blue faux eyes on the wings
Monarch Butterfly – large orange and black butterfly with white spots on the wings with dark edges in Florida
Horace’s Duskywing – Erynnis horatius is a tiny brown butterfly with white and black spots on its wings and body in Central Florida
Florida Duskywing – Ephyriades-brunnea small black butterfly with white spots who shows up early in spring
Pearl Crescent – tiny butterfly, only the size of a quarter with orange and black wings and a gray edge in North Florida
Pipevine Swallowtail is a dark butterfly with gray or black forewings and darky dusky blue hindwings with white spots
White Peacock Anartia-jatrophae is a small, dusty white butterfly with orange fringe appearing in autumn
Zebra Swallowtail – Protographium marcellus is a black and white striped butterfly with some red dashes on the underwings
Long-Tailed Skipper – Urbanus proteus is a small, brown or gray winged butterfly with a blue and green tinted body and a long tail
Red-spotted purple – Limenitis arthemis astyanax male and female butterflies look very similar with large, dark multi-colored wings
Identify Dragonflies, Spiders, and Other Insects and Bugs in North Central Florida
Blue Dasher – Pachydiplax longipennis has a blue body with hints of orange and large, red eyes
Needham’s Skimmer Dragonfly near water in Florida is a dragonfly with orange wings, orange abdomen, and a brown thorax
Halloween Pennant dragonfly has gold and black patchwork pattern on wings and a black and gold body
Male Eastern Pondhawk, Erythemis simplicicollis, is blue dragonfly in Florida with long wings and a green face
Female Eastern Pondhawk, Erythemis simplicicollis, is green on the head and thorax a black and white striped abdomen
Black-Shouldered Spinyleg – Erythemis simplicicollis dragonfly is black with green eyes and a clubbed abdomen or tail
Great Blue Skimmer – Libellula vibrans, female isn’t blue like the male and has a yellowish body
Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly, Erythemis simplicicollis, (female) has a dark blue body and a white spot on the wings
Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly (male) has a dark blue body and midnight blue or black wings but no white spot as the female has
Carolina Saddlebags – Tramea carolina – brown with yellow or orange dragonfly having dark, patterned patches on hind wings
Zipper Orb Weaver – a black and white spider in Florida with long legs and a web that looks like a zipper
Arrowhead Orb Weaver is a tiny brown spider with a yellow triangle on its abdomen, shaped like an arrowhead
Golden Silk Orb Weaver spider (top male vs female bottom) has a patterned, gold-yellow abdomen and long, spindly legs in Florida
Spiny Orb Weaver spider has a white and black or yellow and black body with red spiny points around its abdomen
Florida Scrub Millipede is a fat, shiny brown slow-moving millipede about 4-6 inches long with black antennae
Elephant Beetle or ox beetle is a black, lumbering beetle with three horns, two short horns and a long middle horn
Wheel Bug is a large, gray assassin bug with a spiny wheel on its back. This one landed on me, but do not handle – they serve a strong bite!
Eyed Click Beetle is a black beetle with two white circles on its head that look like eyes found on forest floors in Florida
Red Io Moth has wings brown to reddish in hue, with a fuzzy head and an eyespot is visible on each hindwing when open
Speckled Renia Moth Renia adspergillus is a triangular, brown or gray small moth with specks that resides from Quebec to Florida
