Butterflies Flying in Alabama in May (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in Alabama in May in our iNaturalist sample; 8 of the top 50 are at their peak this month. The list is ranked by number of research-grade observations.

Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Top butterflies in May

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail258 obs.

Pipevine Swallowtail208 obs.

Hackberry Emperor177 obs.

Common Buckeye176 obs.

American Lady175 obs.

Eastern Tailed-Blue165 obs.

Spicebush Swallowtail153 obs.

Silver-spotted Skipper139 obs.

Pearl Crescent133 obs.

Zebra Swallowtail106 obs.

American Snout104 obs.

Little Wood Satyr97 obs.

All butterflies flying in Alabama in May

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	258	Aug (rising)
2	Pipevine Swallowtail	Battus philenor	Swallowtails and Parnassians	208	Sep (rising)
3	Hackberry Emperor	Asterocampa celtis	Brush-footed Butterflies	177	Sep (rising)
4	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	176	Sep (rising)
5	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	175	May (peak)
6	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	165	Sep (rising)
7	Spicebush Swallowtail	Papilio troilus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	153	Aug (rising)
8	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	139	Aug (rising)
9	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	133	Sep (rising)
10	Zebra Swallowtail	Eurytides marcellus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	106	Apr (past peak)
11	American Snout	Libytheana carinenta	Brush-footed Butterflies	104	Jun (rising)
12	Little Wood Satyr	Megisto cymela	Brush-footed Butterflies	97	May (peak)
13	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	94	Sep (rising)
14	Carolina Satyr	Hermeuptychia sosybius	Brush-footed Butterflies	91	Aug (rising)
15	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	88	Sep (rising)
16	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	84	Oct (rising)
17	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	83	Aug (rising)
18	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	79	May (peak)
19	Zabulon Skipper	Lon zabulon	Skippers	68	Aug (rising)
20	Horace's Duskywing	Erynnis horatius	Skippers	62	Aug (rising)
21	Fiery Skipper	Hylephila phyleus	Skippers	52	Aug (rising)
22	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	45	Sep (rising)
23	Northern Pearly-eye	Lethe anthedon	Brush-footed Butterflies	42	May (peak)
24	Eastern Giant Swallowtail	Heraclides cresphontes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	39	Sep (rising)
25	Sleepy Orange	Eurema nicippe	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	38	Aug (rising)
26	Gulf Fritillary	Dione vanillae	Brush-footed Butterflies	37	Sep (rising)
27	Silvery Checkerspot	Chlosyne nycteis	Brush-footed Butterflies	35	Aug (rising)
28	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	34	Jun (rising)
29	Red-banded Hairstreak	Calycopis cecrops	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	33	Sep (rising)
30	Clouded Skipper	Lerema accius	Skippers	31	Oct (rising)
31	Cloudless Sulphur	Phoebis sennae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	29	Sep (rising)
32	Banded Hairstreak	Satyrium calanus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	26	May (peak)
33	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	26	Sep (rising)
34	Whirlabout	Hedone vibex	Skippers	26	Aug (rising)
35	Broad-winged Skipper	Poanes viator	Skippers	22	May (peak)
36	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	21	Sep (rising)
37	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	20	May (peak)
38	Hoary Edge	Cecropterus lyciades	Skippers	19	Jul (rising)
39	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	18	Sep (rising)
40	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	18	Jun (rising)
41	Tawny Emperor	Asterocampa clyton	Brush-footed Butterflies	17	Sep (rising)
42	Twin-spot Skipper	Oligoria maculata	Skippers	17	May (peak)
43	Checkered White	Pontia protodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	16	Jun (rising)
44	Palamedes Swallowtail	Papilio palamedes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	16	Sep (rising)
45	Least Skipper	Ancyloxypha numitor	Skippers	15	Sep (rising)
46	Southern Pearly-eye	Lethe portlandia	Brush-footed Butterflies	13	Sep (rising)
47	Appalachian Brown	Lethe appalachia	Brush-footed Butterflies	12	Jul (rising)
48	Coral Hairstreak	Satyrium titus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	11	Jun (rising)
49	Tropical Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius oileus	Skippers	11	Oct (rising)
50	Phaon Crescent	Phyciodes phaon	Brush-footed Butterflies	10	Oct (rising)