How to Know the Butterflies

The Cornell classic that taught America to name what it saw: every eastern butterfly described from life, with its caterpillar, its food-plants, its habits — and how to pronounce its Latin.

The Pronouncing Table

The Comstocks knew their readers were afraid of the Latin, so they respelled every name phonetically. Here they all are in one table — filter it, then follow any butterfly to its full description.

The table needs JavaScript — every name also appears on its own species page.

Rights & ReuseThe complete text of How to Know the Butterflies (1904) is in the public domain in the United States — like all works published before 1928 — and is free to read, download, quote, teach from, and reuse. This digital edition (its transcription, restored plates, and site design) is © 2026 PhotoOpAI, and any editorial commentary we add is clearly marked as ours; the underlying public-domain text carries no such restriction.