Butterflies Flying in Missouri in May (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in Missouri in May 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.

Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov

Top butterflies in May

Great Spangled Fritillary821 obs.

Monarch345 obs.

Zebra Swallowtail336 obs.

Spicebush Swallowtail299 obs.

Eastern Tailed-Blue289 obs.

Pipevine Swallowtail288 obs.

Silver-spotted Skipper255 obs.

Red Admiral245 obs.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail242 obs.

Little Wood Satyr238 obs.

Hackberry Emperor226 obs.

Zabulon Skipper221 obs.

All butterflies flying in Missouri in May

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	821	Jun (rising)
2	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	345	Sep (rising)
3	Zebra Swallowtail	Eurytides marcellus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	336	Jun (rising)
4	Spicebush Swallowtail	Papilio troilus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	299	Aug (rising)
5	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	289	Sep (rising)
6	Pipevine Swallowtail	Battus philenor	Swallowtails and Parnassians	288	Jul (rising)
7	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	255	Sep (rising)
8	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	245	Apr (past peak)
9	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	242	Aug (rising)
10	Little Wood Satyr	Megisto cymela	Brush-footed Butterflies	238	May (peak)
11	Hackberry Emperor	Asterocampa celtis	Brush-footed Butterflies	226	Aug (rising)
12	Zabulon Skipper	Lon zabulon	Skippers	221	Aug (rising)
13	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	206	Aug (rising)
14	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	189	May (peak)
15	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	186	Sep (rising)
16	Silvery Checkerspot	Chlosyne nycteis	Brush-footed Butterflies	179	Jul (rising)
17	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	153	Sep (rising)
18	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	107	Sep (rising)
19	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	105	Sep (rising)
20	Eastern Giant Swallowtail	Heraclides cresphontes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	102	Aug (rising)
21	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	98	Sep (rising)
22	Red-banded Hairstreak	Calycopis cecrops	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	96	Aug (rising)
23	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	83	Oct (rising)
24	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	76	Sep (rising)
25	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	76	Mar (past peak)
26	Hoary Edge	Cecropterus lyciades	Skippers	65	Aug (rising)
27	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	58	Aug (rising)
28	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	57	Sep (rising)
29	Northern Pearly-eye	Lethe anthedon	Brush-footed Butterflies	57	Aug (rising)
30	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	55	Sep (rising)
31	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	55	Sep (rising)
32	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	55	Jun (rising)
33	Goatweed Leafwing	Anaea andria	Brush-footed Butterflies	52	Apr (past peak)
34	Huron Skipper	Atalopedes huron	Skippers	50	Sep (rising)
35	Checkered White	Pontia protodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	46	Jul (rising)
36	American Snout	Libytheana carinenta	Brush-footed Butterflies	40	Jul (rising)
37	Tawny-edged Skipper	Polites themistocles	Skippers	35	Sep (rising)
38	Northern Cloudywing	Cecropterus pylades	Skippers	29	Jun (rising)
39	Least Skipper	Ancyloxypha numitor	Skippers	28	Jul (rising)
40	Fiery Skipper	Hylephila phyleus	Skippers	27	Sep (rising)
41	Peck's Skipper	Polites peckius	Skippers	27	Jul (rising)
42	Gorgone Checkerspot	Chlosyne gorgone	Brush-footed Butterflies	26	May (peak)
43	Dainty Sulphur	Nathalis iole	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	23	Sep (rising)
44	Banded Hairstreak	Satyrium calanus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	23	Jun (rising)
45	Baltimore Checkerspot	Euphydryas phaeton	Brush-footed Butterflies	23	May (peak)
46	Little Glassywing	Vernia verna	Skippers	23	Aug (rising)
47	Little Yellow	Eurema lisa	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	19	Aug (rising)
48	Juniper Hairstreak	Callophrys gryneus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	19	Apr (past peak)
49	Juvenal's Duskywing	Erynnis juvenalis	Skippers	16	Apr (past peak)
50	Delaware Skipper	Anatrytone logan	Skippers	14	Aug (rising)