Butterflies Flying in District of Columbia in May (43 Species)

43 butterflies were recorded flying in District of Columbia in May in our iNaturalist sample; 3 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

Top butterflies in May

Zabulon Skipper115 obs.

Small White93 obs.

Eastern Tailed-Blue48 obs.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail48 obs.

Red Admiral47 obs.

Silver-spotted Skipper44 obs.

Question Mark34 obs.

Least Skipper31 obs.

Pearl Crescent28 obs.

Eastern Comma21 obs.

Monarch20 obs.

Silvery Checkerspot20 obs.

All butterflies flying in District of Columbia in May

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Zabulon Skipper	Lon zabulon	Skippers	115	Aug (rising)
2	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	93	Jun (rising)
3	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	48	Sep (rising)
4	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	48	Aug (rising)
5	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	47	Jul (rising)
6	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	44	Aug (rising)
7	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	34	May (peak)
8	Least Skipper	Ancyloxypha numitor	Skippers	31	Jul (rising)
9	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	28	Sep (rising)
10	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	21	Apr (past peak)
11	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	20	Sep (rising)
12	Silvery Checkerspot	Chlosyne nycteis	Brush-footed Butterflies	20	Jul (rising)
13	Red-banded Hairstreak	Calycopis cecrops	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	20	Aug (rising)
14	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	19	Jun (rising)
15	Spicebush Swallowtail	Papilio troilus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	16	Aug (rising)
16	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	15	May (peak)
17	Huron Skipper	Atalopedes huron	Skippers	11	Sep (rising)
18	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	9	Mar (past peak)
19	Zebra Swallowtail	Eurytides marcellus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	8	Jul (rising)
20	Peck's Skipper	Polites peckius	Skippers	8	Sep (rising)
21	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	7	Oct (rising)
22	American Snout	Libytheana carinenta	Brush-footed Butterflies	7	May (peak)
23	Appalachian Brown	Lethe appalachia	Brush-footed Butterflies	7	Aug (rising)
24	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	6	Sep (rising)
25	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	6	Jul (rising)
26	Little Wood Satyr	Megisto cymela	Brush-footed Butterflies	5	Jun (rising)
27	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	5	Sep (rising)
28	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	4	Sep (rising)
29	Banded Hairstreak	Satyrium calanus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	4	Jun (rising)
30	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	4	Aug (rising)
31	White M Hairstreak	Parrhasius m-album	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	4	Apr (past peak)
32	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	3	Jul (rising)
33	Pipevine Swallowtail	Battus philenor	Swallowtails and Parnassians	2	Sep (rising)
34	Common Sootywing	Pholisora catullus	Skippers	2	Aug (rising)
35	Clouded Sulphur	Colias philodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	2	Oct (rising)
36	Little Glassywing	Vernia verna	Skippers	2	Aug (rising)
37	Cloudless Sulphur	Phoebis sennae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	1	Sep (rising)
38	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	1	Sep (rising)
39	Wild Indigo Duskywing	Erynnis baptisiae	Skippers	1	Sep (rising)
40	Broad-winged Skipper	Poanes viator	Skippers	1	Jun (rising)
41	Dun Skipper	Euphyes vestris	Skippers	1	Aug (rising)
42	Harvester	Feniseca tarquinius	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	1	Apr (past peak)
43	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	1	Jun (rising)