Butterflies Flying in Colorado in May (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in Colorado in May 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 May

Painted Lady407 obs.

Mourning Cloak272 obs.

Variegated Fritillary227 obs.

Silvery Blue201 obs.

Gorgone Checkerspot196 obs.

Field Crescent193 obs.

Western Pine Elfin191 obs.

Two-tailed Swallowtail190 obs.

Hoary Comma174 obs.

Western Tailed-blue166 obs.

Checkered White165 obs.

Small White161 obs.

All butterflies flying in Colorado in May

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	407	Sep (rising)
2	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	272	Apr (past peak)
3	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	227	Jul (rising)
4	Silvery Blue	Glaucopsyche lygdamus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	201	Jun (rising)
5	Gorgone Checkerspot	Chlosyne gorgone	Brush-footed Butterflies	196	Jun (rising)
6	Field Crescent	Phyciodes pulchella	Brush-footed Butterflies	193	May (peak)
7	Western Pine Elfin	Callophrys eryphon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	191	May (peak)
8	Two-tailed Swallowtail	Papilio multicaudata	Swallowtails and Parnassians	190	Jul (rising)
9	Hoary Comma	Polygonia gracilis	Brush-footed Butterflies	174	Jul (rising)
10	Western Tailed-blue	Everes amyntula	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	166	Jun (rising)
11	Checkered White	Pontia protodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	165	Jul (rising)
12	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	161	Jul (rising)
13	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	158	Jun (rising)
14	Anise Swallowtail	Papilio zelicaon	Swallowtails and Parnassians	145	Jun (rising)
15	Melissa Blue	Plebejus melissa	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	129	Jul (rising)
16	Common Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius communis	Skippers	128	Aug (rising)
17	Common Ringlet	Coenonympha california	Brush-footed Butterflies	103	Jun (rising)
18	Juba Skipper	Hesperia juba	Skippers	92	May (peak)
19	Pale Swallowtail	Papilio eurymedon	Swallowtails and Parnassians	84	Jun (rising)
20	Sagebrush Checkerspot	Chlosyne acastus	Brush-footed Butterflies	76	May (peak)
21	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	63	Aug (rising)
22	Echo Azure	Celastrina echo	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	58	May (peak)
23	Western Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio rutulus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	49	Jun (rising)
24	Juniper Hairstreak	Callophrys gryneus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	49	Jun (rising)
25	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	45	Jul (rising)
26	Common Sootywing	Pholisora catullus	Skippers	44	Jun (rising)
27	Peck's Skipper	Polites peckius	Skippers	43	Aug (rising)
28	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	42	Jun (rising)
29	Milbert's Tortoiseshell	Aglais milberti	Brush-footed Butterflies	39	Jul (rising)
30	Satyr Comma	Polygonia satyrus	Brush-footed Butterflies	38	Jul (rising)
31	Rocky Mountain Parnassian	Parnassius smintheus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	35	Jul (rising)
32	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	34	Jul (rising)
33	Boisduval's Blue	Icaricia icarioides	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	34	Jul (rising)
34	Weidemeyer's Admiral	Limenitis weidemeyerii	Brush-footed Butterflies	33	Jul (rising)
35	Dreamy Duskywing	Erynnis icelus	Skippers	29	Jun (rising)
36	Reakirt's Blue	Echinargus isola	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	29	Jul (rising)
37	Brown Elfin	Callophrys augustinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	28	Apr (past peak)
38	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	27	Aug (rising)
39	Clouded Sulphur	Colias philodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	27	Sep (rising)
40	Northern Cloudywing	Cecropterus pylades	Skippers	25	Jun (rising)
41	Purplish Copper	Tharsalea helloides	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	22	Sep (rising)
42	California Tortoiseshell	Nymphalis californica	Brush-footed Butterflies	18	Apr (past peak)
43	Green Comma	Polygonia faunus	Brush-footed Butterflies	17	Aug (rising)
44	Lupine Blue	Icaricia lupini	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	17	Jul (rising)
45	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	15	Sep (rising)
46	Becker's White	Pontia beckerii	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	12	Jun (rising)
47	Sleepy Duskywing	Erynnis brizo	Skippers	11	Apr (past peak)
48	Tawny-edged Skipper	Polites themistocles	Skippers	11	Jun (rising)
49	Horace's Duskywing	Erynnis horatius	Skippers	10	Jul (rising)
50	Goatweed Leafwing	Anaea andria	Brush-footed Butterflies	10	Aug (rising)