Butterflies Flying in California in June (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in California in June in our iNaturalist sample; 21 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 June

Monarch6,993 obs.

Gray Buckeye4,924 obs.

Western Tiger Swallowtail3,806 obs.

Variable Checkerspot3,351 obs.

Small White3,120 obs.

Anise Swallowtail3,048 obs.

California Sister2,910 obs.

Pale Swallowtail2,899 obs.

Acmon Blue2,784 obs.

Mourning Cloak2,551 obs.

Fiery Skipper2,384 obs.

Mylitta Crescent2,360 obs.

All butterflies flying in California in June

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	6,993	Jul (rising)
2	Gray Buckeye	Junonia grisea	Brush-footed Butterflies	4,924	Jun (peak)
3	Western Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio rutulus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	3,806	Jun (peak)
4	Variable Checkerspot	Euphydryas chalcedona	Brush-footed Butterflies	3,351	May (past peak)
5	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	3,120	Jul (rising)
6	Anise Swallowtail	Papilio zelicaon	Swallowtails and Parnassians	3,048	Jun (peak)
7	California Sister	Adelpha californica	Brush-footed Butterflies	2,910	Jun (peak)
8	Pale Swallowtail	Papilio eurymedon	Swallowtails and Parnassians	2,899	Jun (peak)
9	Acmon Blue	Icaricia acmon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	2,784	Jul (rising)
10	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	2,551	Apr (past peak)
11	Fiery Skipper	Hylephila phyleus	Skippers	2,384	Sep (rising)
12	Mylitta Crescent	Phyciodes mylitta	Brush-footed Butterflies	2,360	Jun (peak)
13	Lorquin's Admiral	Limenitis lorquini	Brush-footed Butterflies	2,302	Jun (peak)
14	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	2,115	Aug (rising)
15	Echo Azure	Celastrina echo	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	2,113	Jun (peak)
16	Umber Skipper	Lon melane	Skippers	1,993	May (past peak)
17	Marine Blue	Leptotes marina	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	1,904	Jul (rising)
18	Hedgerow Hairstreak	Satyrium saepium	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	1,617	Jun (peak)
19	California Tortoiseshell	Nymphalis californica	Brush-footed Butterflies	1,602	May (past peak)
20	Gulf Fritillary	Dione vanillae	Brush-footed Butterflies	1,550	Sep (rising)
21	Rural Skipper	Ochlodes agricola	Skippers	1,429	Jun (peak)
22	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	1,262	Apr (past peak)
23	Checkered White	Pontia protodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	1,251	Jun (peak)
24	Bernardino Blue	Euphilotes bernardino	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	1,104	Jun (peak)
25	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	1,073	Apr (past peak)
26	West Coast Lady	Vanessa annabella	Brush-footed Butterflies	1,041	Apr (past peak)
27	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	910	Jul (rising)
28	Common Ringlet	Coenonympha california	Brush-footed Butterflies	890	Apr (past peak)
29	Mournful Duskywing	Erynnis tristis	Skippers	857	Aug (rising)
30	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	833	Oct (rising)
31	Boisduval's Blue	Icaricia icarioides	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	780	Jun (peak)
32	Behr's Metalmark	Apodemia virgulti	Metalmark Butterflies	763	May (past peak)
33	Funereal Duskywing	Erynnis funeralis	Skippers	698	Mar (past peak)
34	Northern Checkerspot	Chlosyne palla	Brush-footed Butterflies	696	May (past peak)
35	Western Pygmy-Blue	Brephidium exilis	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	667	Oct (rising)
36	Propertius Duskywing	Erynnis propertius	Skippers	662	Apr (past peak)
37	Common Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius communis	Skippers	662	Oct (rising)
38	Field Crescent	Phyciodes pulchella	Brush-footed Butterflies	649	Jun (peak)
39	Greenish Blue	Icaricia saepiolus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	611	Jul (rising)
40	Northern White-Skipper	Heliopetes ericetorum	Skippers	589	Jun (peak)
41	Satyr Comma	Polygonia satyrus	Brush-footed Butterflies	569	Jun (peak)
42	Callippe Fritillary	Argynnis callippe	Brush-footed Butterflies	522	Jun (peak)
43	Western Giant Swallowtail	Heraclides rumiko	Swallowtails and Parnassians	518	Sep (rising)
44	Clodius Parnassian	Parnassius clodius	Swallowtails and Parnassians	490	Jul (rising)
45	Brown Elfin	Callophrys augustinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	487	Apr (past peak)
46	Pacific Fritillary	Boloria epithore	Brush-footed Butterflies	479	Jun (peak)
47	Coronis Fritillary	Argynnis coronis	Brush-footed Butterflies	398	Jun (peak)
48	Juniper Hairstreak	Callophrys gryneus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	392	Jun (peak)
49	Common Wood-Nymph	Cercyonis pegala	Brush-footed Butterflies	325	Jun (peak)
50	Edith's Checkerspot	Euphydryas editha	Brush-footed Butterflies	307	May (past peak)