Butterflies Flying in New York in May (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in New York in May in our iNaturalist sample; 6 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 May

Red Admiral936 obs.

American Lady571 obs.

Zabulon Skipper502 obs.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail379 obs.

Black Swallowtail341 obs.

Small White335 obs.

Mourning Cloak307 obs.

Question Mark294 obs.

Juvenal's Duskywing278 obs.

Hobomok Skipper250 obs.

Spicebush Swallowtail244 obs.

Eastern Tailed-Blue227 obs.

All butterflies flying in New York in May

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	936	Jul (rising)
2	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	571	Jul (rising)
3	Zabulon Skipper	Lon zabulon	Skippers	502	Aug (rising)
4	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	379	Jul (rising)
5	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	341	Aug (rising)
6	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	335	Jul (rising)
7	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	307	Apr (past peak)
8	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	294	Jul (rising)
9	Juvenal's Duskywing	Erynnis juvenalis	Skippers	278	May (peak)
10	Hobomok Skipper	Lon hobomok	Skippers	250	Jun (rising)
11	Spicebush Swallowtail	Papilio troilus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	244	Aug (rising)
12	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	227	Aug (rising)
13	Little Wood Satyr	Megisto cymela	Brush-footed Butterflies	223	Jun (rising)
14	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	206	Aug (rising)
15	Karner Blue	Plebejus samuelis	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	182	Jul (rising)
16	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	180	Aug (rising)
17	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	167	Aug (rising)
18	Red-banded Hairstreak	Calycopis cecrops	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	162	Aug (rising)
19	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	151	Sep (rising)
20	American Copper	Lycaena hypophlaeas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	149	Jul (rising)
21	Peck's Skipper	Polites peckius	Skippers	148	Aug (rising)
22	Eastern Pine Elfin	Callophrys niphon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	147	May (peak)
23	Baltimore Checkerspot	Euphydryas phaeton	Brush-footed Butterflies	122	Jul (rising)
24	Common Ringlet	Coenonympha california	Brush-footed Butterflies	120	Jun (rising)
25	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	94	Jul (rising)
26	Canadian Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio canadensis	Swallowtails and Parnassians	85	Jun (rising)
27	Silvery Blue	Glaucopsyche lygdamus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	80	May (peak)
28	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	69	Jun (rising)
29	Brown Elfin	Callophrys augustinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	68	May (peak)
30	Eastern Giant Swallowtail	Heraclides cresphontes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	60	Aug (rising)
31	Dreamy Duskywing	Erynnis icelus	Skippers	56	May (peak)
32	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	56	Aug (rising)
33	Huron Skipper	Atalopedes huron	Skippers	47	Sep (rising)
34	Wild Indigo Duskywing	Erynnis baptisiae	Skippers	45	Jul (rising)
35	Meadow Fritillary	Boloria bellona	Brush-footed Butterflies	44	Jul (rising)
36	Tawny-edged Skipper	Polites themistocles	Skippers	33	Aug (rising)
37	Juniper Hairstreak	Callophrys gryneus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	30	May (peak)
38	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	29	Sep (rising)
39	Common Sootywing	Pholisora catullus	Skippers	25	Aug (rising)
40	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	25	Sep (rising)
41	Clouded Sulphur	Colias philodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	24	Sep (rising)
42	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	23	Jul (rising)
43	American Snout	Libytheana carinenta	Brush-footed Butterflies	22	Jul (rising)
44	Northern Cloudywing	Cecropterus pylades	Skippers	22	Jun (rising)
45	Harvester	Feniseca tarquinius	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	21	Aug (rising)
46	American Silver-bordered Fritillary	Boloria myrina	Brush-footed Butterflies	21	Jun (rising)
47	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	20	Aug (rising)
48	Northern Crescent	Phyciodes cocyta	Brush-footed Butterflies	20	Jun (rising)
49	White M Hairstreak	Parrhasius m-album	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	18	Sep (rising)
50	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	18	Jul (rising)