Butterflies Flying in Michigan in May (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in Michigan 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 Nov

Top butterflies in May

Red Admiral447 obs.

Juvenal's Duskywing377 obs.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail291 obs.

Mourning Cloak239 obs.

American Lady225 obs.

Spicebush Swallowtail191 obs.

Little Wood Satyr190 obs.

Monarch182 obs.

Silver-spotted Skipper180 obs.

Zabulon Skipper177 obs.

American Copper177 obs.

Hobomok Skipper168 obs.

All butterflies flying in Michigan in May

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	447	Jul (rising)
2	Juvenal's Duskywing	Erynnis juvenalis	Skippers	377	May (peak)
3	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	291	Aug (rising)
4	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	239	Apr (past peak)
5	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	225	Jul (rising)
6	Spicebush Swallowtail	Papilio troilus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	191	Aug (rising)
7	Little Wood Satyr	Megisto cymela	Brush-footed Butterflies	190	Jun (rising)
8	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	182	Aug (rising)
9	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	180	Aug (rising)
10	Zabulon Skipper	Lon zabulon	Skippers	177	Aug (rising)
11	American Copper	Lycaena hypophlaeas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	177	Jul (rising)
12	Hobomok Skipper	Lon hobomok	Skippers	168	Jun (rising)
13	Eastern Pine Elfin	Callophrys niphon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	158	May (peak)
14	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	154	Jul (rising)
15	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	129	Aug (rising)
16	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	129	Jul (rising)
17	Baltimore Checkerspot	Euphydryas phaeton	Brush-footed Butterflies	125	Jun (rising)
18	Brown Elfin	Callophrys augustinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	112	May (peak)
19	Peck's Skipper	Polites peckius	Skippers	96	Aug (rising)
20	Eastern Giant Swallowtail	Heraclides cresphontes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	74	Aug (rising)
21	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	71	Aug (rising)
22	Common Ringlet	Coenonympha california	Brush-footed Butterflies	70	Jun (rising)
23	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	56	Aug (rising)
24	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	54	Jul (rising)
25	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	51	Jul (rising)
26	Canadian Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio canadensis	Swallowtails and Parnassians	47	Jun (rising)
27	Silvery Blue	Glaucopsyche lygdamus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	44	May (peak)
28	Common Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius communis	Skippers	43	Aug (rising)
29	Dreamy Duskywing	Erynnis icelus	Skippers	42	Jun (rising)
30	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	40	Aug (rising)
31	Karner Blue	Plebejus samuelis	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	37	Jul (rising)
32	Green Comma	Polygonia faunus	Brush-footed Butterflies	27	Jul (rising)
33	Northern Crescent	Phyciodes cocyta	Brush-footed Butterflies	25	Jun (rising)
34	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	22	Aug (rising)
35	Clouded Sulphur	Colias philodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	19	Sep (rising)
36	Western Pine Elfin	Callophrys eryphon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	17	May (peak)
37	American Silver-bordered Fritillary	Boloria myrina	Brush-footed Butterflies	17	Jun (rising)
38	Tawny-edged Skipper	Polites themistocles	Skippers	16	Aug (rising)
39	Spring Azure	Celastrina ladon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	16	Apr (past peak)
40	Wild Indigo Duskywing	Erynnis baptisiae	Skippers	14	Jul (rising)
41	Least Skipper	Ancyloxypha numitor	Skippers	14	Aug (rising)
42	Sleepy Duskywing	Erynnis brizo	Skippers	13	May (peak)
43	Common Sootywing	Pholisora catullus	Skippers	11	Aug (rising)
44	Henry's Elfin	Callophrys henrici	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	11	May (peak)
45	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	10	Aug (rising)
46	Harvester	Feniseca tarquinius	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	10	Jul (rising)
47	Northern Cloudywing	Cecropterus pylades	Skippers	9	Jun (rising)
48	Meadow Fritillary	Boloria bellona	Brush-footed Butterflies	8	Jul (rising)
49	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	8	Jul (rising)
50	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	7	Aug (rising)