56 butterflies were recorded flying in District of Columbia in September in our iNaturalist sample; 17 of the top 50 are at their peak this month. The list is ranked by number of research-grade observations.
Top butterflies in September
Huron Skipper
Monarch
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Common Buckeye
Fiery Skipper
Small White
Eastern Tailed-Blue
Variegated Fritillary
Silver-spotted Skipper
Pearl Crescent
Painted Lady
Spicebush Swallowtail
All butterflies flying in District of Columbia in September
| # | Species | Scientific name | Family | Obs. | Peak in state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huron Skipper | Atalopedes huron | Skippers | 528 | Sep (peak) |
| 2 | Monarch | Danaus plexippus | Brush-footed Butterflies | 417 | Sep (peak) |
| 3 | Eastern Tiger Swallowtail | Papilio glaucus | Swallowtails and Parnassians | 285 | Aug (past peak) |
| 4 | Common Buckeye | Junonia coenia | Brush-footed Butterflies | 169 | Sep (peak) |
| 5 | Fiery Skipper | Hylephila phyleus | Skippers | 153 | Sep (peak) |
| 6 | Small White | Pieris rapae | Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs | 107 | Jun (past peak) |
| 7 | Eastern Tailed-Blue | Everes comyntas | Gossamer-winged Butterflies | 76 | Sep (peak) |
| 8 | Variegated Fritillary | Euptoieta claudia | Brush-footed Butterflies | 76 | Sep (peak) |
| 9 | Silver-spotted Skipper | Epargyreus clarus | Skippers | 75 | Aug (past peak) |
| 10 | Pearl Crescent | Phyciodes tharos | Brush-footed Butterflies | 68 | Sep (peak) |
| 11 | Painted Lady | Vanessa cardui | Brush-footed Butterflies | 50 | Sep (peak) |
| 12 | Spicebush Swallowtail | Papilio troilus | Swallowtails and Parnassians | 48 | Aug (past peak) |
| 13 | Ocola Skipper | Panoquina ocola | Skippers | 46 | Sep (peak) |
| 14 | Peck's Skipper | Polites peckius | Skippers | 42 | Sep (peak) |
| 15 | Least Skipper | Ancyloxypha numitor | Skippers | 41 | Jul (past peak) |
| 16 | Horace's Duskywing | Erynnis horatius | Skippers | 35 | Sep (peak) |
| 17 | Gray Hairstreak | Strymon melinus | Gossamer-winged Butterflies | 35 | Sep (peak) |
| 18 | Pipevine Swallowtail | Battus philenor | Swallowtails and Parnassians | 31 | Sep (peak) |
| 19 | Red Admiral | Vanessa atalanta | Brush-footed Butterflies | 30 | Jul (past peak) |
| 20 | Red-banded Hairstreak | Calycopis cecrops | Gossamer-winged Butterflies | 29 | Aug (past peak) |
| 21 | Red-spotted Admiral | Limenitis arthemis | Brush-footed Butterflies | 26 | Aug (past peak) |
| 22 | Cloudless Sulphur | Phoebis sennae | Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs | 21 | Sep (peak) |
| 23 | Wild Indigo Duskywing | Erynnis baptisiae | Skippers | 21 | Sep (peak) |
| 24 | Appalachian Brown | Lethe appalachia | Brush-footed Butterflies | 20 | Aug (past peak) |
| 25 | Orange Sulphur | Colias eurytheme | Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs | 19 | Oct (rising) |
| 26 | Zabulon Skipper | Lon zabulon | Skippers | 19 | Aug (past peak) |
| 27 | Summer Azure | Celastrina neglecta | Gossamer-winged Butterflies | 18 | Jun (past peak) |
| 28 | Silvery Checkerspot | Chlosyne nycteis | Brush-footed Butterflies | 16 | Jul (past peak) |
| 29 | American Lady | Vanessa virginiensis | Brush-footed Butterflies | 15 | May (past peak) |
| 30 | Viceroy | Limenitis archippus | Brush-footed Butterflies | 14 | Jul (past peak) |
| 31 | Sleepy Orange | Eurema nicippe | Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs | 14 | Aug (past peak) |
| 32 | Question Mark | Polygonia interrogationis | Brush-footed Butterflies | 13 | May (past peak) |
| 33 | Clouded Skipper | Lerema accius | Skippers | 13 | Sep (peak) |
| 34 | Eastern Comma | Polygonia comma | Brush-footed Butterflies | 9 | Apr (past peak) |
| 35 | Black Swallowtail | Papilio polyxenes | Swallowtails and Parnassians | 9 | Jul (past peak) |
| 36 | Common Checkered-Skipper | Burnsius communis | Skippers | 9 | Oct (rising) |
| 37 | Broad-winged Skipper | Poanes viator | Skippers | 8 | Jun (past peak) |
| 38 | Zebra Swallowtail | Eurytides marcellus | Swallowtails and Parnassians | 7 | Jul (past peak) |
| 39 | Dun Skipper | Euphyes vestris | Skippers | 6 | Aug (past peak) |
| 40 | Common Sootywing | Pholisora catullus | Skippers | 5 | Aug (past peak) |
| 41 | Long-tailed Skipper | Urbanus proteus | Skippers | 4 | Oct (rising) |
| 42 | Northern Pearly-eye | Lethe anthedon | Brush-footed Butterflies | 4 | Jun (past peak) |
| 43 | Brazilian Skipper | Calpodes ethlius | Skippers | 3 | Sep (peak) |
| 44 | Clouded Sulphur | Colias philodice | Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs | 2 | Oct (rising) |
| 45 | American Snout | Libytheana carinenta | Brush-footed Butterflies | 2 | May (past peak) |
| 46 | Mourning Cloak | Nymphalis antiopa | Brush-footed Butterflies | 1 | Mar (past peak) |
| 47 | Juvenal's Duskywing | Erynnis juvenalis | Skippers | 1 | Apr (past peak) |
| 48 | Meadow Fritillary | Boloria bellona | Brush-footed Butterflies | 1 | Apr (past peak) |
| 49 | Common Wood-Nymph | Cercyonis pegala | Brush-footed Butterflies | 1 | Jul (past peak) |
| 50 | Hackberry Emperor | Asterocampa celtis | Brush-footed Butterflies | 1 | Aug (past peak) |