Butterflies Flying in Minnesota in May (59 Species)

59 butterflies were recorded flying in Minnesota in May in our iNaturalist sample; 6 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 May

Red Admiral314 obs.

Monarch270 obs.

Mourning Cloak264 obs.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail202 obs.

Hobomok Skipper186 obs.

American Lady176 obs.

Silvery Blue115 obs.

Small White108 obs.

Black Swallowtail108 obs.

Eastern Tailed-Blue87 obs.

Eastern Comma82 obs.

Canadian Tiger Swallowtail74 obs.

All butterflies flying in Minnesota in May

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	314	Jul (rising)
2	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	270	Aug (rising)
3	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	264	Jun (rising)
4	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	202	Aug (rising)
5	Hobomok Skipper	Lon hobomok	Skippers	186	Jun (rising)
6	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	176	Jun (rising)
7	Silvery Blue	Glaucopsyche lygdamus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	115	May (peak)
8	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	108	Aug (rising)
9	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	108	Jul (rising)
10	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	87	Aug (rising)
11	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	82	Jul (rising)
12	Canadian Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio canadensis	Swallowtails and Parnassians	74	Jun (rising)
13	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	69	Sep (rising)
14	Brown Elfin	Callophrys augustinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	65	May (peak)
15	American Copper	Lycaena hypophlaeas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	59	Sep (rising)
16	Meadow Fritillary	Boloria bellona	Brush-footed Butterflies	48	Jul (rising)
17	Dreamy Duskywing	Erynnis icelus	Skippers	44	Jun (rising)
18	Eastern Giant Swallowtail	Heraclides cresphontes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	44	Aug (rising)
19	Eastern Pine Elfin	Callophrys niphon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	37	Jun (rising)
20	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	32	Sep (rising)
21	Northern Crescent	Phyciodes cocyta	Brush-footed Butterflies	31	Jun (rising)
22	Henry's Elfin	Callophrys henrici	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	30	May (peak)
23	Clouded Sulphur	Colias philodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	28	Sep (rising)
24	Peck's Skipper	Polites peckius	Skippers	28	Aug (rising)
25	Common Ringlet	Coenonympha california	Brush-footed Butterflies	27	Jun (rising)
26	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	23	Jul (rising)
27	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	23	Jul (rising)
28	American Silver-bordered Fritillary	Boloria myrina	Brush-footed Butterflies	22	Jun (rising)
29	Juvenal's Duskywing	Erynnis juvenalis	Skippers	21	May (peak)
30	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	17	Jun (rising)
31	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	16	Aug (rising)
32	Northern Cloudywing	Cecropterus pylades	Skippers	16	Jun (rising)
33	Green Comma	Polygonia faunus	Brush-footed Butterflies	15	Jul (rising)
34	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	13	Jul (rising)
35	Gray Comma	Polygonia progne	Brush-footed Butterflies	13	Jul (rising)
36	Western Tailed-blue	Everes amyntula	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	9	May (peak)
37	Harvester	Feniseca tarquinius	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	9	Jun (rising)
38	Western Pine Elfin	Callophrys eryphon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	9	May (peak)
39	Purplish Copper	Tharsalea helloides	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	9	Sep (rising)
40	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	9	Jul (rising)
41	Baltimore Checkerspot	Euphydryas phaeton	Brush-footed Butterflies	8	Jun (rising)
42	Little Wood Satyr	Megisto cymela	Brush-footed Butterflies	6	Jun (rising)
43	Milbert's Tortoiseshell	Aglais milberti	Brush-footed Butterflies	6	Jul (rising)
44	Juniper Hairstreak	Callophrys gryneus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	6	Jul (rising)
45	Gorgone Checkerspot	Chlosyne gorgone	Brush-footed Butterflies	6	Jun (rising)
46	Wild Indigo Duskywing	Erynnis baptisiae	Skippers	4	Aug (rising)
47	Silvery Checkerspot	Chlosyne nycteis	Brush-footed Butterflies	4	Jun (rising)
48	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	4	Jun (rising)
49	Hackberry Emperor	Asterocampa celtis	Brush-footed Butterflies	4	Jun (rising)
50	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	3	Jun (rising)