Butterflies Flying in North Carolina in July (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in North Carolina in July in our iNaturalist sample; 12 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 July

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail3,653 obs.

Silver-spotted Skipper2,184 obs.

Pipevine Swallowtail2,034 obs.

Fiery Skipper1,334 obs.

Spicebush Swallowtail992 obs.

Common Buckeye919 obs.

Pearl Crescent704 obs.

Horace's Duskywing664 obs.

Monarch583 obs.

Variegated Fritillary556 obs.

American Lady548 obs.

Gray Hairstreak538 obs.

All butterflies flying in North Carolina in July

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	3,653	Aug (rising)
2	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	2,184	Aug (rising)
3	Pipevine Swallowtail	Battus philenor	Swallowtails and Parnassians	2,034	Jul (peak)
4	Fiery Skipper	Hylephila phyleus	Skippers	1,334	Jul (peak)
5	Spicebush Swallowtail	Papilio troilus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	992	Aug (rising)
6	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	919	Sep (rising)
7	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	704	Apr (past peak)
8	Horace's Duskywing	Erynnis horatius	Skippers	664	Jul (peak)
9	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	583	Sep (rising)
10	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	556	Sep (rising)
11	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	548	Jun (past peak)
12	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	538	Jul (peak)
13	Huron Skipper	Atalopedes huron	Skippers	467	Aug (rising)
14	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	463	Jul (peak)
15	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	434	Apr (past peak)
16	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	376	Jun (past peak)
17	Sleepy Orange	Eurema nicippe	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	371	Aug (rising)
18	Silvery Checkerspot	Chlosyne nycteis	Brush-footed Butterflies	345	Jul (peak)
19	Hackberry Emperor	Asterocampa celtis	Brush-footed Butterflies	338	Sep (rising)
20	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	336	Jul (peak)
21	Palamedes Swallowtail	Papilio palamedes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	308	Aug (rising)
22	Clouded Skipper	Lerema accius	Skippers	259	Sep (rising)
23	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	250	Jun (past peak)
24	Red-banded Hairstreak	Calycopis cecrops	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	230	Aug (rising)
25	Common Wood-Nymph	Cercyonis pegala	Brush-footed Butterflies	224	Jul (peak)
26	Zebra Swallowtail	Eurytides marcellus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	198	Jun (past peak)
27	Zabulon Skipper	Lon zabulon	Skippers	185	Aug (rising)
28	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	148	Sep (rising)
29	Least Skipper	Ancyloxypha numitor	Skippers	145	Aug (rising)
30	American Snout	Libytheana carinenta	Brush-footed Butterflies	141	Jun (past peak)
31	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	141	May (past peak)
32	Gulf Fritillary	Dione vanillae	Brush-footed Butterflies	139	Sep (rising)
33	Carolina Satyr	Hermeuptychia sosybius	Brush-footed Butterflies	133	Aug (rising)
34	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	105	Jul (peak)
35	Cloudless Sulphur	Phoebis sennae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	103	Sep (rising)
36	Ocola Skipper	Panoquina ocola	Skippers	102	Oct (rising)
37	Aphrodite Fritillary	Argynnis aphrodite	Brush-footed Butterflies	96	Jul (peak)
38	Hoary Edge	Cecropterus lyciades	Skippers	93	Jul (peak)
39	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	92	Mar (past peak)
40	Northern Pearly-eye	Lethe anthedon	Brush-footed Butterflies	89	Aug (rising)
41	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	86	Sep (rising)
42	Juniper Hairstreak	Callophrys gryneus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	84	Apr (past peak)
43	Appalachian Brown	Lethe appalachia	Brush-footed Butterflies	84	May (past peak)
44	Meadow Fritillary	Boloria bellona	Brush-footed Butterflies	73	Jun (past peak)
45	Dun Skipper	Euphyes vestris	Skippers	67	Aug (rising)
46	Tawny Emperor	Asterocampa clyton	Brush-footed Butterflies	65	Aug (rising)
47	Southern Cloudywing	Cecropterus bathyllus	Skippers	64	Jul (peak)
48	Common Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius communis	Skippers	62	Oct (rising)
49	Diana Fritillary	Argynnis diana	Brush-footed Butterflies	60	Jun (past peak)
50	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	59	Aug (rising)