| What is "The Butterflies and Skippers of North
America"
"The Butterflies and Skippers of North America" is a greatly
modified version of "The Butterflies of North America" published
on the web by the Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center of the United
States Geological Survey. The purpose behind this revised version is to
create an online field guide to the butterflies and skippers of North
America more in keeping with the traditional field guides one buys in
a store.
With this web site you can either identify butterflies and skippers
you may have seen or collected or find information about these species
from individual species descriptions and distribution maps. You can find
individual species in a number of ways. First you can scan through the
plates of species photographs containing identification tips to find a
species whose identity you do not know just as you would be with a printed
field guide. If you know the name you can also access the species descriptions,
photographs, and distribution maps from a checklist of the North American
species or by doing a keyword search. In addition to the complete butterflies
and skippers of North America you can get a quick overview of some of
the commoner or more conspicuous species occurring in different types
of habitats such as deserts, prairies, the tundra, or vacant lots in your
neighborhood.
What Has Been Added to the "Butterflies and Skippers
of North America"
The following components of "The Butterflies and Skippers of
North America" are from the original "Butterflies of North America".
1. The majority of the species accounts (by Jane M. Struttmann and
Paul Opler) are from the original site, although those of the purely
Canadian and Alaskan species were added by the staff of Nearctica.com.,
Inc. Some species descriptions have been slightly modified by Nearctica.com,
Inc.
2. The distribution maps are from the original site and were prepared
by the Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center.
The following components of "The Butterflies and Skippers of
North America" have been added by Nearctica.com, Inc.
1. All of the formating and appearance of the site.
2. Those species from Canada and Alaska not occurring in the continental
United States.
2. All of the photographs were taken by the staff of Nearctica.com,
Inc. from specimens in the collection of the National Museum of Natural
History, Smithsonian Institution.
3. The samples of butterflies from different types of habitats such
as the eastern forests, the deserts, and tundra have been added.
4. The plates with identification tips.
5. The lists of species and links to the individual species accounts.
The following components from the original "Butterflies of North
America" have not been included.
1. The photographs of butterflies in nature have not been included
because the photographs are copyright protected. You can access these
photographs from: http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/lepid/BFLYUSA/BFLYUSA.HTM
2. Checklists of the species occurring in most of the counties of
the United States. A link to this feature is included in the main page.
How Can I Identify a Butterfly of Skipper
Simply choose the plates feature from the main page. You will be
taken to a list of all of the plates. Use the plates just as you would
the plates in a traditional field guide looking for a specimen that
appears to match yours. On the left side of the plate are thumbnail
photographs of the butterflies or skippers and on the right the scientific
and common name for the species. Commonly identification tips are also
given on the right, although in some cases separate pages have been
set up to aid you in identifying difficult species such as the fritillaries
(Speyeria), sulphurs (Colias), or hairstreaks (Satyrium).
When you think you have a match, go to the complete species account
by clicking on the linked scientific name. We very much regret that
we cannot accept requests from individuals to identify specimens.
I Know the Name and I Want Information about the Species
You can find the name in two ways. First you can pick it out from
the individual plates. Secondly you can look for the name in the checklists
of species. These checklists of species are arranged by family and subfamily
with genera and species listed alphabetically within each list.
Copyright
All of the photographs, formatting, and other materials are copyright
by Nearctica.com, Inc. 2000. However the written species accounts and
the distribution maps were prepared by the Northern Prairie Wildlife
Research Center and are public domain. The photographs are the property
of Nearctica.com, Inc. and can be used under the following conditions.
1. No more than 20 photographs are to be used.
2. Their use must be strictly non-commercial, non-profit, and educational.
3. Users of these photographs must receive written permission from
Nearctica.com, Inc at webmaster@nearctica.com
4. All photographs must be labeled as the property of Nearctica.com
in any web page or publication.
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