How to Identify White Butterflies in New Jersey

New Jersey is more than a suburb of New York City and Philadelphia. The state has thousands of acres of wilderness and forest land like the Pine Barrens. Each season (the spring and summer) New Jersey sees many species of butterflies within its borders. Butterflies of all colors are seen fluttering around, including some that are white. Learn how to identify these butterflies with guide books, or a guided walk through a nature preserve with a naturalist.

Things You'll Need

  • Eastern States Butterfly Guide Book
  • Magnifying glass
  • Butterfly net
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Instructions

    • 1

      Take a trip to the Camden City Garden Club's Butterfly Garden at 3 Riverside Drive, Camden, NJ 08103, (835)365-8733. Get a copy of the self-tour guide and go to each enclosure. Observe the white butterflies and use the guide page to identify the species. Or, take a guided walk with a naturalist in the enclosure.

    • 2

      Go for a guided walk with naturalists at the Kate Gorrie Memorial Butterfly House Buttinger Nature Center in Pennington, NJ, (609) 737-7592. Pay particular attention to any white butterflies and dip into your guide's extensive knowledge.

    • 3

      Sign up for a guided walk around the Cape May Bird Observatory in Cape May Point, NJ 08212, (609) 884-2736. Butterfly enclosures are on the premises and naturalist guides provide informative narration along with species identification.

    • 4

      Pack a copy of an Eastern States Butterfly guide book along with a handheld magnifying glass and a butterfly net and go for a hike in one of New Jersey's parks. Scoop up white colored butterflies and use the magnifying glass to observe wing patterns and the body. Cross reference this with the information in the butterfly guide book. Use a guide book that uses color sections to make identification easier. One such book is the Peterson's Guide to Eastern Butterflies.

    • 5

      Find local hiking groups through municipal parks and community outreach centers. Sign up for naturalist hikes and head out with others who may have knowledge on the insects, bugs and birds of the New Jersey area. There is no substitute for learning from those in the know.

    • 6

      Look for butterflies around wetlands or areas with lots of wildflowers. Species to keep an eye out for in New Jersey include the Southern and Northern Pearly-Eye butterflies that have a silvery white sheen to their wings and black and silver "eye" along the wings. Look for Checkered and West Virginia Whites, butterflies that are nearly all white on the wings with silvery-cream colored bodies. Acmon Blues and Eastern-Tailed Blues have a slightly blue tinge to a white set of wings and a black and blue body.