Butterfly families
Swallowtails, whites, nymphalids, blues, and satyrs: an overview of five day-flying butterfly families, their traits, and representatives in Russia.
Day-flying butterflies are grouped into five main families: swallowtails, whites, nymphalids, blues, and satyrs. Each family has a set of characteristic features that allow you to recognize the group at a glance — wing shape and venation, structure of the front legs, and typical host plants of the caterpillars.
Why families matter for identification
Knowing the family immediately rules out most alternatives and narrows the search from hundreds of species to dozens. For example, if a butterfly has tail-like extensions on the hindwings, it is almost certainly a swallowtail. White or yellow coloration is the first sign of a white. Short front legs without claws are the hallmark of a nymphalid. More on the features of each family — in the dedicated articles below.
Blues
Blues (Lycaenidae) — small butterflies with blue, copper, or brown wings: one of the most species-rich families of day-flying butterflies.
Nymphalidae
Nymphalidae — the largest family of day-flying butterflies: tortoiseshells, admirals, fritillaries, checkerspots, and satyrs.
Satyrs
Satyrs (Satyrinae) — a nymphalid subfamily with characteristic eyespots. More than 2,400 species worldwide, about 150 in Russia. Specialized on grasses.