Butterflies Flying in Nebraska in May (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in Nebraska in May in our iNaturalist sample; 7 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

Top butterflies in May

Red Admiral191 obs.

Monarch112 obs.

Silver-spotted Skipper90 obs.

Painted Lady78 obs.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail78 obs.

Common Sootywing55 obs.

Mourning Cloak50 obs.

Small White46 obs.

Melissa Blue45 obs.

Gorgone Checkerspot45 obs.

Pearl Crescent44 obs.

Eastern Tailed-Blue42 obs.

All butterflies flying in Nebraska in May

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	191	Jun (rising)
2	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	112	Aug (rising)
3	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	90	Aug (rising)
4	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	78	Sep (rising)
5	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	78	Aug (rising)
6	Common Sootywing	Pholisora catullus	Skippers	55	Jul (rising)
7	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	50	May (peak)
8	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	46	Jul (rising)
9	Melissa Blue	Plebejus melissa	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	45	Jun (rising)
10	Gorgone Checkerspot	Chlosyne gorgone	Brush-footed Butterflies	45	Jul (rising)
11	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	44	Aug (rising)
12	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	42	Aug (rising)
13	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	40	Jul (rising)
14	Zabulon Skipper	Lon zabulon	Skippers	33	Aug (rising)
15	Western Pine Elfin	Callophrys eryphon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	32	May (peak)
16	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	31	Jun (rising)
17	Common Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius communis	Skippers	31	Jun (rising)
18	Silvery Blue	Glaucopsyche lygdamus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	28	May (peak)
19	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	27	Aug (rising)
20	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	27	Jul (rising)
21	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	24	Sep (rising)
22	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	21	Apr (past peak)
23	Hobomok Skipper	Lon hobomok	Skippers	21	Jun (rising)
24	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	17	Aug (rising)
25	Two-tailed Swallowtail	Papilio multicaudata	Swallowtails and Parnassians	15	Jun (rising)
26	Juniper Hairstreak	Callophrys gryneus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	15	Jun (rising)
27	Anise Swallowtail	Papilio zelicaon	Swallowtails and Parnassians	14	May (peak)
28	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	14	Jul (rising)
29	Lupine Blue	Icaricia lupini	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	14	May (peak)
30	Clouded Sulphur	Colias philodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	12	Sep (rising)
31	Zebra Swallowtail	Eurytides marcellus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	12	Jun (rising)
32	Least Skipper	Ancyloxypha numitor	Skippers	11	Aug (rising)
33	Checkered White	Pontia protodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	11	Jul (rising)
34	Common Ringlet	Coenonympha california	Brush-footed Butterflies	11	May (peak)
35	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	8	Sep (rising)
36	Hackberry Emperor	Asterocampa celtis	Brush-footed Butterflies	8	Jun (rising)
37	Tawny-edged Skipper	Polites themistocles	Skippers	7	Aug (rising)
38	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	7	Jun (rising)
39	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	6	Jul (rising)
40	Reakirt's Blue	Echinargus isola	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	6	Jun (rising)
41	Dainty Sulphur	Nathalis iole	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	5	Sep (rising)
42	Wild Indigo Duskywing	Erynnis baptisiae	Skippers	5	Jul (rising)
43	Eastern Giant Swallowtail	Heraclides cresphontes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	4	Aug (rising)
44	Juvenal's Duskywing	Erynnis juvenalis	Skippers	3	May (peak)
45	Dun Skipper	Euphyes vestris	Skippers	3	Jul (rising)
46	Gray Comma	Polygonia progne	Brush-footed Butterflies	3	Jul (rising)
47	Goatweed Leafwing	Anaea andria	Brush-footed Butterflies	3	Apr (past peak)
48	Huron Skipper	Atalopedes huron	Skippers	3	Aug (rising)
49	Banded Hairstreak	Satyrium calanus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	2	Jun (rising)
50	American Snout	Libytheana carinenta	Brush-footed Butterflies	2	Jul (rising)