Kebnat

Gossamer-winged Butterflies

Lycaenidae · 31 species

In Québec, the family Lycaenidae (order Lepidoptera) counts 31 species of insects. The stars? Common Blue, Silvery Blue and Northern Azure, the most often observed. The richest region: Outaouais, with 21 species. Every species has its own page: photos, its season, its habitat and the best places to see it near you.

Species observed by region

Where do the observations come from?

  • Mostly iNaturalist : photos taken by people all over Québec, with the species confirmed by the community.
  • Other public sources : such as eBird for birds and the provincial forest inventories, gathered by GBIF, the global biodiversity data network.
  • What we keep : confirmed observations, with an exact position (not blurred to protect a rare species), that their author allows to be reused.
  • One place counts once : several observations of the same species at the same spot (within 11 m) count as one.
  • So our numbers are lower : than iNaturalist’s total. A region without observations does not mean the species does not live there.

Data downloaded in September 2026.

  1. Outaouais21
  2. Montérégie18
  3. Capitale-Nationale16
  4. Mauricie16
  5. Laurentides15
  6. Centre-du-Québec15
  7. Estrie14
  8. Côte-Nord14
  9. Montréal13
  10. Abitibi-Témiscamingue13
  11. Chaudière-Appalaches13
  12. Lanaudière13
  13. Nord-du-Québec12
  14. Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine12
  15. Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean11
  16. Bas-Saint-Laurent9
  17. Laval9

Gossamer-winged Butterflies 31

Lepidoptera
All4,550Lepidoptera2,108Coleoptera1,199Hemiptera482Hymenoptera230Diptera210Odonata151Orthoptera61Trichoptera35Ephemeroptera23Neuroptera21Mecoptera9Blattodea7Plecoptera7Dermaptera4Mantodea2Phasmida1
Lycaenidae
All2,108Noctuidae445Tortricidae317Geometridae242Erebidae203Crambidae132Gelechiidae84Pyralidae80Gracillariidae68Nymphalidae51Notodontidae49Lycaenidae31Sphingidae31Tineidae31Hesperiidae29Depressariidae26Nepticulidae24Sesiidae21Coleophoridae18Limacodidae15Pterophoridae14Momphidae13Pieridae13Nolidae12Saturniidae11Argyresthiidae10Drepanidae8Oecophoridae8Blastobasidae6Cosmopterigidae6Hepialidae6Lasiocampidae6Papilionidae6Bucculatricidae5Choreutidae5Cossidae5Tischeriidae5Autostichidae4Carposinidae4Elachistidae4Ethmiidae4Heliozelidae4Psychidae4Yponomeutidae4Euteliidae3Glyphipterigidae3Plutellidae3Scythrididae3Ypsolophidae3Adelidae2Alucitidae2Apatelodidae2Eriocraniidae2Incurvariidae2Lyonetiidae2Prodoxidae2Schreckensteiniidae2Uraniidae2Attevidae1Batrachedridae1Bedelliidae1Dryadaulidae1Epermeniidae1Heliodinidae1Lecithoceridae1Micropterigidae1Opostegidae1Thyrididae1Urodidae1
Common Blue2,937 observations
Silvery Blue964 observations
Northern Azure922 observations
Banded Hairstreak275 observations
Striped Hairstreak266 observations
Eastern Tailed-Blue192 observations
Spring Azure172 observations
Harvester165 observations
Bronze Copper132 observations
American Copper85 observations
Arctic Blue82 observations
Eastern Pine Elfin81 observations
Hickory Hairstreak71 observations
Bog Copper61 observations
Northern Blue43 observations
Early Hairstreak40 observations
Henry's Elfin39 observations
Brown Elfin36 observations
Greenish Blue30 observations
Western Tailed-blue25 observations
Acadian Hairstreak21 observations
Salt Marsh Copper15 observations
Western Pine Elfin14 observations
Coral Hairstreak14 observations
Dorcas Copper14 observations
Edwards' Hairstreak11 observations
Hoary Elfin11 observations
Gray Hairstreak7 observations
Summer Azure4 observations
Bog Elfin2 observations
Juniper Hairstreak1 observations