Butterflies Flying in North Carolina in August (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in North Carolina in August in our iNaturalist sample; 18 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 August

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail6,394 obs.

Monarch2,455 obs.

Silver-spotted Skipper2,259 obs.

Pipevine Swallowtail1,605 obs.

Common Buckeye1,312 obs.

Fiery Skipper1,289 obs.

Zabulon Skipper1,183 obs.

Spicebush Swallowtail1,030 obs.

Huron Skipper863 obs.

Sleepy Orange812 obs.

Pearl Crescent745 obs.

Variegated Fritillary666 obs.

All butterflies flying in North Carolina in August

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	6,394	Aug (peak)
2	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	2,455	Sep (rising)
3	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	2,259	Aug (peak)
4	Pipevine Swallowtail	Battus philenor	Swallowtails and Parnassians	1,605	Jul (past peak)
5	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	1,312	Sep (rising)
6	Fiery Skipper	Hylephila phyleus	Skippers	1,289	Jul (past peak)
7	Zabulon Skipper	Lon zabulon	Skippers	1,183	Aug (peak)
8	Spicebush Swallowtail	Papilio troilus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	1,030	Aug (peak)
9	Huron Skipper	Atalopedes huron	Skippers	863	Aug (peak)
10	Sleepy Orange	Eurema nicippe	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	812	Aug (peak)
11	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	745	Apr (past peak)
12	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	666	Sep (rising)
13	Cloudless Sulphur	Phoebis sennae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	640	Sep (rising)
14	Gulf Fritillary	Dione vanillae	Brush-footed Butterflies	591	Sep (rising)
15	Horace's Duskywing	Erynnis horatius	Skippers	553	Jul (past peak)
16	Clouded Skipper	Lerema accius	Skippers	529	Sep (rising)
17	Red-banded Hairstreak	Calycopis cecrops	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	508	Aug (peak)
18	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	445	Jul (past peak)
19	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	433	Jun (past peak)
20	Palamedes Swallowtail	Papilio palamedes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	399	Aug (peak)
21	Carolina Satyr	Hermeuptychia sosybius	Brush-footed Butterflies	385	Aug (peak)
22	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	376	Apr (past peak)
23	Hackberry Emperor	Asterocampa celtis	Brush-footed Butterflies	354	Sep (rising)
24	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	352	Jul (past peak)
25	Northern Pearly-eye	Lethe anthedon	Brush-footed Butterflies	336	Aug (peak)
26	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	318	Jun (past peak)
27	Silvery Checkerspot	Chlosyne nycteis	Brush-footed Butterflies	292	Jul (past peak)
28	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	271	Aug (peak)
29	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	264	Jun (past peak)
30	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	259	Sep (rising)
31	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	255	Jul (past peak)
32	Least Skipper	Ancyloxypha numitor	Skippers	191	Aug (peak)
33	Little Glassywing	Vernia verna	Skippers	187	Aug (peak)
34	Tawny Emperor	Asterocampa clyton	Brush-footed Butterflies	184	Aug (peak)
35	Ocola Skipper	Panoquina ocola	Skippers	175	Oct (rising)
36	Common Wood-Nymph	Cercyonis pegala	Brush-footed Butterflies	158	Jul (past peak)
37	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	157	May (past peak)
38	Long-tailed Skipper	Urbanus proteus	Skippers	148	Oct (rising)
39	Southern Broken-Dash	Polites otho	Skippers	134	Aug (peak)
40	Zebra Swallowtail	Eurytides marcellus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	133	Jun (past peak)
41	Dun Skipper	Euphyes vestris	Skippers	106	Aug (peak)
42	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	105	Mar (past peak)
43	Delaware Skipper	Anatrytone logan	Skippers	104	Aug (peak)
44	American Snout	Libytheana carinenta	Brush-footed Butterflies	103	Jun (past peak)
45	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	102	Sep (rising)
46	Eastern Giant Swallowtail	Heraclides cresphontes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	94	Aug (peak)
47	Common Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius communis	Skippers	94	Oct (rising)
48	Appalachian Brown	Lethe appalachia	Brush-footed Butterflies	90	May (past peak)
49	Broad-winged Skipper	Poanes viator	Skippers	84	Jun (past peak)
50	Hoary Edge	Cecropterus lyciades	Skippers	74	Jul (past peak)