Cheat Sheet for Butterfly Families

Most butterflies are difficult to identify to species in flight or at a distance while walking a transect during a site monitoring. But butterfly richness at a site can be measured by identifying and monitoring butterflies to their families based on their morphology, using common characteristics that can be quickly recognized in the field.

This cheat sheet can be used in conjunction with our Citizen Science Monitoring Datasheet - Butterflies, in addition to the Maritime Northwest Citizen Science Monitoring Guide: Native Bees and Butterflies, to track the diversity of butterflies at a site over time.