This is a revised second edition of a groundbreaking photographic field guide to the butterflies of Mexico and Central America. Written by Jeffrey Glassberg, the pioneering authority on the field identification of butterflies, the guide covers more than 2,000 species.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Welcome to Mexico and Central America and the World of Butterflies!
• About This Book
• Names
• About the Plates
• Abbreviations and Glossary
• About the Maps
• Swallowtails
• Archaic and Battus Swallowtails
• Battus Swallowtails
• Cattlehearts: Males with green; females with red and white
• Cattlehearts: Males without green; females without white
• Mimoides Swallowtails
• Kite-Swallowtails
• Kite-Swallowtails and Tiger Swallowtails
• Tiger and “Giant” Swallowtails
• “Giant” and Black Swallowtails
• Swallowtails (Papilio) with red spots below
• Magnificent and Band-gapped Swallowtails
• Whites and Yellows
• Whites
• Whites: Dartwhites and Social White
• Whites: Leowhites and Tilewhites
• Whites
• Whites: Surprising-Whites and Painted White
• Whites
• Whites: Ganyra and Greeneyed-Whites
• Whites: Melwhites, Marbles and Orangetips
• Yellows
• Yellows: Large Sulphurs (almost always land w/ wings closed)
• Yellows: Genus Phoebis (almost always land w/ wings closed)
• Yellows: Yellows (almost always land w/ wings closed)
• Yellows: Yellows and Dainty Sulphur (land w/ wings closed)
• Mimic-Whites
• Mimic-Whites: 1 (almost always land with wings closed)
• Mimic-Whites: Dismorphia (usually land w/ wings closed)
• Mimic-Whites: 3 (usually land w/ wings closed)
• Gossamerwings
• Hairstreaks
• Large Green Hairstreaks: Sunstreaks and Greatstreaks
• Cycadians, Greatstreaks and Highstreaks
• Greatstreaks (Greatstreaks have metallic-sheened eyes) and Others
• Greatstreaks and Brangas
• Thereus, Rekoa and others
• Stripe-streaks (w/ gray eyes), Elstreaks and Cross-streaks
• Blackstreaks and others
• Dicya, Nesiostrymon and others
• Gargina and others
• Groundstreaks (abbreviated as Grdstr.)
• Groundstreaks: This group is currently under review
• Ministreaks and Midistreaks
• Scrub-Hairstreaks
• Green Hairstreaks: Greenstreaks and relatives and Chlorostrymon
• Green Hairstreaks: Dreamstreaks and Emeraldstreaks
• Hairstreaks
• Coppers and Blues
• Metalmarks
• Theopes (almost always land with their wings closed)
• Theopes (green/gray eyes) and Sombermarks (black eyes)
• Sombermarks (almost always land with wings closed)
• Sombermarks
• Sombermarks and Eyemarks
• Eyemarks
• Napaea and Relatives (almost always land with their wings open)
• Beautymarks and Others
• Yellowmarks, Geomarks and Sun-and-moon Metalmark
• Fiestamarks and One Geomark
• Scintillants
• Scintillants, Adelos, Silvermarks and Mottlemarks
• Greenmarks (and a Jewelmark)
• Jewelmarks (rarely open wings when landed)
• Bluemarks and Others
• Mimicmarks and Others
• Tanmarks 1 (A complicated genus that needs further work)
• Tanmarks 2
• Tanmarks 3
• Lemmarks, Graylers and Others (usually land with their wings open)
• Metalmarks with extensive white
• Checkered Metalmarks, genus Apodemia
• Yellow/Orange-Striped Metalmarks
• Brushfoots
• Actinotes, True-Brushfoots
• Actinotes
• Snout, Fritillaries and Green-Heliconians
• Heliconians 1
• Heliconians 2: Eueides
• Heliconians 3: Orange Heliconius
• Heliconians 4: Red Heliconius
• Heliconians 5: Blue/black Heliconius
• Heliconians 6: Blue/black Heliconius
• True Brushfoots: Patches 1
• True Brushfoots: Patches 2
• True Brushfoots: Checkerspots
• True Brushfoots: Checkerspots, Patches and Elf
• True Brushfoots: Crescents 1
• True Brushfoots: Crescents 2
• True Brushfoots: Crescents 3, Tegosas
• True Brushfoots: Crescents 4, Phyciodes subgenus Anthanassa
• True Brushfoots: Crescents 5, Phyciodes subgenus Anthanassa
• True Brushfoots: Crescents 6, Phyciodes subgenus Anthanassa
• True Brushfoots: Crescents 7, Phyciodes
• True Brushfoots: Anglewings, Tortoiseshells and Ladies
• True Brushfoots: Buckeyes and Peacocks
• True Brushfoots: Mapwings
• True Brushfoots: Pages (all with short tails)
• Admirals and Relatives
• Admirals and Relatives: Sisters 1, White Stripe on Both Wings
• Admirals and Relatives: Sisters 2, White Stripe on Both Wings
• Admirals and Relatives: Sisters 3, White Stripe on Both Wings
• Admirals and Relatives: Sisters 4, White Stripe on Both Wings
• Admirals and Relatives: Sisters 5, FW without White Stripe
• Admirals and Relatives: Sisters 6, FW without White Stripe
• Admirals and Relatives: Sisters 7, Only Orange Bands
• Admirals and Relatives: Sailors
• Admirals and Relatives: Eighty-eights 1
• Admirals and Relatives: Eighty-eights 2
• Admirals and Relatives: Banners and Crackerlets
• Admirals and Relatives: Banners and Others
• Admirals and Relatives: Bluewings and Admirals
• Admirals and Relatives: Catones
• Admirals and Relatives: Purplewings 1 (females less commonly seen)
• Admirals and Relatives: Purplewings 2
• Admirals and Relatives: Purplewings 3
• Admirals and Relatives: Purplewings 4
• Admirals and Relatives: Crackers 1
• Admirals and Relatives: Crackers 2
• Admirals and Relatives: Crackers 3
• Admirals and Relatives: Red-rings
• Admirals and Relatives: Beauties 1
• Admirals and Relatives: Beauties 2
• Admirals and Relatives: Daggerwings 1
• Admirals and Relatives: Daggerwings 2
• Leafwings and Emperors
• Leafwings and Relatives: Agrias and Preponas
• Leafwings and Relatives: Preponas with two HW eyespots
• Leafwings and Relatives: Orange Leafwings (subgenus Fountainea)
• Leafwings and Relatives: Orange Leafwings 2
• Leafwings and Relatives: Zaretis
• Leafwings and Relatives: Consul, Hypna and Siderone
• Leafwings and Relatives: Blue Leafwings (subgenus Memphis) 1
• Leafwings and Relatives: Blue Leafwings (subgenus Memphis) 2
• Leafwings and Relatives: Blue Leafwings (subgenus Memphis) 3
• Leafwings and Relatives: Blue Leafwings (subgenus Memphis) and Cecropians
• Leafwings and Relatives: Blue Leafwings (subgenus Memphis)
• Emperors: Asterocampa
• Emperors: Doxocopa 1 (these have green tongues)
• Emperors: Doxocopa 2 (these have green tongues)
• Owls, Satyrs, Monarchs, Ticlears
• Morphos
• Owl-Butterflies: Caligo are large with bottom eyespot larger than top eyespot
• Owl-Butterflies
• Owl-Butterflies: mainly smaller with top eyespot larger than bottom eyespot
• Satyrs: Phantom-Satyrs fly along shaded forest floors; Oxeos fly higher
• Satyrs: Ur-Satyrs
• Satyrs: Ur-Satyrs and Others
• Satyrs: Gemmed-Satyrs (with eyespots entire)
• Satyrs: Gemmed-Satyrs (mainly w/ each eyespot divided in two)
• Satyrs: Euptychia (black eyes), Cissia (black or gray eyes) and Others
• Satyrs
• Satyrs: Large Satyrs
• Satyrs and Monarchs
• Ticlears 1: Ithomias (with orange napes) and others
• Ticlears 2
• Ticlears 3: Clearwings and Others
• Ticlears 4: Slantcells, Ithomias and Others
• Ticlears 5: Dircennas (w/ white spots on body)
• Ticlears and similar species
• Skippers
• Firetips
• Firetips 1: Pyrrhopyge
• Firetips 2: Mysoria (note plush red abdominal tip) and Others
• Firetips 3
• Firetips 4: Orange Firetips and Guady Skipper (not a firetip)
• Firetips 5: Blue Firetips, w/ transverse band at base of FW, and Guady Skipper
• Spreadwing Skippers
• Eudamini
• Pyrgini
• Skipperlings
• Skipperlings 1
• Skipperlings 2
• Skipperlings 3
• Skipperlings 4
• Skipperlings 5
• Skipperlings 6
• Skipperlings 7: Hindwings mainly with large spots or rays
• Skipperlings 8: Hindwings mainly with large spots or rays
• Grass-Skippers
• Grass-Skippers: Small Orange Skippers
• Grass-Skippers: Faceted-Skippers
• Grass-Skippers: Fantastic-Skippers
• Grass-Skippers: Brown-Skippers 1, Mostly “Veined”
• Grass-Skippers: “Veined” Brown-Skippers and Others
• Grass-Skippers: Brown-Skippers 2
• Grass-Skippers: Brown-Skippers and Others
• Grass-Skippers: Remellas and Others
• Grass-Skippers
• Grass-Skippers: Brown-Skippers 4
• Grass-Skippers: Brown-Skippers 5 and Others
• Grass-Skippers: Papias and Others
• Grass-Skippers: Turesis and Thoon
• Grass-Skippers: Brown-eyes (with red tongues) and Others
• Grass-Skippers
• Grass-Skippers: Ruby-eyes 1
• Grass-Skippers: Ruby-eyes 2
• Grass-Skippers: Ruby-eyes 3 (FW apexes usually white in ♂♂, not ♀♀)
• Grass-Skippers: Ruby-eyes 4
• Grass-Skippers
• Grass-Skippers: Cyneas
• Grass-Skippers: “Hot” Skippers and Whirlabout
• Grass-Skippers: Sachem and Hesperia
• Grass-Skippers: Polites
• Grass-Skippers: Polites and Poans
• Grass-Skippers: Poans and Onespa
• Grass-Skippers: Poans and Mimic Skipper
• Grass-Skippers: Poans and Stinga
• Grass-Skippers: Poans
• Grass-Skippers: Mellanas 1
• Grass-Skippers: Mellanas 2
• Grass-Skippers: Mellanas 3
• Grass-Skippers: Anatrytone
• Grass-Skippers
• Grass-Skippers: Sedge-Skippers and Notamblyscirtes
• Grass-Skippers: Dusted-Skippers
• Grass-Skippers: Roadside-Skippers 1
• Grass-Skippers: Roadside-Skippers 2
• Grass-Skippers: Lerodea, Halotus and Others
• Grass-Skippers: Panoquins [Note longitudinal abdomen stripe on most]
• Grass-Skippers: White-striped species
• Grass-Skippers: Nicons and Silverpatches
• Grass-Skippers: Therras
• Grass-Skippers: Salianas
• Grass-Skippers: Salianas and Mimic-Skippers
• Grass-Skippers: Mimic-Skipper and Brazilian Skipper
• Giant-Skippers: Agathymus
• Giant-Skippers
• Appendix
• Selected Bibliography
• Selected Websites
• Mexico
• Costa Rica
• Ecuador
• North American Butterfly Association
• Sunstreak Tours
• About NABA
• Dedication