Butterflies Flying in Michigan in September (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in Michigan in September in our iNaturalist sample; 4 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 September

Monarch2,227 obs.

Small White486 obs.

Viceroy430 obs.

Silver-spotted Skipper370 obs.

Common Checkered-Skipper288 obs.

Black Swallowtail287 obs.

Peck's Skipper241 obs.

Common Buckeye227 obs.

Painted Lady196 obs.

Mourning Cloak175 obs.

Eastern Tailed-Blue168 obs.

American Copper140 obs.

All butterflies flying in Michigan in September

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	2,227	Aug (past peak)
2	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	486	Aug (past peak)
3	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	430	Aug (past peak)
4	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	370	Aug (past peak)
5	Common Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius communis	Skippers	288	Aug (past peak)
6	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	287	Jul (past peak)
7	Peck's Skipper	Polites peckius	Skippers	241	Aug (past peak)
8	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	227	Sep (peak)
9	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	196	Aug (past peak)
10	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	175	Apr (past peak)
11	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	168	Aug (past peak)
12	American Copper	Lycaena hypophlaeas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	140	Jul (past peak)
13	Spicebush Swallowtail	Papilio troilus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	116	Aug (past peak)
14	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	111	Jul (past peak)
15	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	106	Jul (past peak)
16	Wild Indigo Duskywing	Erynnis baptisiae	Skippers	102	Jul (past peak)
17	Clouded Sulphur	Colias philodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	93	Sep (peak)
18	Fiery Skipper	Hylephila phyleus	Skippers	92	Sep (peak)
19	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	92	Aug (past peak)
20	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	90	Jul (past peak)
21	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	85	Jul (past peak)
22	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	85	Aug (past peak)
23	Eastern Giant Swallowtail	Heraclides cresphontes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	84	Aug (past peak)
24	Bronze Copper	Tharsalea hyllus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	48	Aug (past peak)
25	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	46	Jul (past peak)
26	Least Skipper	Ancyloxypha numitor	Skippers	43	Aug (past peak)
27	Zabulon Skipper	Lon zabulon	Skippers	43	Aug (past peak)
28	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	41	Aug (past peak)
29	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	40	Aug (past peak)
30	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	38	Jul (past peak)
31	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	25	Aug (past peak)
32	Pipevine Swallowtail	Battus philenor	Swallowtails and Parnassians	21	Jul (past peak)
33	Gray Comma	Polygonia progne	Brush-footed Butterflies	19	Jul (past peak)
34	Common Wood-Nymph	Cercyonis pegala	Brush-footed Butterflies	14	Jul (past peak)
35	Common Ringlet	Coenonympha california	Brush-footed Butterflies	14	Jun (past peak)
36	Harvester	Feniseca tarquinius	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	14	Jul (past peak)
37	Aphrodite Fritillary	Argynnis aphrodite	Brush-footed Butterflies	13	Jul (past peak)
38	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	11	Jul (past peak)
39	Northern Pearly-eye	Lethe anthedon	Brush-footed Butterflies	9	Jul (past peak)
40	Northern Crescent	Phyciodes cocyta	Brush-footed Butterflies	8	Jun (past peak)
41	Purplish Copper	Tharsalea helloides	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	8	Jul (past peak)
42	Tawny-edged Skipper	Polites themistocles	Skippers	7	Aug (past peak)
43	American Silver-bordered Fritillary	Boloria myrina	Brush-footed Butterflies	7	Jun (past peak)
44	Hackberry Emperor	Asterocampa celtis	Brush-footed Butterflies	6	Aug (past peak)
45	Dainty Sulphur	Nathalis iole	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	5	Sep (peak)
46	Canadian Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio canadensis	Swallowtails and Parnassians	5	Jun (past peak)
47	American Snout	Libytheana carinenta	Brush-footed Butterflies	5	Jul (past peak)
48	Horace's Duskywing	Erynnis horatius	Skippers	4	Jul (past peak)
49	Little Yellow	Eurema lisa	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	4	Aug (past peak)
50	Milbert's Tortoiseshell	Aglais milberti	Brush-footed Butterflies	4	Jul (past peak)