Butterflies Flying in Maryland in May (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in Maryland in May in our iNaturalist sample; 3 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 Dec

Top butterflies in May

Zabulon Skipper1,193 obs.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail735 obs.

Eastern Tailed-Blue617 obs.

Pearl Crescent594 obs.

Silver-spotted Skipper536 obs.

Small White473 obs.

Summer Azure473 obs.

Little Wood Satyr451 obs.

Red-banded Hairstreak420 obs.

Spicebush Swallowtail406 obs.

American Lady369 obs.

Red Admiral369 obs.

All butterflies flying in Maryland in May

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Zabulon Skipper	Lon zabulon	Skippers	1,193	Aug (rising)
2	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	735	Aug (rising)
3	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	617	Sep (rising)
4	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	594	Sep (rising)
5	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	536	Aug (rising)
6	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	473	Jun (rising)
7	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	473	Jun (rising)
8	Little Wood Satyr	Megisto cymela	Brush-footed Butterflies	451	Jun (rising)
9	Red-banded Hairstreak	Calycopis cecrops	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	420	Aug (rising)
10	Spicebush Swallowtail	Papilio troilus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	406	Aug (rising)
11	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	369	May (peak)
12	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	369	Jul (rising)
13	Zebra Swallowtail	Eurytides marcellus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	309	Jun (rising)
14	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	239	Aug (rising)
15	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	238	Aug (rising)
16	Huron Skipper	Atalopedes huron	Skippers	222	Sep (rising)
17	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	219	Aug (rising)
18	Juvenal's Duskywing	Erynnis juvenalis	Skippers	200	Apr (past peak)
19	Silvery Checkerspot	Chlosyne nycteis	Brush-footed Butterflies	180	Jul (rising)
20	Hobomok Skipper	Lon hobomok	Skippers	178	May (peak)
21	Least Skipper	Ancyloxypha numitor	Skippers	175	Jul (rising)
22	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	171	Mar (past peak)
23	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	145	Apr (past peak)
24	Peck's Skipper	Polites peckius	Skippers	127	Sep (rising)
25	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	102	Jun (rising)
26	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	99	Aug (rising)
27	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	95	Sep (rising)
28	Northern Pearly-eye	Lethe anthedon	Brush-footed Butterflies	83	Aug (rising)
29	Northern Cloudywing	Cecropterus pylades	Skippers	83	Jun (rising)
30	Dreamy Duskywing	Erynnis icelus	Skippers	82	May (peak)
31	Pipevine Swallowtail	Battus philenor	Swallowtails and Parnassians	81	Jul (rising)
32	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	74	Sep (rising)
33	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	45	Aug (rising)
34	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	44	Sep (rising)
35	American Copper	Lycaena hypophlaeas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	41	Jul (rising)
36	Little Glassywing	Vernia verna	Skippers	39	Jun (rising)
37	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	36	Sep (rising)
38	Dun Skipper	Euphyes vestris	Skippers	35	Jul (rising)
39	Eastern Pine Elfin	Callophrys niphon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	35	Apr (past peak)
40	Common Sootywing	Pholisora catullus	Skippers	31	Aug (rising)
41	American Snout	Libytheana carinenta	Brush-footed Butterflies	30	Jul (rising)
42	Harvester	Feniseca tarquinius	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	28	Aug (rising)
43	Falcate Orangetip	Anthocharis midea	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	26	Apr (past peak)
44	Juniper Hairstreak	Callophrys gryneus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	25	Apr (past peak)
45	Wild Indigo Duskywing	Erynnis baptisiae	Skippers	23	Aug (rising)
46	Horace's Duskywing	Erynnis horatius	Skippers	22	Jul (rising)
47	Hackberry Emperor	Asterocampa celtis	Brush-footed Butterflies	22	Aug (rising)
48	Meadow Fritillary	Boloria bellona	Brush-footed Butterflies	21	Aug (rising)
49	Appalachian Brown	Lethe appalachia	Brush-footed Butterflies	21	Jul (rising)
50	Tawny-edged Skipper	Polites themistocles	Skippers	19	Aug (rising)