Butterflies Flying in Arizona in May (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in Arizona in May in our iNaturalist sample; 6 of the top 50 are at their peak this month. The list is ranked by number of research-grade observations.

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Top butterflies in May

Marine Blue1,463 obs.

Queen550 obs.

Pipevine Swallowtail459 obs.

Arizona Sister433 obs.

Gray Buckeye432 obs.

Checkered White404 obs.

Empress Leilia402 obs.

Gray Hairstreak401 obs.

Texan Crescent350 obs.

Reakirt's Blue298 obs.

Gulf Fritillary269 obs.

Dainty Sulphur221 obs.

All butterflies flying in Arizona in May

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Marine Blue	Leptotes marina	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	1,463	May (peak)
2	Queen	Danaus gilippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	550	Sep (rising)
3	Pipevine Swallowtail	Battus philenor	Swallowtails and Parnassians	459	Sep (rising)
4	Arizona Sister	Adelpha eulalia	Brush-footed Butterflies	433	Aug (rising)
5	Gray Buckeye	Junonia grisea	Brush-footed Butterflies	432	May (peak)
6	Checkered White	Pontia protodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	404	Apr (past peak)
7	Empress Leilia	Asterocampa leilia	Brush-footed Butterflies	402	Oct (rising)
8	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	401	Sep (rising)
9	Texan Crescent	Anthanassa texana	Brush-footed Butterflies	350	Apr (past peak)
10	Reakirt's Blue	Echinargus isola	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	298	Aug (rising)
11	Gulf Fritillary	Dione vanillae	Brush-footed Butterflies	269	Sep (rising)
12	Dainty Sulphur	Nathalis iole	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	221	Oct (rising)
13	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	217	Jun (rising)
14	Echo Azure	Celastrina echo	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	205	Jul (rising)
15	Sleepy Orange	Eurema nicippe	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	195	Sep (rising)
16	Lupine Blue	Icaricia lupini	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	167	May (peak)
17	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	162	Apr (past peak)
18	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	159	Aug (rising)
19	American Snout	Libytheana carinenta	Brush-footed Butterflies	147	Sep (rising)
20	Ceraunus Blue	Hemiargus ceraunus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	131	Aug (rising)
21	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	128	Aug (rising)
22	Western Giant Swallowtail	Heraclides rumiko	Swallowtails and Parnassians	125	Oct (rising)
23	Two-tailed Swallowtail	Papilio multicaudata	Swallowtails and Parnassians	123	Aug (rising)
24	Bordered Patch	Chlosyne lacinia	Brush-footed Butterflies	116	Aug (rising)
25	Orange Skipperling	Oarisma aurantiaca	Skippers	116	Sep (rising)
26	Fatal Metalmark	Calephelis nemesis	Metalmark Butterflies	106	Sep (rising)
27	Western Pygmy-Blue	Brephidium exilis	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	94	Oct (rising)
28	Mexican Yellow	Eurema mexicana	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	89	Oct (rising)
29	Fiery Skipper	Hylephila phyleus	Skippers	85	Sep (rising)
30	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	81	Sep (rising)
31	Southern Dogface	Zerene cesonia	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	78	Oct (rising)
32	Juniper Hairstreak	Callophrys gryneus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	76	Apr (past peak)
33	Mylitta Crescent	Phyciodes mylitta	Brush-footed Butterflies	75	May (peak)
34	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	69	Oct (rising)
35	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	60	Sep (rising)
36	Western Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio rutulus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	56	Jun (rising)
37	West Coast Lady	Vanessa annabella	Brush-footed Butterflies	54	Apr (past peak)
38	Hackberry Emperor	Asterocampa celtis	Brush-footed Butterflies	54	Sep (rising)
39	Funereal Duskywing	Erynnis funeralis	Skippers	53	Sep (rising)
40	Western Pine Elfin	Callophrys eryphon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	48	May (peak)
41	Northern White-Skipper	Heliopetes ericetorum	Skippers	44	May (peak)
42	Great Purple Hairstreak	Atlides halesus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	43	Oct (rising)
43	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	38	Aug (rising)
44	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	33	Jul (rising)
45	California Patch	Chlosyne californica	Brush-footed Butterflies	27	Sep (rising)
46	Weidemeyer's Admiral	Limenitis weidemeyerii	Brush-footed Butterflies	25	Jul (rising)
47	Satyr Comma	Polygonia satyrus	Brush-footed Butterflies	23	Mar (past peak)
48	White Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius albezens	Skippers	22	Oct (rising)
49	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	21	Mar (past peak)
50	Melissa Blue	Plebejus melissa	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	21	Jun (rising)