Butterflies Flying in California in August (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in California in August in our iNaturalist sample; 4 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 August

Monarch7,085 obs.

Fiery Skipper5,791 obs.

Gray Hairstreak3,583 obs.

Gulf Fritillary3,049 obs.

Gray Buckeye2,785 obs.

Small White2,722 obs.

Woodland Skipper2,605 obs.

Western Tiger Swallowtail2,338 obs.

Acmon Blue2,109 obs.

Anise Swallowtail2,072 obs.

California Sister1,971 obs.

Marine Blue1,964 obs.

All butterflies flying in California in August

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	7,085	Jul (past peak)
2	Fiery Skipper	Hylephila phyleus	Skippers	5,791	Sep (rising)
3	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	3,583	Aug (peak)
4	Gulf Fritillary	Dione vanillae	Brush-footed Butterflies	3,049	Sep (rising)
5	Gray Buckeye	Junonia grisea	Brush-footed Butterflies	2,785	Jun (past peak)
6	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	2,722	Jul (past peak)
7	Woodland Skipper	Ochlodes sylvanoides	Skippers	2,605	Sep (rising)
8	Western Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio rutulus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	2,338	Jun (past peak)
9	Acmon Blue	Icaricia acmon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	2,109	Jul (past peak)
10	Anise Swallowtail	Papilio zelicaon	Swallowtails and Parnassians	2,072	Jun (past peak)
11	California Sister	Adelpha californica	Brush-footed Butterflies	1,971	Jun (past peak)
12	Marine Blue	Leptotes marina	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	1,964	Jul (past peak)
13	Western Giant Swallowtail	Heraclides rumiko	Swallowtails and Parnassians	1,873	Sep (rising)
14	Lorquin's Admiral	Limenitis lorquini	Brush-footed Butterflies	1,498	Jun (past peak)
15	Mylitta Crescent	Phyciodes mylitta	Brush-footed Butterflies	1,373	Jun (past peak)
16	Mournful Duskywing	Erynnis tristis	Skippers	1,179	Aug (peak)
17	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	1,150	Apr (past peak)
18	Umber Skipper	Lon melane	Skippers	1,149	May (past peak)
19	West Coast Lady	Vanessa annabella	Brush-footed Butterflies	1,101	Apr (past peak)
20	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	1,037	Jul (past peak)
21	Common Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius communis	Skippers	927	Oct (rising)
22	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	920	Apr (past peak)
23	Western Pygmy-Blue	Brephidium exilis	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	864	Oct (rising)
24	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	762	Oct (rising)
25	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	706	Apr (past peak)
26	Checkered White	Pontia protodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	690	Jun (past peak)
27	California Tortoiseshell	Nymphalis californica	Brush-footed Butterflies	628	May (past peak)
28	Behr's Metalmark	Apodemia virgulti	Metalmark Butterflies	558	May (past peak)
29	Common Ringlet	Coenonympha california	Brush-footed Butterflies	551	Apr (past peak)
30	Field Crescent	Phyciodes pulchella	Brush-footed Butterflies	476	Jun (past peak)
31	Pale Swallowtail	Papilio eurymedon	Swallowtails and Parnassians	452	Jun (past peak)
32	Northern White-Skipper	Heliopetes ericetorum	Skippers	374	Jun (past peak)
33	Sandhill Skipper	Polites sabuleti	Skippers	352	Jul (past peak)
34	Cloudless Sulphur	Phoebis sennae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	288	Sep (rising)
35	Pine White	Neophasia menapia	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	283	Aug (peak)
36	Eufala Skipper	Lerodea eufala	Skippers	248	Sep (rising)
37	Satyr Comma	Polygonia satyrus	Brush-footed Butterflies	238	Jun (past peak)
38	Purplish Copper	Tharsalea helloides	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	238	Oct (rising)
39	White Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius albezens	Skippers	231	Oct (rising)
40	Queen	Danaus gilippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	189	Oct (rising)
41	Hedgerow Hairstreak	Satyrium saepium	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	172	Jun (past peak)
42	Mormon Fritillary	Argynnis mormonia	Brush-footed Butterflies	172	Aug (peak)
43	Ceraunus Blue	Hemiargus ceraunus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	151	Jun (past peak)
44	Hoary Comma	Polygonia gracilis	Brush-footed Butterflies	140	Jul (past peak)
45	Fatal Metalmark	Calephelis nemesis	Metalmark Butterflies	132	Jul (past peak)
46	Field Skipper	Atalopedes campestris	Skippers	130	Sep (rising)
47	Coronis Fritillary	Argynnis coronis	Brush-footed Butterflies	130	Jun (past peak)
48	Common Wood-Nymph	Cercyonis pegala	Brush-footed Butterflies	126	Jun (past peak)
49	Clodius Parnassian	Parnassius clodius	Swallowtails and Parnassians	115	Jul (past peak)
50	Funereal Duskywing	Erynnis funeralis	Skippers	104	Mar (past peak)