There are approximately 20,000 species of butterflies in the world. About 725 species have occurred in North American north of Mexico, with about 575 of these occurring regularly in the lower 48 states of the United States, and with about 275 species occurring regularly in Canada. read more
In "Butterflies of Mexico & USA" ( Scott, 1992 ) a census estimated that there were approx 14750 butterfly species ( including skippers ) worldwide. In 2007 Hoskins collated data from a number of sources and produced a World Butterfly Census which enumerates 17657 currently known species. read more