Butterflies Flying in Delaware in May (43 Species)

43 butterflies were recorded flying in Delaware in May in our iNaturalist sample; 0 of the top 50 are at their peak this month. The list is ranked by number of research-grade observations.

Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov

Top butterflies in May

Zabulon Skipper169 obs.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail83 obs.

Silver-spotted Skipper69 obs.

Monarch64 obs.

American Lady62 obs.

Red Admiral61 obs.

Eastern Tailed-Blue59 obs.

Red-banded Hairstreak57 obs.

Small White50 obs.

Pearl Crescent49 obs.

Spicebush Swallowtail39 obs.

Question Mark26 obs.

All butterflies flying in Delaware in May

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Zabulon Skipper	Lon zabulon	Skippers	169	Aug (rising)
2	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	83	Aug (rising)
3	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	69	Aug (rising)
4	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	64	Aug (rising)
5	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	62	Jun (rising)
6	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	61	Jul (rising)
7	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	59	Sep (rising)
8	Red-banded Hairstreak	Calycopis cecrops	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	57	Aug (rising)
9	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	50	Jun (rising)
10	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	49	Sep (rising)
11	Spicebush Swallowtail	Papilio troilus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	39	Aug (rising)
12	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	26	Aug (rising)
13	Least Skipper	Ancyloxypha numitor	Skippers	24	Jul (rising)
14	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	24	Jul (rising)
15	Huron Skipper	Atalopedes huron	Skippers	24	Sep (rising)
16	Peck's Skipper	Polites peckius	Skippers	18	Sep (rising)
17	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	14	Mar (past peak)
18	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	10	Aug (rising)
19	Little Wood Satyr	Megisto cymela	Brush-footed Butterflies	7	Jun (rising)
20	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	6	Sep (rising)
21	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	6	Apr (past peak)
22	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	6	Sep (rising)
23	Common Sootywing	Pholisora catullus	Skippers	5	Aug (rising)
24	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	5	Sep (rising)
25	Harvester	Feniseca tarquinius	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	5	Aug (rising)
26	Zebra Swallowtail	Eurytides marcellus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	5	Jun (rising)
27	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	4	Sep (rising)
28	Horace's Duskywing	Erynnis horatius	Skippers	4	Jul (rising)
29	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	4	Sep (rising)
30	Bronze Copper	Tharsalea hyllus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	4	Jul (rising)
31	Pipevine Swallowtail	Battus philenor	Swallowtails and Parnassians	3	Aug (rising)
32	Juvenal's Duskywing	Erynnis juvenalis	Skippers	3	Apr (past peak)
33	Sleepy Orange	Eurema nicippe	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	3	Aug (rising)
34	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	3	Jun (rising)
35	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	2	Sep (rising)
36	Wild Indigo Duskywing	Erynnis baptisiae	Skippers	2	Aug (rising)
37	Dun Skipper	Euphyes vestris	Skippers	2	Jun (rising)
38	Hackberry Emperor	Asterocampa celtis	Brush-footed Butterflies	2	Aug (rising)
39	Eastern Pine Elfin	Callophrys niphon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	1	Apr (past peak)
40	Common Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius communis	Skippers	1	Oct (rising)
41	Hobomok Skipper	Lon hobomok	Skippers	1	Jun (rising)
42	Little Glassywing	Vernia verna	Skippers	1	Jun (rising)
43	American Copper	Lycaena hypophlaeas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	1	Sep (rising)