Butterflies Flying in Minnesota in October (41 Species)

41 butterflies were recorded flying in Minnesota in October in our iNaturalist sample; 0 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 October

Monarch262 obs.

Painted Lady215 obs.

Eastern Comma124 obs.

Huron Skipper120 obs.

Orange Sulphur115 obs.

Black Swallowtail72 obs.

Small White67 obs.

Clouded Sulphur59 obs.

Fiery Skipper49 obs.

Mourning Cloak49 obs.

Common Buckeye48 obs.

Red Admiral40 obs.

All butterflies flying in Minnesota in October

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	262	Aug (past peak)
2	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	215	Sep (past peak)
3	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	124	Jul (past peak)
4	Huron Skipper	Atalopedes huron	Skippers	120	Aug (past peak)
5	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	115	Sep (past peak)
6	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	72	Jul (past peak)
7	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	67	Aug (past peak)
8	Clouded Sulphur	Colias philodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	59	Sep (past peak)
9	Fiery Skipper	Hylephila phyleus	Skippers	49	Sep (past peak)
10	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	49	Jun (past peak)
11	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	48	Jul (past peak)
12	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	40	Jul (past peak)
13	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	38	Aug (past peak)
14	Common Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius communis	Skippers	29	Sep (past peak)
15	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	27	Jun (past peak)
16	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	22	Aug (past peak)
17	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	14	Jul (past peak)
18	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	12	Aug (past peak)
19	Dainty Sulphur	Nathalis iole	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	9	Sep (past peak)
20	Milbert's Tortoiseshell	Aglais milberti	Brush-footed Butterflies	8	Jul (past peak)
21	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	8	Jul (past peak)
22	American Copper	Lycaena hypophlaeas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	8	Sep (past peak)
23	Gray Comma	Polygonia progne	Brush-footed Butterflies	7	Jul (past peak)
24	Peck's Skipper	Polites peckius	Skippers	7	Aug (past peak)
25	Checkered White	Pontia protodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	5	Sep (past peak)
26	Bronze Copper	Tharsalea hyllus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	5	Jun (past peak)
27	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	4	Jun (past peak)
28	Purplish Copper	Tharsalea helloides	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	3	Sep (past peak)
29	California Tortoiseshell	Nymphalis californica	Brush-footed Butterflies	2	Jul (past peak)
30	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	2	Jun (past peak)
31	Eastern Giant Swallowtail	Heraclides cresphontes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	2	Aug (past peak)
32	Pipevine Swallowtail	Battus philenor	Swallowtails and Parnassians	1	Jun (past peak)
33	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	1	Sep (past peak)
34	Canadian Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio canadensis	Swallowtails and Parnassians	1	Jun (past peak)
35	Wild Indigo Duskywing	Erynnis baptisiae	Skippers	1	Aug (past peak)
36	Least Skipper	Ancyloxypha numitor	Skippers	1	Aug (past peak)
37	American Snout	Libytheana carinenta	Brush-footed Butterflies	1	Jul (past peak)
38	Meadow Fritillary	Boloria bellona	Brush-footed Butterflies	1	Jul (past peak)
39	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	1	Jun (past peak)
40	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	1	Jul (past peak)
41	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	1	Jul (past peak)