Butterflies Flying in Kentucky in September (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in Kentucky in September in our iNaturalist sample; 15 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 September

Monarch1,082 obs.

Huron Skipper693 obs.

Pearl Crescent492 obs.

Common Buckeye455 obs.

Variegated Fritillary436 obs.

Eastern Tailed-Blue285 obs.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail284 obs.

Great Spangled Fritillary254 obs.

Hackberry Emperor236 obs.

Gray Hairstreak231 obs.

Silver-spotted Skipper204 obs.

Question Mark196 obs.

All butterflies flying in Kentucky in September

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	1,082	Aug (past peak)
2	Huron Skipper	Atalopedes huron	Skippers	693	Sep (peak)
3	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	492	Sep (peak)
4	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	455	Sep (peak)
5	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	436	Sep (peak)
6	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	285	Jul (past peak)
7	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	284	Aug (past peak)
8	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	254	Jun (past peak)
9	Hackberry Emperor	Asterocampa celtis	Brush-footed Butterflies	236	Aug (past peak)
10	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	231	Sep (peak)
11	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	204	Jul (past peak)
12	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	196	Aug (past peak)
13	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	195	Sep (peak)
14	Cloudless Sulphur	Phoebis sennae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	187	Aug (past peak)
15	Pipevine Swallowtail	Battus philenor	Swallowtails and Parnassians	166	Jul (past peak)
16	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	132	Jul (past peak)
17	Peck's Skipper	Polites peckius	Skippers	132	Jul (past peak)
18	Meadow Fritillary	Boloria bellona	Brush-footed Butterflies	130	Jul (past peak)
19	Tawny Emperor	Asterocampa clyton	Brush-footed Butterflies	125	Aug (past peak)
20	Spicebush Swallowtail	Papilio troilus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	119	Jul (past peak)
21	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	118	Sep (peak)
22	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	110	Jul (past peak)
23	Fiery Skipper	Hylephila phyleus	Skippers	110	Sep (peak)
24	Tawny-edged Skipper	Polites themistocles	Skippers	92	Sep (peak)
25	Red-banded Hairstreak	Calycopis cecrops	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	91	Sep (peak)
26	Common Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius communis	Skippers	91	Oct (rising)
27	Carolina Satyr	Hermeuptychia sosybius	Brush-footed Butterflies	85	Aug (past peak)
28	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	81	Aug (past peak)
29	Northern Pearly-eye	Lethe anthedon	Brush-footed Butterflies	81	Aug (past peak)
30	Gulf Fritillary	Dione vanillae	Brush-footed Butterflies	75	Sep (peak)
31	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	75	Mar (past peak)
32	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	75	Jul (past peak)
33	Checkered White	Pontia protodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	64	Aug (past peak)
34	Silvery Checkerspot	Chlosyne nycteis	Brush-footed Butterflies	56	Jul (past peak)
35	Eastern Giant Swallowtail	Heraclides cresphontes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	56	Jul (past peak)
36	American Snout	Libytheana carinenta	Brush-footed Butterflies	52	Jul (past peak)
37	Clouded Sulphur	Colias philodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	47	Jul (past peak)
38	Wild Indigo Duskywing	Erynnis baptisiae	Skippers	44	Aug (past peak)
39	Eastern Gemmed-Satyr	Cyllopsis gemma	Brush-footed Butterflies	43	Apr (past peak)
40	Clouded Skipper	Lerema accius	Skippers	42	Sep (peak)
41	Sleepy Orange	Eurema nicippe	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	37	Aug (past peak)
42	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	37	Jul (past peak)
43	Zabulon Skipper	Lon zabulon	Skippers	34	Aug (past peak)
44	Great Purple Hairstreak	Atlides halesus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	29	Sep (peak)
45	Little Yellow	Eurema lisa	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	26	Aug (past peak)
46	Least Skipper	Ancyloxypha numitor	Skippers	23	Jul (past peak)
47	Ocola Skipper	Panoquina ocola	Skippers	22	Oct (rising)
48	Long-tailed Skipper	Urbanus proteus	Skippers	20	Sep (peak)
49	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	17	Aug (past peak)
50	Dainty Sulphur	Nathalis iole	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	14	Sep (peak)