Butterflies Flying in Michigan in August (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in Michigan in August in our iNaturalist sample; 21 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

Monarch4,269 obs.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail1,101 obs.

Silver-spotted Skipper1,054 obs.

Peck's Skipper999 obs.

Black Swallowtail750 obs.

Spicebush Swallowtail680 obs.

Eastern Giant Swallowtail648 obs.

Small White628 obs.

Zabulon Skipper570 obs.

Viceroy514 obs.

Red-spotted Admiral373 obs.

Common Checkered-Skipper333 obs.

All butterflies flying in Michigan in August

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	4,269	Aug (peak)
2	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	1,101	Aug (peak)
3	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	1,054	Aug (peak)
4	Peck's Skipper	Polites peckius	Skippers	999	Aug (peak)
5	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	750	Jul (past peak)
6	Spicebush Swallowtail	Papilio troilus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	680	Aug (peak)
7	Eastern Giant Swallowtail	Heraclides cresphontes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	648	Aug (peak)
8	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	628	Aug (peak)
9	Zabulon Skipper	Lon zabulon	Skippers	570	Aug (peak)
10	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	514	Aug (peak)
11	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	373	Jul (past peak)
12	Common Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius communis	Skippers	333	Aug (peak)
13	Least Skipper	Ancyloxypha numitor	Skippers	331	Aug (peak)
14	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	313	Jul (past peak)
15	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	278	Jul (past peak)
16	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	248	Aug (peak)
17	Common Wood-Nymph	Cercyonis pegala	Brush-footed Butterflies	236	Jul (past peak)
18	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	221	Sep (rising)
19	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	206	Aug (peak)
20	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	191	Aug (peak)
21	Northern Pearly-eye	Lethe anthedon	Brush-footed Butterflies	173	Jul (past peak)
22	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	163	Apr (past peak)
23	Common Ringlet	Coenonympha california	Brush-footed Butterflies	155	Jun (past peak)
24	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	144	Jul (past peak)
25	American Copper	Lycaena hypophlaeas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	138	Jul (past peak)
26	Hackberry Emperor	Asterocampa celtis	Brush-footed Butterflies	126	Aug (peak)
27	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	123	Jul (past peak)
28	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	120	Jul (past peak)
29	Dun Skipper	Euphyes vestris	Skippers	118	Jul (past peak)
30	Tawny-edged Skipper	Polites themistocles	Skippers	111	Aug (peak)
31	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	108	Aug (peak)
32	Wild Indigo Duskywing	Erynnis baptisiae	Skippers	103	Jul (past peak)
33	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	100	Aug (peak)
34	Clouded Sulphur	Colias philodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	73	Sep (rising)
35	Bronze Copper	Tharsalea hyllus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	70	Aug (peak)
36	Aphrodite Fritillary	Argynnis aphrodite	Brush-footed Butterflies	65	Jul (past peak)
37	Harvester	Feniseca tarquinius	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	59	Jul (past peak)
38	Northern Crescent	Phyciodes cocyta	Brush-footed Butterflies	57	Jun (past peak)
39	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	57	Aug (peak)
40	Appalachian Brown	Lethe appalachia	Brush-footed Butterflies	52	Jul (past peak)
41	Common Sootywing	Pholisora catullus	Skippers	48	Aug (peak)
42	Fiery Skipper	Hylephila phyleus	Skippers	44	Sep (rising)
43	Tawny Emperor	Asterocampa clyton	Brush-footed Butterflies	39	Jul (past peak)
44	Pipevine Swallowtail	Battus philenor	Swallowtails and Parnassians	35	Jul (past peak)
45	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	30	Jul (past peak)
46	American Silver-bordered Fritillary	Boloria myrina	Brush-footed Butterflies	29	Jun (past peak)
47	Green Comma	Polygonia faunus	Brush-footed Butterflies	28	Jul (past peak)
48	Coral Hairstreak	Satyrium titus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	28	Jul (past peak)
49	Silvery Checkerspot	Chlosyne nycteis	Brush-footed Butterflies	27	Jun (past peak)
50	Broad-winged Skipper	Poanes viator	Skippers	21	Jul (past peak)