Butterflies Flying in New Jersey in May (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in New Jersey in May in our iNaturalist sample; 3 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

Zabulon Skipper448 obs.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail323 obs.

American Lady308 obs.

Red-banded Hairstreak299 obs.

Red Admiral288 obs.

Eastern Tailed-Blue279 obs.

Spicebush Swallowtail223 obs.

Pearl Crescent218 obs.

Silver-spotted Skipper199 obs.

Small White138 obs.

Little Wood Satyr126 obs.

Juvenal's Duskywing115 obs.

All butterflies flying in New Jersey in May

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Zabulon Skipper	Lon zabulon	Skippers	448	Aug (rising)
2	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	323	Jul (rising)
3	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	308	May (peak)
4	Red-banded Hairstreak	Calycopis cecrops	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	299	Aug (rising)
5	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	288	Jul (rising)
6	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	279	Sep (rising)
7	Spicebush Swallowtail	Papilio troilus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	223	Aug (rising)
8	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	218	Jul (rising)
9	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	199	Aug (rising)
10	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	138	Jul (rising)
11	Little Wood Satyr	Megisto cymela	Brush-footed Butterflies	126	Jun (rising)
12	Juvenal's Duskywing	Erynnis juvenalis	Skippers	115	Apr (past peak)
13	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	114	Aug (rising)
14	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	113	Aug (rising)
15	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	107	Aug (rising)
16	Peck's Skipper	Polites peckius	Skippers	104	Jul (rising)
17	Huron Skipper	Atalopedes huron	Skippers	86	Sep (rising)
18	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	85	Mar (past peak)
19	Hobomok Skipper	Lon hobomok	Skippers	69	May (peak)
20	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	55	Aug (rising)
21	Juniper Hairstreak	Callophrys gryneus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	52	Jul (rising)
22	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	43	Sep (rising)
23	American Copper	Lycaena hypophlaeas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	43	Jul (rising)
24	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	41	Sep (rising)
25	Eastern Pine Elfin	Callophrys niphon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	40	Apr (past peak)
26	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	36	Aug (rising)
27	Brown Elfin	Callophrys augustinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	24	Apr (past peak)
28	Wild Indigo Duskywing	Erynnis baptisiae	Skippers	23	Aug (rising)
29	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	22	Sep (rising)
30	Spring Azure	Celastrina ladon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	20	Apr (past peak)
31	Falcate Orangetip	Anthocharis midea	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	20	Apr (past peak)
32	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	19	Sep (rising)
33	Henry's Elfin	Callophrys henrici	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	19	Apr (past peak)
34	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	17	Jun (rising)
35	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	15	Aug (rising)
36	Harvester	Feniseca tarquinius	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	15	Aug (rising)
37	Eastern Giant Swallowtail	Heraclides cresphontes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	15	Aug (rising)
38	Least Skipper	Ancyloxypha numitor	Skippers	14	Aug (rising)
39	Pipevine Swallowtail	Battus philenor	Swallowtails and Parnassians	12	Jul (rising)
40	Northern Cloudywing	Cecropterus pylades	Skippers	12	Jun (rising)
41	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	11	Sep (rising)
42	Common Sootywing	Pholisora catullus	Skippers	9	Aug (rising)
43	American Snout	Libytheana carinenta	Brush-footed Butterflies	9	Jul (rising)
44	Horace's Duskywing	Erynnis horatius	Skippers	8	Jul (rising)
45	Sleepy Duskywing	Erynnis brizo	Skippers	8	Apr (past peak)
46	Clouded Sulphur	Colias philodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	8	Sep (rising)
47	Common Ringlet	Coenonympha california	Brush-footed Butterflies	7	Jun (rising)
48	Common Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius communis	Skippers	7	Oct (rising)
49	Appalachian Brown	Lethe appalachia	Brush-footed Butterflies	6	Aug (rising)
50	Dreamy Duskywing	Erynnis icelus	Skippers	4	May (peak)