Butterflies Flying in Illinois in August (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in Illinois in August in our iNaturalist sample; 16 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 August

Monarch6,053 obs.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail2,623 obs.

Silver-spotted Skipper1,994 obs.

Black Swallowtail1,909 obs.

Pearl Crescent1,692 obs.

Common Buckeye1,587 obs.

Small White1,196 obs.

Eastern Tailed-Blue1,152 obs.

Hackberry Emperor1,112 obs.

Zabulon Skipper1,102 obs.

Painted Lady1,007 obs.

Peck's Skipper1,006 obs.

All butterflies flying in Illinois in August

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	6,053	Aug (peak)
2	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	2,623	Aug (peak)
3	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	1,994	Jul (past peak)
4	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	1,909	Jul (past peak)
5	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	1,692	Jul (past peak)
6	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	1,587	Aug (peak)
7	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	1,196	Jul (past peak)
8	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	1,152	Jul (past peak)
9	Hackberry Emperor	Asterocampa celtis	Brush-footed Butterflies	1,112	Aug (peak)
10	Zabulon Skipper	Lon zabulon	Skippers	1,102	Aug (peak)
11	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	1,007	Sep (rising)
12	Peck's Skipper	Polites peckius	Skippers	1,006	Aug (peak)
13	Fiery Skipper	Hylephila phyleus	Skippers	938	Sep (rising)
14	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	693	Sep (rising)
15	Spicebush Swallowtail	Papilio troilus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	683	Jul (past peak)
16	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	672	Aug (peak)
17	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	628	Jul (past peak)
18	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	510	Aug (peak)
19	Pipevine Swallowtail	Battus philenor	Swallowtails and Parnassians	491	Jul (past peak)
20	Eastern Giant Swallowtail	Heraclides cresphontes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	426	Jul (past peak)
21	Least Skipper	Ancyloxypha numitor	Skippers	418	Aug (peak)
22	Tawny-edged Skipper	Polites themistocles	Skippers	401	Aug (peak)
23	Wild Indigo Duskywing	Erynnis baptisiae	Skippers	381	Aug (peak)
24	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	374	Jul (past peak)
25	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	319	Jul (past peak)
26	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	306	Jul (past peak)
27	Northern Pearly-eye	Lethe anthedon	Brush-footed Butterflies	289	Jul (past peak)
28	American Snout	Libytheana carinenta	Brush-footed Butterflies	267	Jul (past peak)
29	Cloudless Sulphur	Phoebis sennae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	231	Aug (peak)
30	Common Sootywing	Pholisora catullus	Skippers	224	Aug (peak)
31	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	215	Sep (rising)
32	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	202	Jun (past peak)
33	Huron Skipper	Atalopedes huron	Skippers	182	Sep (rising)
34	Little Yellow	Eurema lisa	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	145	Jul (past peak)
35	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	144	Sep (rising)
36	Silvery Checkerspot	Chlosyne nycteis	Brush-footed Butterflies	143	Jul (past peak)
37	Clouded Sulphur	Colias philodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	142	Sep (rising)
38	Delaware Skipper	Anatrytone logan	Skippers	131	Jul (past peak)
39	Common Wood-Nymph	Cercyonis pegala	Brush-footed Butterflies	129	Jul (past peak)
40	Tawny Emperor	Asterocampa clyton	Brush-footed Butterflies	118	Aug (peak)
41	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	101	May (past peak)
42	Dun Skipper	Euphyes vestris	Skippers	86	Jun (past peak)
43	Bronze Copper	Tharsalea hyllus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	73	Aug (peak)
44	Zebra Swallowtail	Eurytides marcellus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	61	Apr (past peak)
45	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	59	Jun (past peak)
46	Gray Comma	Polygonia progne	Brush-footed Butterflies	58	Jul (past peak)
47	Meadow Fritillary	Boloria bellona	Brush-footed Butterflies	50	Jun (past peak)
48	Harvester	Feniseca tarquinius	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	49	Aug (peak)
49	Northern Broken-Dash	Polites egeremet	Skippers	49	Jul (past peak)
50	Little Glassywing	Vernia verna	Skippers	34	Jul (past peak)