Butterflies Flying in Indiana in May (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in Indiana in May in our iNaturalist sample; 2 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 May

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail308 obs.

Red Admiral277 obs.

Zabulon Skipper243 obs.

Pearl Crescent168 obs.

Spicebush Swallowtail158 obs.

Silver-spotted Skipper148 obs.

Question Mark127 obs.

Eastern Tailed-Blue122 obs.

Monarch121 obs.

Little Wood Satyr114 obs.

Great Spangled Fritillary106 obs.

Small White92 obs.

All butterflies flying in Indiana in May

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	308	Aug (rising)
2	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	277	Jun (rising)
3	Zabulon Skipper	Lon zabulon	Skippers	243	Aug (rising)
4	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	168	Aug (rising)
5	Spicebush Swallowtail	Papilio troilus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	158	Jul (rising)
6	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	148	Aug (rising)
7	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	127	Jul (rising)
8	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	122	Aug (rising)
9	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	121	Aug (rising)
10	Little Wood Satyr	Megisto cymela	Brush-footed Butterflies	114	Jun (rising)
11	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	106	Jun (rising)
12	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	92	Sep (rising)
13	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	80	Aug (rising)
14	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	76	May (peak)
15	Peck's Skipper	Polites peckius	Skippers	66	Sep (rising)
16	Zebra Swallowtail	Eurytides marcellus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	64	Jun (rising)
17	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	56	Jul (rising)
18	Silvery Checkerspot	Chlosyne nycteis	Brush-footed Butterflies	53	Jul (rising)
19	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	48	Mar (past peak)
20	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	46	Aug (rising)
21	Pipevine Swallowtail	Battus philenor	Swallowtails and Parnassians	44	Jul (rising)
22	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	41	Sep (rising)
23	Northern Pearly-eye	Lethe anthedon	Brush-footed Butterflies	41	Aug (rising)
24	Juvenal's Duskywing	Erynnis juvenalis	Skippers	36	Apr (past peak)
25	Eastern Giant Swallowtail	Heraclides cresphontes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	33	Jul (rising)
26	Least Skipper	Ancyloxypha numitor	Skippers	31	Aug (rising)
27	Tawny-edged Skipper	Polites themistocles	Skippers	30	Aug (rising)
28	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	28	Aug (rising)
29	Hobomok Skipper	Lon hobomok	Skippers	23	May (peak)
30	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	21	Sep (rising)
31	Hackberry Emperor	Asterocampa celtis	Brush-footed Butterflies	21	Aug (rising)
32	Red-banded Hairstreak	Calycopis cecrops	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	21	Aug (rising)
33	Meadow Fritillary	Boloria bellona	Brush-footed Butterflies	19	Sep (rising)
34	Common Sootywing	Pholisora catullus	Skippers	16	Aug (rising)
35	American Copper	Lycaena hypophlaeas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	15	Jul (rising)
36	Bronze Copper	Tharsalea hyllus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	14	Jul (rising)
37	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	13	Sep (rising)
38	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	10	Aug (rising)
39	Banded Hairstreak	Satyrium calanus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	10	Jun (rising)
40	Harvester	Feniseca tarquinius	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	10	Jul (rising)
41	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	9	Sep (rising)
42	Wild Indigo Duskywing	Erynnis baptisiae	Skippers	8	Aug (rising)
43	Huron Skipper	Atalopedes huron	Skippers	7	Sep (rising)
44	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	6	Sep (rising)
45	Clouded Sulphur	Colias philodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	5	Sep (rising)
46	Sleepy Duskywing	Erynnis brizo	Skippers	4	Apr (past peak)
47	Common Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius communis	Skippers	4	Sep (rising)
48	Eastern Pine Elfin	Callophrys niphon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	3	Apr (past peak)
49	Spring Azure	Celastrina ladon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	3	Apr (past peak)
50	American Snout	Libytheana carinenta	Brush-footed Butterflies	3	Jul (rising)