Butterflies Flying in Kentucky in May (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in Kentucky in May in our iNaturalist sample; 4 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 Swallowtail374 obs.

Great Spangled Fritillary363 obs.

Silvery Checkerspot288 obs.

Little Wood Satyr225 obs.

Zebra Swallowtail218 obs.

Spicebush Swallowtail180 obs.

Zabulon Skipper173 obs.

Hackberry Emperor151 obs.

Silver-spotted Skipper146 obs.

Pearl Crescent142 obs.

Monarch131 obs.

Northern Pearly-eye128 obs.

All butterflies flying in Kentucky in May

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	374	Aug (rising)
2	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	363	Jun (rising)
3	Silvery Checkerspot	Chlosyne nycteis	Brush-footed Butterflies	288	Jul (rising)
4	Little Wood Satyr	Megisto cymela	Brush-footed Butterflies	225	May (peak)
5	Zebra Swallowtail	Eurytides marcellus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	218	Apr (past peak)
6	Spicebush Swallowtail	Papilio troilus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	180	Jul (rising)
7	Zabulon Skipper	Lon zabulon	Skippers	173	Aug (rising)
8	Hackberry Emperor	Asterocampa celtis	Brush-footed Butterflies	151	Aug (rising)
9	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	146	Jul (rising)
10	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	142	Sep (rising)
11	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	131	Aug (rising)
12	Northern Pearly-eye	Lethe anthedon	Brush-footed Butterflies	128	Aug (rising)
13	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	126	Jul (rising)
14	Pipevine Swallowtail	Battus philenor	Swallowtails and Parnassians	116	Jul (rising)
15	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	115	Jul (rising)
16	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	97	Jul (rising)
17	Carolina Satyr	Hermeuptychia sosybius	Brush-footed Butterflies	97	Aug (rising)
18	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	71	Aug (rising)
19	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	70	Jul (rising)
20	Red-banded Hairstreak	Calycopis cecrops	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	63	Sep (rising)
21	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	53	Mar (past peak)
22	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	50	May (peak)
23	Huron Skipper	Atalopedes huron	Skippers	45	Sep (rising)
24	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	41	Jul (rising)
25	Little Glassywing	Vernia verna	Skippers	41	Jun (rising)
26	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	36	Mar (past peak)
27	Northern Cloudywing	Cecropterus pylades	Skippers	34	May (peak)
28	Meadow Fritillary	Boloria bellona	Brush-footed Butterflies	33	Jul (rising)
29	Least Skipper	Ancyloxypha numitor	Skippers	28	Jul (rising)
30	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	25	Aug (rising)
31	Eastern Giant Swallowtail	Heraclides cresphontes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	25	Jul (rising)
32	Eastern Gemmed-Satyr	Cyllopsis gemma	Brush-footed Butterflies	24	Apr (past peak)
33	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	22	Sep (rising)
34	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	21	Sep (rising)
35	Peck's Skipper	Polites peckius	Skippers	20	Jul (rising)
36	Hoary Edge	Cecropterus lyciades	Skippers	20	May (peak)
37	Clouded Sulphur	Colias philodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	19	Jul (rising)
38	Juniper Hairstreak	Callophrys gryneus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	19	Apr (past peak)
39	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	18	Sep (rising)
40	Banded Hairstreak	Satyrium calanus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	17	Jun (rising)
41	Checkered White	Pontia protodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	16	Aug (rising)
42	Juvenal's Duskywing	Erynnis juvenalis	Skippers	14	Apr (past peak)
43	American Snout	Libytheana carinenta	Brush-footed Butterflies	13	Jul (rising)
44	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	12	Sep (rising)
45	Tawny-edged Skipper	Polites themistocles	Skippers	12	Sep (rising)
46	Dun Skipper	Euphyes vestris	Skippers	12	Aug (rising)
47	Tawny Emperor	Asterocampa clyton	Brush-footed Butterflies	11	Aug (rising)
48	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	10	Sep (rising)
49	Henry's Elfin	Callophrys henrici	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	10	Apr (past peak)
50	Common Sootywing	Pholisora catullus	Skippers	6	Aug (rising)