Butterflies Flying in Illinois in April (56 Species)

56 butterflies were recorded flying in Illinois in April in our iNaturalist sample; 9 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

Red Admiral1,382 obs.

American Lady360 obs.

Small White349 obs.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail283 obs.

Eastern Comma259 obs.

Zebra Swallowtail240 obs.

Mourning Cloak227 obs.

Pearl Crescent221 obs.

Juvenal's Duskywing170 obs.

Spring Azure149 obs.

Eastern Tailed-Blue124 obs.

Pipevine Swallowtail111 obs.

All butterflies flying in Illinois in April

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	1,382	Jul (rising)
2	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	360	May (rising)
3	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	349	Jul (rising)
4	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	283	Aug (rising)
5	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	259	Jul (rising)
6	Zebra Swallowtail	Eurytides marcellus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	240	Apr (peak)
7	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	227	Jun (rising)
8	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	221	Jul (rising)
9	Juvenal's Duskywing	Erynnis juvenalis	Skippers	170	Apr (peak)
10	Spring Azure	Celastrina ladon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	149	Apr (peak)
11	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	124	Jul (rising)
12	Pipevine Swallowtail	Battus philenor	Swallowtails and Parnassians	111	Jul (rising)
13	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	107	Jul (rising)
14	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	74	Sep (rising)
15	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	62	Jul (rising)
16	Falcate Orangetip	Anthocharis midea	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	59	Apr (peak)
17	Spicebush Swallowtail	Papilio troilus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	57	Jul (rising)
18	Zabulon Skipper	Lon zabulon	Skippers	54	Aug (rising)
19	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	48	Sep (rising)
20	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	46	Aug (rising)
21	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	46	Jul (rising)
22	Henry's Elfin	Callophrys henrici	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	35	Apr (peak)
23	Clouded Sulphur	Colias philodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	29	Sep (rising)
24	Goatweed Leafwing	Anaea andria	Brush-footed Butterflies	25	Apr (peak)
25	Gray Comma	Polygonia progne	Brush-footed Butterflies	24	Jul (rising)
26	Wild Indigo Duskywing	Erynnis baptisiae	Skippers	21	Aug (rising)
27	Meadow Fritillary	Boloria bellona	Brush-footed Butterflies	19	Jun (rising)
28	Eastern Gemmed-Satyr	Cyllopsis gemma	Brush-footed Butterflies	19	Sep (rising)
29	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	18	Aug (rising)
30	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	17	Sep (rising)
31	Juniper Hairstreak	Callophrys gryneus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	15	Apr (peak)
32	Harvester	Feniseca tarquinius	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	14	Aug (rising)
33	Common Sootywing	Pholisora catullus	Skippers	9	Aug (rising)
34	Red-banded Hairstreak	Calycopis cecrops	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	9	Jul (rising)
35	American Snout	Libytheana carinenta	Brush-footed Butterflies	8	Jul (rising)
36	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	8	Sep (rising)
37	Eastern Pine Elfin	Callophrys niphon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	5	Apr (peak)
38	Horace's Duskywing	Erynnis horatius	Skippers	4	Jul (rising)
39	White M Hairstreak	Parrhasius m-album	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	4	Apr (peak)
40	Common Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius communis	Skippers	4	Oct (rising)
41	Least Skipper	Ancyloxypha numitor	Skippers	3	Aug (rising)
42	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	3	Aug (rising)
43	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	3	Aug (rising)
44	Hackberry Emperor	Asterocampa celtis	Brush-footed Butterflies	3	Aug (rising)
45	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	3	Jun (rising)
46	Dainty Sulphur	Nathalis iole	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	2	Oct (rising)
47	Baltimore Checkerspot	Euphydryas phaeton	Brush-footed Butterflies	2	Jun (rising)
48	Checkered White	Pontia protodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	2	Aug (rising)
49	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	2	Jul (rising)
50	Eastern Giant Swallowtail	Heraclides cresphontes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	2	Jul (rising)