Many butterflies fly amongst the buttes and swells of the Colorado Plateau. These butterflies include the mesa rim cliff swallowtail (Papilio indra minori), the baird's swallowtail (Papilio bairdi), becker's white (Pontia beckeri), desert marble (Euchloe hyantis lotta), southern dog face (Zerene cesonia), sagebrush checkerspot (Chlosyne acastus), anicia checkerspot (Euphydryas anicia wecoeut), uncas skipper ( Hesperia uncas lasus), pahaska skipper (Hesperia pahaska nr. martini), juba skipper (Hesperia juba), mojave sootywing (Hesperopsis libya confertiblanca), saltbush sootywing (Hesperopsis alpheus oricus), ellis, blue (Euphilotes ellisi), and Stanford's blue (Euphilotes stanfordorum).

One of the best habitats to visit in the Western U.S. is mountain canyons--especially in canyons with running water. With water comes a wide variety of plants that support butterflies. Butterfly species that can be found in mountainous canyons are numerous. Some of the most common butterflies include the western tiger swallowtail, two tailed swallowtail, anise swallowtail, sara orangetip, large marble, spring white, mourning cloak, weidemeyer's admiral (or lorquin's admiral,) satyr comma, california tortoiseshell, milbert's tortoiseshell, silvery blue, spring azure, western tailed blue, juba skipper, and common branded skipper

Many mountain ranges along the Basin and Range Province of Nevada, Arizona, and Utah are Pinyon Juniper. This unique montane habitat creates its own mix of butterflies.

A forest is an area with a high density of trees. Forest habitat can be common from the Midwestern prairies east to the eastern seaboard. Many butterfly species fly around the periphery of forested areas.

Males of some species of butterflies prefer to fly to the tops of hills and mountains to mate. That coupled with the fact that many mountain ridgetops have a thicker variety and biomass of plants creates a situation where, once the snow has melted, you can find quite a few butterflies flying near ridgetops. In addition to finding some of the butterfly species found in mountain canyons, other butterfly species that you can find on mountain hilltops include the indra swallowtail, rocky mountain parnassian, western white, northern checkerspot, hydaspe fritillary, mormon fritillary, hoary comma, ruddy copper, coral hairstreak, sooty hairstreak, western green hairstreak, arrowhead blue, shasta blue, persius duskywing, two-banded checkered skipper, chryxus arctic, and others.

Arctic alpine habitat is similar to mountain hilltops; but generally runs at roughly 10,500 feet in elevation or higher. This habitat includes a unique blend of mountain meadows, willow bogs, pristine crystal clear lakes, spruce tree forests and even glaciated talus boulder formations. Just as habitats for this physiogeographic region are splendorous and unique, so is the mix of butterflies found here. In fact, finding butterflies in the arctic/alpine region can be equally rewarding as it is challenging--sometimes in the extreme. Some of the challenges facing those wishing to find arctic alpine butterflies include consistent afternoon thunderstorms, long hikes, unceasing wind, dangerous boulder and talus formations, thin air, and semi-unpredictable butterfly flight periods.

The deserts of the American Southwest contain many ecosystems and types of habitat. Many butterfly species of the desert hills and mountains have adapted specifically for this environment.

The Sonoran Desert wraps around the northern end of the Gulf of California, from Baja California Sur north through much of Baja California, excluding the central northwest mountains and Pacific west coast, through southeastern California and southwestern and southern Arizona. (First two photos courtesy Jim Brock.)

This includes habitat from throughout the U.S.

Here are some photos of Wet Meadow Habitat as found in Utah and other Western U.S. states. It's not to hard to find this habitat if you live in a rural area. It is found adjacent to valley rivers, ponds, or other valley floor wet areas and are most easily recognized by an abundance of Russian olive trees as well as other plants such as milkweed, thistles, wild licorice, joe-pye weed, cinquefoil, stinging nettle, sandbar willow, saltcedar, common reed, canary grass and others. Some of the species of butterflies you might find in this habitat are monarchs, queens, thistle crescents, field crescents, buckeyes, large wood nymphs, common ringlets, cabbage whites, common whites, melissa blues, painted ladies, west coast ladies, red admirals, woodland skippers, juba skippers, common checkered skippers, and square spotted skippers.

Wetlands are lands where water saturation is the dominant factor determining the types of plant and animal communities living in the soil and on its surface (Cowardin, December 1979).

Some species of butterflies feed on what we call "weeds." Weeds can grow thick in disturbed and/or agricultural areas. These weeds include thistles, asters, grasses, etc. The butterflies we can find in these habitats include the sandhill skipper, juba skipper, checkered skipper, themistocles skipper, cabbage white, checkered white, alfalfa butterfly, yellow sulphur, melissa blue, common ringlet, large wood nymph, and others.

Because most of the native vegetation has been eliminated from urban/suburban areas, most butterflies do not fly there unless they are adjacent to natural habitat such as rivers, wet meadows, forested areas, agricultural areas, or even disturbed areas. However, caterpillars of some butterfly species feed on weeds located in disturbed areas or trees and shrubs located in urban or suburban areas. These butterflies can include the western tiger swallowtail (willows or sycamore trees), two-tailed swallowtail (ash trees) giant swallowtail (citrus trees), anise swallowtail (fennel), cabbage white (mustards), checkered white (mustards), yellow sulphur (alfalfa or clover), painted lady (thistles), west coast lady (mallows), gulf fritillary (passion vine), fiery skipper (bermuda grass), field skipper (bermuda grass), sandhill skipper (lawn grass) checkered skipper (mallows), and others, depending upon your area.