Butterflies Flying in Maine in May (44 Species)

44 butterflies were recorded flying in Maine in May in our iNaturalist sample; 7 of the top 50 are at their peak this month. The list is ranked by number of research-grade observations.

Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct

Top butterflies in May

American Lady202 obs.

Red Admiral174 obs.

Eastern Pine Elfin135 obs.

Mourning Cloak122 obs.

Canadian Tiger Swallowtail103 obs.

Silvery Blue73 obs.

Juvenal's Duskywing63 obs.

Small White61 obs.

Brown Elfin50 obs.

American Copper46 obs.

Clouded Sulphur35 obs.

Sleepy Duskywing32 obs.

All butterflies flying in Maine in May

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	202	Aug (rising)
2	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	174	Jul (rising)
3	Eastern Pine Elfin	Callophrys niphon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	135	May (peak)
4	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	122	Apr (past peak)
5	Canadian Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio canadensis	Swallowtails and Parnassians	103	Jun (rising)
6	Silvery Blue	Glaucopsyche lygdamus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	73	Jun (rising)
7	Juvenal's Duskywing	Erynnis juvenalis	Skippers	63	May (peak)
8	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	61	Aug (rising)
9	Brown Elfin	Callophrys augustinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	50	May (peak)
10	American Copper	Lycaena hypophlaeas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	46	Aug (rising)
11	Clouded Sulphur	Colias philodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	35	Sep (rising)
12	Sleepy Duskywing	Erynnis brizo	Skippers	32	May (peak)
13	Green Comma	Polygonia faunus	Brush-footed Butterflies	29	Aug (rising)
14	Common Ringlet	Coenonympha california	Brush-footed Butterflies	24	Jun (rising)
15	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	22	Jul (rising)
16	Dreamy Duskywing	Erynnis icelus	Skippers	22	Jun (rising)
17	Hobomok Skipper	Lon hobomok	Skippers	21	Jun (rising)
18	Gray Comma	Polygonia progne	Brush-footed Butterflies	20	May (peak)
19	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	16	Sep (rising)
20	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	15	Aug (rising)
21	American Silver-bordered Fritillary	Boloria myrina	Brush-footed Butterflies	15	Aug (rising)
22	Northern Crescent	Phyciodes cocyta	Brush-footed Butterflies	13	Jun (rising)
23	Meadow Fritillary	Boloria bellona	Brush-footed Butterflies	11	Aug (rising)
24	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	10	Jul (rising)
25	Wild Indigo Duskywing	Erynnis baptisiae	Skippers	10	Aug (rising)
26	Baltimore Checkerspot	Euphydryas phaeton	Brush-footed Butterflies	10	Jun (rising)
27	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	8	Aug (rising)
28	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	8	Aug (rising)
29	Henry's Elfin	Callophrys henrici	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	8	May (peak)
30	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	7	Aug (rising)
31	Harvester	Feniseca tarquinius	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	6	Jun (rising)
32	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	4	Aug (rising)
33	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	4	Jul (rising)
34	Northern Cloudywing	Cecropterus pylades	Skippers	4	Jun (rising)
35	Little Wood Satyr	Megisto cymela	Brush-footed Butterflies	3	Jun (rising)
36	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	2	Jul (rising)
37	Juniper Hairstreak	Callophrys gryneus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	2	May (peak)
38	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	2	Jul (rising)
39	Horace's Duskywing	Erynnis horatius	Skippers	1	Jul (rising)
40	Tawny-edged Skipper	Polites themistocles	Skippers	1	Jun (rising)
41	Dun Skipper	Euphyes vestris	Skippers	1	Jul (rising)
42	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	1	Aug (rising)
43	Common Wood-Nymph	Cercyonis pegala	Brush-footed Butterflies	1	Aug (rising)
44	Peck's Skipper	Polites peckius	Skippers	1	Jul (rising)