Butterflies Flying in North Carolina in April (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in North Carolina in April in our iNaturalist sample; 9 of the top 50 are at their peak this month. The list is ranked by number of research-grade observations.

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Top butterflies in April

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail2,041 obs.

Pearl Crescent844 obs.

Silver-spotted Skipper749 obs.

Pipevine Swallowtail567 obs.

Eastern Tailed-Blue501 obs.

Juvenal's Duskywing491 obs.

Zabulon Skipper473 obs.

Spicebush Swallowtail379 obs.

Carolina Satyr374 obs.

American Lady368 obs.

Monarch365 obs.

Palamedes Swallowtail338 obs.

All butterflies flying in North Carolina in April

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	2,041	Aug (rising)
2	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	844	Apr (peak)
3	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	749	Aug (rising)
4	Pipevine Swallowtail	Battus philenor	Swallowtails and Parnassians	567	Jul (rising)
5	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	501	Apr (peak)
6	Juvenal's Duskywing	Erynnis juvenalis	Skippers	491	Apr (peak)
7	Zabulon Skipper	Lon zabulon	Skippers	473	Aug (rising)
8	Spicebush Swallowtail	Papilio troilus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	379	Aug (rising)
9	Carolina Satyr	Hermeuptychia sosybius	Brush-footed Butterflies	374	Aug (rising)
10	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	368	Jun (rising)
11	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	365	Sep (rising)
12	Palamedes Swallowtail	Papilio palamedes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	338	Aug (rising)
13	Red-banded Hairstreak	Calycopis cecrops	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	244	Aug (rising)
14	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	226	Jul (rising)
15	Zebra Swallowtail	Eurytides marcellus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	215	Jun (rising)
16	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	171	May (rising)
17	Sleepy Duskywing	Erynnis brizo	Skippers	153	Apr (peak)
18	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	151	Jun (rising)
19	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	138	Sep (rising)
20	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	135	Mar (past peak)
21	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	124	Sep (rising)
22	Eastern Gemmed-Satyr	Cyllopsis gemma	Brush-footed Butterflies	114	Apr (peak)
23	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	107	May (rising)
24	Silvery Checkerspot	Chlosyne nycteis	Brush-footed Butterflies	98	Jul (rising)
25	Common Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius communis	Skippers	94	Oct (rising)
26	Juniper Hairstreak	Callophrys gryneus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	84	Apr (peak)
27	Falcate Orangetip	Anthocharis midea	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	81	Mar (past peak)
28	American Snout	Libytheana carinenta	Brush-footed Butterflies	79	Jun (rising)
29	Southern Pearly-eye	Lethe portlandia	Brush-footed Butterflies	65	Sep (rising)
30	Cloudless Sulphur	Phoebis sennae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	61	Sep (rising)
31	Dreamy Duskywing	Erynnis icelus	Skippers	58	Apr (peak)
32	Henry's Elfin	Callophrys henrici	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	58	Mar (past peak)
33	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	57	Sep (rising)
34	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	55	Jul (rising)
35	Harvester	Feniseca tarquinius	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	49	Apr (peak)
36	Clouded Skipper	Lerema accius	Skippers	49	Sep (rising)
37	Fiery Skipper	Hylephila phyleus	Skippers	37	Jul (rising)
38	Spring Azure	Celastrina ladon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	37	Mar (past peak)
39	Northern Cloudywing	Cecropterus pylades	Skippers	36	May (rising)
40	Meadow Fritillary	Boloria bellona	Brush-footed Butterflies	35	Jun (rising)
41	Sleepy Orange	Eurema nicippe	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	35	Aug (rising)
42	Brown Elfin	Callophrys augustinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	34	Mar (past peak)
43	Least Skipper	Ancyloxypha numitor	Skippers	32	Aug (rising)
44	Southern Cloudywing	Cecropterus bathyllus	Skippers	31	Jul (rising)
45	Common Sootywing	Pholisora catullus	Skippers	27	Aug (rising)
46	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	26	Jul (rising)
47	Eastern Pine Elfin	Callophrys niphon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	26	Apr (peak)
48	White M Hairstreak	Parrhasius m-album	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	26	Sep (rising)
49	Huron Skipper	Atalopedes huron	Skippers	25	Aug (rising)
50	Hoary Edge	Cecropterus lyciades	Skippers	25	Jul (rising)