Butterflies Flying in New York in August (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in New York in August in our iNaturalist sample; 17 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 Nov

Top butterflies in August

Monarch7,475 obs.

Silver-spotted Skipper2,245 obs.

Black Swallowtail1,776 obs.

Zabulon Skipper1,719 obs.

Small White1,504 obs.

Spicebush Swallowtail1,365 obs.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail1,357 obs.

Eastern Giant Swallowtail998 obs.

Peck's Skipper989 obs.

Huron Skipper846 obs.

Eastern Tailed-Blue839 obs.

Red-banded Hairstreak759 obs.

All butterflies flying in New York in August

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	7,475	Aug (peak)
2	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	2,245	Aug (peak)
3	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	1,776	Aug (peak)
4	Zabulon Skipper	Lon zabulon	Skippers	1,719	Aug (peak)
5	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	1,504	Jul (past peak)
6	Spicebush Swallowtail	Papilio troilus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	1,365	Aug (peak)
7	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	1,357	Jul (past peak)
8	Eastern Giant Swallowtail	Heraclides cresphontes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	998	Aug (peak)
9	Peck's Skipper	Polites peckius	Skippers	989	Aug (peak)
10	Huron Skipper	Atalopedes huron	Skippers	846	Sep (rising)
11	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	839	Aug (peak)
12	Red-banded Hairstreak	Calycopis cecrops	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	759	Aug (peak)
13	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	694	Aug (peak)
14	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	614	Jul (past peak)
15	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	586	Jul (past peak)
16	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	505	Jul (past peak)
17	Least Skipper	Ancyloxypha numitor	Skippers	501	Aug (peak)
18	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	452	Aug (peak)
19	Common Ringlet	Coenonympha california	Brush-footed Butterflies	370	Jun (past peak)
20	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	368	Jul (past peak)
21	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	352	Jul (past peak)
22	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	327	Jun (past peak)
23	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	282	Sep (rising)
24	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	276	Aug (peak)
25	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	272	Jul (past peak)
26	Common Wood-Nymph	Cercyonis pegala	Brush-footed Butterflies	271	Jul (past peak)
27	Broad-winged Skipper	Poanes viator	Skippers	270	Jul (past peak)
28	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	239	Sep (rising)
29	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	239	Sep (rising)
30	Wild Indigo Duskywing	Erynnis baptisiae	Skippers	238	Jul (past peak)
31	Tawny-edged Skipper	Polites themistocles	Skippers	227	Aug (peak)
32	American Copper	Lycaena hypophlaeas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	167	Jul (past peak)
33	Dun Skipper	Euphyes vestris	Skippers	165	Jul (past peak)
34	Clouded Sulphur	Colias philodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	147	Sep (rising)
35	Common Sootywing	Pholisora catullus	Skippers	146	Aug (peak)
36	Northern Pearly-eye	Lethe anthedon	Brush-footed Butterflies	130	Jul (past peak)
37	Horace's Duskywing	Erynnis horatius	Skippers	126	Jul (past peak)
38	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	123	Apr (past peak)
39	Hackberry Emperor	Asterocampa celtis	Brush-footed Butterflies	116	Aug (peak)
40	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	96	Jul (past peak)
41	Pipevine Swallowtail	Battus philenor	Swallowtails and Parnassians	92	Jul (past peak)
42	Fiery Skipper	Hylephila phyleus	Skippers	86	Sep (rising)
43	Meadow Fritillary	Boloria bellona	Brush-footed Butterflies	82	Jul (past peak)
44	Cloudless Sulphur	Phoebis sennae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	71	Sep (rising)
45	Atlantis Fritillary	Argynnis atlantis	Brush-footed Butterflies	71	Jul (past peak)
46	Appalachian Brown	Lethe appalachia	Brush-footed Butterflies	64	Jul (past peak)
47	Harvester	Feniseca tarquinius	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	63	Aug (peak)
48	American Snout	Libytheana carinenta	Brush-footed Butterflies	60	Jul (past peak)
49	Tawny Emperor	Asterocampa clyton	Brush-footed Butterflies	58	Jul (past peak)
50	Bronze Copper	Tharsalea hyllus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	55	Jun (past peak)