The Elusive Butterfly
By Karen L. Siletti

John K. Walters

Across my dreams, with nets of wonder,
I chase the bright elusive butterfly of love.
-- Bob Lind

They've been the subject of poetry, the substance of dreams. They give us hope through their wondrous metamorphosis that even the plain and graceless among us can achieve splendor and majesty. Fragile and seemingly everlasting, they've fluttered through the eons in relatively the same form as we know them by today. And yet, most of their kind live only a few brief weeks.
Butterflies are members of the insect order Lepidoptera, a clumsy-sounding name for such beautiful creatures. It is a combination of two Greek words meaning 'scale' and 'wing.' Wingspans vary in size from a quarter of an inch to over a foot, and coloring from drab to brilliant. Their metamorphosis includes four stages: egg, larvae (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis) and adult. They love warm weather, and you can bet when it's too hot for you, they'll be out and about in droves.
Worldwide, there are nearly 250,000 different species of Lepidoptera, but only several thousand are classified as butterflies. The rest are various kinds of moths.
In New Jersey, about 150 species of butterflies have been identified. Some species are common to our state like the Monarch, Cabbage White and Swallowtail and are recognized on sight by any school child. Some species are rare, and others visit only occasionally.
Unfortunately, many butterfly species are losing ground to pesticides and loss of habitat. Many butterfly colonies occupy a single field, and never stray beyond it. Mow it, build on it, and they are gone.
We've come a long way in our thinking about wild things and wild places in New Jersey, but we still have a long way to go if we are to preserve these delicate beings for future generations. Learning about our fluttery friends is the first step.
There are lots of places to see butterflies year round as long as you have internet access! Wild New Jersey has created a resource directory for you to get started on your search.
On these pages you will find resources to help you plant that butterfly garden, welcome your new friends by name, join the 4th of July Butterfly Count, hum a few bars of a classic song, and enjoy!

The Butterflies of New Jersey. A personal tale of wonder.

A Butterfly Checklist. A list of New Jersey's species native, occasional and rare. How many have you seen?

Plants Butterflies Love. Easy to care for plants, bushes, and trees you can grow in New Jersey.

Books About Butterflies. Reviews and links to a wide variety of butterfly books and pamphlets.

A Day in the Life of a Butterfly Counter. An account of the Fourth of July Butterfly Count in our own Great Swamp. A yearly event around the country, New Jersey boasts ten site surveys and loads of fun for the teams!

Butterfly Clubs and Organizations. Where to call, who to write, what they do.

Links to Butterfly Resources. Checklists, photo libraries, chat rooms, children's pages, butterfly gardening, and more.

The Elusive Butterfly. Words and music to a 60's classic. Still as haunting and beautiful as it was 30 years ago.