Butterflies Flying in California in October (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in California in October in our iNaturalist sample; 10 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 October

Monarch6,593 obs.

Fiery Skipper4,199 obs.

Gulf Fritillary3,659 obs.

Gray Buckeye2,664 obs.

Umber Skipper2,202 obs.

Small White2,071 obs.

Painted Lady2,055 obs.

Western Giant Swallowtail1,381 obs.

Western Pygmy-Blue1,303 obs.

Gray Hairstreak1,241 obs.

Orange Sulphur1,215 obs.

California Sister1,210 obs.

All butterflies flying in California in October

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	6,593	Jul (past peak)
2	Fiery Skipper	Hylephila phyleus	Skippers	4,199	Sep (past peak)
3	Gulf Fritillary	Dione vanillae	Brush-footed Butterflies	3,659	Sep (past peak)
4	Gray Buckeye	Junonia grisea	Brush-footed Butterflies	2,664	Jun (past peak)
5	Umber Skipper	Lon melane	Skippers	2,202	May (past peak)
6	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	2,071	Jul (past peak)
7	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	2,055	Apr (past peak)
8	Western Giant Swallowtail	Heraclides rumiko	Swallowtails and Parnassians	1,381	Sep (past peak)
9	Western Pygmy-Blue	Brephidium exilis	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	1,303	Oct (peak)
10	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	1,241	Aug (past peak)
11	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	1,215	Oct (peak)
12	California Sister	Adelpha californica	Brush-footed Butterflies	1,210	Jun (past peak)
13	Anise Swallowtail	Papilio zelicaon	Swallowtails and Parnassians	1,137	Jun (past peak)
14	Acmon Blue	Icaricia acmon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	1,085	Jul (past peak)
15	West Coast Lady	Vanessa annabella	Brush-footed Butterflies	1,068	Apr (past peak)
16	Marine Blue	Leptotes marina	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	997	Jul (past peak)
17	Common Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius communis	Skippers	991	Oct (peak)
18	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	846	Apr (past peak)
19	Mylitta Crescent	Phyciodes mylitta	Brush-footed Butterflies	822	Jun (past peak)
20	Behr's Metalmark	Apodemia virgulti	Metalmark Butterflies	789	May (past peak)
21	California Tortoiseshell	Nymphalis californica	Brush-footed Butterflies	782	May (past peak)
22	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	708	Jul (past peak)
23	Checkered White	Pontia protodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	706	Jun (past peak)
24	Woodland Skipper	Ochlodes sylvanoides	Skippers	571	Sep (past peak)
25	Queen	Danaus gilippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	492	Oct (peak)
26	Lorquin's Admiral	Limenitis lorquini	Brush-footed Butterflies	480	Jun (past peak)
27	White Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius albezens	Skippers	402	Oct (peak)
28	Mournful Duskywing	Erynnis tristis	Skippers	383	Aug (past peak)
29	Purplish Copper	Tharsalea helloides	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	367	Oct (peak)
30	Eufala Skipper	Lerodea eufala	Skippers	348	Sep (past peak)
31	California Patch	Chlosyne californica	Brush-footed Butterflies	337	Oct (peak)
32	Cloudless Sulphur	Phoebis sennae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	328	Sep (past peak)
33	Field Skipper	Atalopedes campestris	Skippers	254	Sep (past peak)
34	Northern White-Skipper	Heliopetes ericetorum	Skippers	253	Jun (past peak)
35	Great Purple Hairstreak	Atlides halesus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	251	Oct (peak)
36	Sandhill Skipper	Polites sabuleti	Skippers	203	Jul (past peak)
37	Dainty Sulphur	Nathalis iole	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	182	Sep (past peak)
38	Western Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio rutulus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	170	Jun (past peak)
39	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	169	Apr (past peak)
40	American Snout	Libytheana carinenta	Brush-footed Butterflies	163	Oct (peak)
41	Common Ringlet	Coenonympha california	Brush-footed Butterflies	159	Apr (past peak)
42	Field Crescent	Phyciodes pulchella	Brush-footed Butterflies	139	Jun (past peak)
43	Ceraunus Blue	Hemiargus ceraunus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	135	Jun (past peak)
44	Funereal Duskywing	Erynnis funeralis	Skippers	134	Mar (past peak)
45	Sleepy Orange	Eurema nicippe	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	122	Oct (peak)
46	Fatal Metalmark	Calephelis nemesis	Metalmark Butterflies	117	Jul (past peak)
47	Large Orange Sulphur	Phoebis agarithe	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	91	Sep (past peak)
48	Satyr Comma	Polygonia satyrus	Brush-footed Butterflies	58	Jun (past peak)
49	Variable Checkerspot	Euphydryas chalcedona	Brush-footed Butterflies	48	May (past peak)
50	Juba Skipper	Hesperia juba	Skippers	42	May (past peak)