Butterflies Flying in Kansas in May (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in Kansas 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

Great Spangled Fritillary155 obs.

Eastern Tailed-Blue153 obs.

Red Admiral151 obs.

Variegated Fritillary146 obs.

Monarch129 obs.

Silver-spotted Skipper101 obs.

Common Buckeye97 obs.

American Lady74 obs.

Question Mark73 obs.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail73 obs.

Gray Hairstreak71 obs.

Painted Lady64 obs.

All butterflies flying in Kansas in May

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	155	Jun (rising)
2	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	153	Jun (rising)
3	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	151	Apr (past peak)
4	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	146	Jun (rising)
5	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	129	Sep (rising)
6	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	101	Sep (rising)
7	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	97	Sep (rising)
8	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	74	Apr (past peak)
9	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	73	Jun (rising)
10	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	73	Aug (rising)
11	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	71	Sep (rising)
12	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	64	Sep (rising)
13	Zabulon Skipper	Lon zabulon	Skippers	57	Jul (rising)
14	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	54	Sep (rising)
15	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	51	Aug (rising)
16	Zebra Swallowtail	Eurytides marcellus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	48	Jun (rising)
17	Common Sootywing	Pholisora catullus	Skippers	46	Aug (rising)
18	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	45	Oct (rising)
19	Hackberry Emperor	Asterocampa celtis	Brush-footed Butterflies	43	Jun (rising)
20	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	42	Sep (rising)
21	Checkered White	Pontia protodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	38	Jun (rising)
22	Common Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius communis	Skippers	37	Oct (rising)
23	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	35	Sep (rising)
24	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	30	May (peak)
25	Silvery Checkerspot	Chlosyne nycteis	Brush-footed Butterflies	30	Jul (rising)
26	Eastern Giant Swallowtail	Heraclides cresphontes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	28	Jul (rising)
27	Gorgone Checkerspot	Chlosyne gorgone	Brush-footed Butterflies	23	Jul (rising)
28	Little Wood Satyr	Megisto cymela	Brush-footed Butterflies	22	Jun (rising)
29	Reakirt's Blue	Echinargus isola	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	22	Jun (rising)
30	Huron Skipper	Atalopedes huron	Skippers	22	Aug (rising)
31	Least Skipper	Ancyloxypha numitor	Skippers	19	May (peak)
32	Dainty Sulphur	Nathalis iole	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	18	Sep (rising)
33	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	17	Jul (rising)
34	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	14	Sep (rising)
35	Pipevine Swallowtail	Battus philenor	Swallowtails and Parnassians	13	Aug (rising)
36	Juniper Hairstreak	Callophrys gryneus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	13	Jul (rising)
37	Goatweed Leafwing	Anaea andria	Brush-footed Butterflies	12	Apr (past peak)
38	Tawny-edged Skipper	Polites themistocles	Skippers	11	Aug (rising)
39	Sleepy Orange	Eurema nicippe	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	10	Aug (rising)
40	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	8	Aug (rising)
41	Henry's Elfin	Callophrys henrici	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	8	Apr (past peak)
42	Peck's Skipper	Polites peckius	Skippers	8	Sep (rising)
43	Fiery Skipper	Hylephila phyleus	Skippers	6	Sep (rising)
44	Clouded Sulphur	Colias philodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	6	Oct (rising)
45	Banded Hairstreak	Satyrium calanus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	6	Jun (rising)
46	American Snout	Libytheana carinenta	Brush-footed Butterflies	6	Jul (rising)
47	Gray Comma	Polygonia progne	Brush-footed Butterflies	6	Mar (past peak)
48	Red-banded Hairstreak	Calycopis cecrops	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	6	Sep (rising)
49	Melissa Blue	Plebejus melissa	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	6	Sep (rising)
50	Queen	Danaus gilippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	4	Sep (rising)