Butterflies Flying in Minnesota in August (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in Minnesota in August in our iNaturalist sample; 11 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

Top butterflies in August

Monarch3,758 obs.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail1,787 obs.

Peck's Skipper984 obs.

Painted Lady750 obs.

Black Swallowtail546 obs.

Small White489 obs.

Least Skipper489 obs.

Eastern Tailed-Blue481 obs.

Viceroy448 obs.

Red Admiral376 obs.

Eastern Giant Swallowtail372 obs.

Great Spangled Fritillary344 obs.

All butterflies flying in Minnesota in August

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	3,758	Aug (peak)
2	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	1,787	Aug (peak)
3	Peck's Skipper	Polites peckius	Skippers	984	Aug (peak)
4	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	750	Sep (rising)
5	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	546	Jul (past peak)
6	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	489	Aug (peak)
7	Least Skipper	Ancyloxypha numitor	Skippers	489	Aug (peak)
8	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	481	Aug (peak)
9	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	448	Aug (peak)
10	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	376	Jul (past peak)
11	Eastern Giant Swallowtail	Heraclides cresphontes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	372	Aug (peak)
12	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	344	Jul (past peak)
13	Huron Skipper	Atalopedes huron	Skippers	256	Aug (peak)
14	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	231	Jul (past peak)
15	Common Wood-Nymph	Cercyonis pegala	Brush-footed Butterflies	171	Jul (past peak)
16	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	163	Jul (past peak)
17	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	163	Jun (past peak)
18	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	143	Sep (rising)
19	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	135	Jun (past peak)
20	Hackberry Emperor	Asterocampa celtis	Brush-footed Butterflies	105	Jun (past peak)
21	Clouded Sulphur	Colias philodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	101	Sep (rising)
22	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	98	Jun (past peak)
23	Meadow Fritillary	Boloria bellona	Brush-footed Butterflies	95	Jul (past peak)
24	Northern Pearly-eye	Lethe anthedon	Brush-footed Butterflies	93	Jul (past peak)
25	Aphrodite Fritillary	Argynnis aphrodite	Brush-footed Butterflies	79	Jul (past peak)
26	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	77	Jul (past peak)
27	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	66	Jul (past peak)
28	Northern Crescent	Phyciodes cocyta	Brush-footed Butterflies	58	Jun (past peak)
29	American Copper	Lycaena hypophlaeas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	56	Sep (rising)
30	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	52	Jun (past peak)
31	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	48	Jul (past peak)
32	Gray Comma	Polygonia progne	Brush-footed Butterflies	48	Jul (past peak)
33	Fiery Skipper	Hylephila phyleus	Skippers	47	Sep (rising)
34	Dun Skipper	Euphyes vestris	Skippers	44	Jul (past peak)
35	Milbert's Tortoiseshell	Aglais milberti	Brush-footed Butterflies	43	Jul (past peak)
36	Common Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius communis	Skippers	38	Sep (rising)
37	Bronze Copper	Tharsalea hyllus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	37	Jun (past peak)
38	Atlantis Fritillary	Argynnis atlantis	Brush-footed Butterflies	35	Jul (past peak)
39	Western White	Pontia occidentalis	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	30	Aug (peak)
40	American Silver-bordered Fritillary	Boloria myrina	Brush-footed Butterflies	27	Jun (past peak)
41	Green Comma	Polygonia faunus	Brush-footed Butterflies	25	Jul (past peak)
42	Tawny-edged Skipper	Polites themistocles	Skippers	24	Jun (past peak)
43	Common Sootywing	Pholisora catullus	Skippers	16	Aug (peak)
44	American Snout	Libytheana carinenta	Brush-footed Butterflies	16	Jul (past peak)
45	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	16	Jun (past peak)
46	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	14	Sep (rising)
47	Dainty Sulphur	Nathalis iole	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	14	Sep (rising)
48	Harvester	Feniseca tarquinius	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	14	Jun (past peak)
49	Purplish Copper	Tharsalea helloides	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	13	Sep (rising)
50	Canadian Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio canadensis	Swallowtails and Parnassians	12	Jun (past peak)