Butterflies Flying in Massachusetts in August (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in Massachusetts in August in our iNaturalist sample; 12 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 Nov

Top butterflies in August

Monarch3,228 obs.

Zabulon Skipper1,281 obs.

Small White996 obs.

Peck's Skipper959 obs.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail808 obs.

Spicebush Swallowtail740 obs.

American Copper613 obs.

Red-spotted Admiral474 obs.

Gray Hairstreak468 obs.

American Lady464 obs.

Pearl Crescent438 obs.

Common Wood-Nymph427 obs.

All butterflies flying in Massachusetts in August

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	3,228	Aug (peak)
2	Zabulon Skipper	Lon zabulon	Skippers	1,281	Aug (peak)
3	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	996	Jul (past peak)
4	Peck's Skipper	Polites peckius	Skippers	959	Aug (peak)
5	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	808	Aug (peak)
6	Spicebush Swallowtail	Papilio troilus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	740	Jul (past peak)
7	American Copper	Lycaena hypophlaeas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	613	Jul (past peak)
8	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	474	Jun (past peak)
9	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	468	Aug (peak)
10	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	464	Jul (past peak)
11	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	438	Jul (past peak)
12	Common Wood-Nymph	Cercyonis pegala	Brush-footed Butterflies	427	Jul (past peak)
13	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	405	Jul (past peak)
14	Red-banded Hairstreak	Calycopis cecrops	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	307	Aug (peak)
15	Common Ringlet	Coenonympha california	Brush-footed Butterflies	302	Jun (past peak)
16	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	297	Jul (past peak)
17	Least Skipper	Ancyloxypha numitor	Skippers	291	Aug (peak)
18	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	250	Jul (past peak)
19	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	218	Jul (past peak)
20	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	207	Jul (past peak)
21	Eastern Giant Swallowtail	Heraclides cresphontes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	163	Aug (peak)
22	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	147	Sep (rising)
23	Clouded Sulphur	Colias philodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	143	Sep (rising)
24	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	140	Sep (rising)
25	Wild Indigo Duskywing	Erynnis baptisiae	Skippers	106	Jul (past peak)
26	Tawny-edged Skipper	Polites themistocles	Skippers	98	Aug (peak)
27	Broad-winged Skipper	Poanes viator	Skippers	98	Jul (past peak)
28	Appalachian Brown	Lethe appalachia	Brush-footed Butterflies	96	Jul (past peak)
29	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	94	Sep (rising)
30	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	88	Jul (past peak)
31	Huron Skipper	Atalopedes huron	Skippers	75	Sep (rising)
32	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	72	Jul (past peak)
33	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	60	Jul (past peak)
34	Northern Broken-Dash	Polites egeremet	Skippers	51	Jul (past peak)
35	Dun Skipper	Euphyes vestris	Skippers	49	Jul (past peak)
36	Harvester	Feniseca tarquinius	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	45	Aug (peak)
37	American Silver-bordered Fritillary	Boloria myrina	Brush-footed Butterflies	38	Jul (past peak)
38	White M Hairstreak	Parrhasius m-album	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	32	Aug (peak)
39	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	28	Apr (past peak)
40	Horace's Duskywing	Erynnis horatius	Skippers	26	Jul (past peak)
41	Long Dash	Limochores mystic	Skippers	25	Jun (past peak)
42	Pipevine Swallowtail	Battus philenor	Swallowtails and Parnassians	22	Aug (peak)
43	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	20	Jul (past peak)
44	Common Sootywing	Pholisora catullus	Skippers	18	Jul (past peak)
45	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	16	Sep (rising)
46	Northern Crescent	Phyciodes cocyta	Brush-footed Butterflies	14	Jul (past peak)
47	Fiery Skipper	Hylephila phyleus	Skippers	13	Sep (rising)
48	Northern Pearly-eye	Lethe anthedon	Brush-footed Butterflies	13	Jul (past peak)
49	Aphrodite Fritillary	Argynnis aphrodite	Brush-footed Butterflies	13	Jul (past peak)
50	Bronze Copper	Tharsalea hyllus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	10	Sep (rising)