Butterfly Photo Contest

NABA Semi-Annual Photo Contest

The North American Butterfly Association is pleased to announce the 2024 NABA Butterfly Photo Contest! The contest will highlight spectacular photos of free-flying, unrestrained butterflies in nature photographed in the US, Canada and Mexico, as well as caterpillars, eggs and chrysalises.

Contest Rules Meet The Judges Contest FAQ

Get Inspired

Check out some of the past awardees of NABA’s Butterfly Photo Contest!

Contest Rules

Eligibility: Photographs of adult butterflies must be of free-flying, unrestrained butterflies taken in the field (not in a butterfly zoo), in Canada, the United States, or Mexico. Photographs of immatures must be of eggs, caterpillars or chrysalises taken in the field, or at a location (e.g. one’s house or laboratory) within 20 miles of where the eggs or caterpillars were obtained.

Entry Submission: To enter the contest, please email up to three (3) high-resolution digital photos in .jpeg format to [email protected]. The photographer’s name must be included in the file name of each photo, and your email must include your phone number, date and location of each photo, as well as camera, lens, flash, film and setting information for each photo to the extent known. Entries must be accompanied by a signed statement: 1) granting NABA the right to copy and publish the photograph, both in print and digital form; 2) stating that the photograph, if taken of adults, was taken in the field, of free-flying, unmanipulated butterflies, and if of immatures, that the photo was either taken in the wild or within 20 miles of where they were found and if removed from the wild, that they were reared through to adults (or this was attempted) and released where they were found.

Deadline: Entries must be received no later than June 30, 2024.

Honors: The winner will receive $300 and the 1st runner-up will receive $100. This year’s prize money was generously donated by the NABA – New Jersey Butterfly Club in memory of longtime member Ann Watts. Winning entries will be published in American Butterflies magazine.

Questions: If you have questions, please consult our FAQ section below, and if your question is still unanswered, email it to [email protected] with subject line ‘Butterfly Photo Contest Question’

Meet the Judges

Rick Cech

Rick is a life-long naturalist; also an active nature photographer and author/lecturer, with programs presented at several NABA conferences. Principal Author/photographer of Butterflies of the East Coast, head of New York City Butterfly Club, Curatorial Affiliate at Yale Peabody Museum in Entomology, Instructor at NY Botanical Gardens, and former President of Linnaean Society of NY.

Rick has photographed butterflies extensively in the neotropics with his late wife, Emily Peyton. When not in the field, Rick supervises large financial institutions for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Jeffrey Glassberg

Jeffrey Glassberg is the driving force behind the butterflying revolution. Due to his efforts, large numbers of Americans are now beginning, for the first time, to view butterflies as wildlife. Dr. Glassberg has followed butterflies since he was 5 years old. He obtained a B.S. degree in civil engineering from Tufts University and a Ph.D. in molecular genetics from Rice University, then conducted research at Stanford University Medical School with Nobel Laureate Arthur Kornberg. In 1981, while at Rockefeller University, he invented DNA fingerprinting, and co-founded a biotechnology company (Lifecodes Corporation), that commercialized this technique and taught the F.B.I. how to use it.
Dr. Glassberg is the founder and president of the North American Butterfly Association and a past president of Xerces Society. He is the editor of American Butterflies magazine, and the author of nine books, including A Swift Guide to Butterflies of North America. Dr. Glassberg graduated from the Columbia University School of Law in 1993, and is a member of the New York Bar. He is an Adjunct Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Rice University

Peter Post

Peter Post’s fascination with the natural world dates from early childhood. An avid nature and wildlife photographer, who started with a Brownie Box Camera 70 years ago, his photographs have been published in a number of books, and magazines, including Audubon and Natural History.

Peter has a PhD in Anthropology from Columbia University and was a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard University. He has done research, taught courses, and published scientific papers in both Ornithology and Biological Anthropology.

Watch Peter’s wonderful presentation ‘Wildlife Photography with Peter Post.’

Peter is a charter member of NABA.

Contest FAQ

Contest entrants are not required to be NABA Members, but we do strongly encourage everyone to join NABA to help butterflies survive and thrive!

For those who would like to join NABA, you can learn about the benefits of membership and join our community here: https://naba.org/membership/

A maximum of three photos can be submitted, and the date taken, the photographer’s name, the species of butterfly and the location where the photo was taken must be included in the file name of each photo. e.g. 20030705_Glassberg, Jeffrey_Anteros carausius_Yumka, TAB, Mexico

Photos should be in .jpeg format and high-resolution, at least 2MB and 300PPI

Photographs of ADULT BUTTERFLIES must be of free-flying, unrestrained butterflies taken in the field (not in a butterfly zoo), in Canada, the United States, or Mexico. Photographs of IMMATURES must be of eggs, caterpillars or chrysalises taken in the field, or at a location (e.g. one’s house or laboratory) within 20 miles of where the eggs or caterpillars were obtained.

Yes. Contest entry is open to all photographers, with the exception of the contest judges and the employees, officers and directors of the North American Butterfly Association.

To submit your entry, please email up to three (3) high-resolution digital photos in .jpeg format to [email protected].

The file name of each photo must include the date taken, the photographer’s name, the species of butterfly and the location where the photo was taken. e.g. 20030705_Glassberg, Jeffrey_Anteros carausius_Yumka, TAB, Mexico

Your submission email must include your phone number, date and location of each photo, as well as camera, lens, flash, film and setting information for each photo to the extent known.

Entries must be accompanied by a signed statement: 1) granting NABA the right to copy and publish the photograph, both in print and digital form; 2) stating that the photograph, if taken of adults, was taken in the field, of free-flying, unmanipulated butterflies, and if of immatures, that the photo was either taken in the wild or within 20 miles of where they were found and if removed from the wild, that they were reared through to adults (or this was attempted) and released where they were found.

Entries must be received no later than June 30, 2024.

The winner will receive $300 and the 1st runner-up will receive $100.

This year’s prize money was generously donated by the NABA – New Jersey Butterfly Club in memory of longtime member Ann Watts.

Winning entries will be published in American Butterflies magazine.

Commonly asked questions will be added here. If you do not see your question(s)/answer(s), please email [email protected] with your question(s) with the subject line ‘Butterfly Photo Contest Questions.’