Butterflies Flying in Colorado in April (57 Species)

57 butterflies were recorded flying in Colorado in April in our iNaturalist sample; 5 of the top 50 are at their peak this month. The list is ranked by number of research-grade observations.

Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov

Top butterflies in April

Mourning Cloak380 obs.

Painted Lady360 obs.

Small White253 obs.

Hoary Comma226 obs.

Western Pine Elfin84 obs.

Milbert's Tortoiseshell68 obs.

Gray Hairstreak63 obs.

Anise Swallowtail53 obs.

Common Checkered-Skipper49 obs.

Two-tailed Swallowtail47 obs.

California Tortoiseshell39 obs.

Checkered White33 obs.

All butterflies flying in Colorado in April

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	380	Apr (peak)
2	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	360	Sep (rising)
3	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	253	Jul (rising)
4	Hoary Comma	Polygonia gracilis	Brush-footed Butterflies	226	Jul (rising)
5	Western Pine Elfin	Callophrys eryphon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	84	May (rising)
6	Milbert's Tortoiseshell	Aglais milberti	Brush-footed Butterflies	68	Jul (rising)
7	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	63	Aug (rising)
8	Anise Swallowtail	Papilio zelicaon	Swallowtails and Parnassians	53	Jun (rising)
9	Common Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius communis	Skippers	49	Aug (rising)
10	Two-tailed Swallowtail	Papilio multicaudata	Swallowtails and Parnassians	47	Jul (rising)
11	California Tortoiseshell	Nymphalis californica	Brush-footed Butterflies	39	Apr (peak)
12	Checkered White	Pontia protodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	33	Jul (rising)
13	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	30	Jun (rising)
14	Brown Elfin	Callophrys augustinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	30	Apr (peak)
15	Satyr Comma	Polygonia satyrus	Brush-footed Butterflies	27	Jul (rising)
16	Silvery Blue	Glaucopsyche lygdamus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	27	Jun (rising)
17	Juba Skipper	Hesperia juba	Skippers	26	May (rising)
18	Clouded Sulphur	Colias philodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	24	Sep (rising)
19	Field Crescent	Phyciodes pulchella	Brush-footed Butterflies	24	May (rising)
20	Western Tailed-blue	Everes amyntula	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	22	Jun (rising)
21	Sagebrush Checkerspot	Chlosyne acastus	Brush-footed Butterflies	20	May (rising)
22	Horace's Duskywing	Erynnis horatius	Skippers	19	Jul (rising)
23	Juniper Hairstreak	Callophrys gryneus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	19	Jun (rising)
24	Sleepy Duskywing	Erynnis brizo	Skippers	18	Apr (peak)
25	Echo Azure	Celastrina echo	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	16	May (rising)
26	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	15	Jul (rising)
27	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	11	Jul (rising)
28	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	10	Jul (rising)
29	Green Comma	Polygonia faunus	Brush-footed Butterflies	10	Aug (rising)
30	Gorgone Checkerspot	Chlosyne gorgone	Brush-footed Butterflies	10	Jun (rising)
31	Western White	Pontia occidentalis	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	10	Jul (rising)
32	Lupine Blue	Icaricia lupini	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	9	Jul (rising)
33	Goatweed Leafwing	Anaea andria	Brush-footed Butterflies	8	Aug (rising)
34	Becker's White	Pontia beckerii	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	8	Jun (rising)
35	Melissa Blue	Plebejus melissa	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	7	Jul (rising)
36	Marine Blue	Leptotes marina	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	4	Sep (rising)
37	Mylitta Crescent	Phyciodes mylitta	Brush-footed Butterflies	4	Jul (rising)
38	West Coast Lady	Vanessa annabella	Brush-footed Butterflies	3	Oct (rising)
39	Western Pygmy-Blue	Brephidium exilis	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	3	Sep (rising)
40	Common Sootywing	Pholisora catullus	Skippers	3	Jun (rising)
41	Great Purple Hairstreak	Atlides halesus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	3	Apr (peak)
42	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	2	Sep (rising)
43	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	2	Aug (rising)
44	Funereal Duskywing	Erynnis funeralis	Skippers	2	Jul (rising)
45	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	2	Jun (rising)
46	Margined White	Pieris marginalis	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	2	Jul (rising)
47	Gray Buckeye	Junonia grisea	Brush-footed Butterflies	2	Oct (rising)
48	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	1	Oct (rising)
49	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	1	Aug (rising)
50	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	1	Mar (past peak)