When you see a butterfly in New Hampshire, it might surprise you to know that the same species is present all the way west to the Central Plains and south to Texas and Florida. Some butterfly species present in a wide geographic area represent different sub-species that look similar but have regional differences. You’re already familiar with different species in New Hampshire that look so much alike you can’t tell them apart. There are over 750 species of butterflies in the United States, and we’ll explore some of those seen in Texas and New Hampshire and how many are the same or just similar or not at all alike.
Laurie Sheppard is a Massachusetts native who went to Texas for a job and stayed for the weather – at least the winter weather! Since retiring in 2016, Laurie has been able to “migrate with the Monarchs”, spending May through September in Rockingham County and the rest of the year in north Texas. In doing so, she gets to indulge her passion for birds and butterflies year-round. You can find many of her butterfly sightings on iNaturalist where she posts as lshepstew. While in New Hampshire, she has participated in the Seacoast Butterfly Count since it began in 2023 and added over 100 observations to the inaugural NH Audubon Nature Challenge in 2025.
