Butterflies Flying in North Carolina in March (58 Species)

58 butterflies were recorded flying in North Carolina in March 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.

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

Top butterflies in March

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail1,028 obs.

Juvenal's Duskywing314 obs.

Eastern Comma194 obs.

Falcate Orangetip193 obs.

Question Mark120 obs.

Summer Azure100 obs.

Zebra Swallowtail96 obs.

Mourning Cloak95 obs.

Silver-spotted Skipper92 obs.

Eastern Tailed-Blue86 obs.

Sleepy Duskywing77 obs.

Henry's Elfin74 obs.

All butterflies flying in North Carolina in March

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	1,028	Aug (rising)
2	Juvenal's Duskywing	Erynnis juvenalis	Skippers	314	Apr (rising)
3	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	194	Mar (peak)
4	Falcate Orangetip	Anthocharis midea	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	193	Mar (peak)
5	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	120	May (rising)
6	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	100	Jul (rising)
7	Zebra Swallowtail	Eurytides marcellus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	96	Jun (rising)
8	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	95	May (rising)
9	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	92	Aug (rising)
10	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	86	Apr (rising)
11	Sleepy Duskywing	Erynnis brizo	Skippers	77	Apr (rising)
12	Henry's Elfin	Callophrys henrici	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	74	Mar (peak)
13	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	70	Jun (rising)
14	American Snout	Libytheana carinenta	Brush-footed Butterflies	61	Jun (rising)
15	Palamedes Swallowtail	Papilio palamedes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	61	Aug (rising)
16	Spicebush Swallowtail	Papilio troilus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	60	Aug (rising)
17	Brown Elfin	Callophrys augustinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	55	Mar (peak)
18	Sleepy Orange	Eurema nicippe	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	54	Aug (rising)
19	Red-banded Hairstreak	Calycopis cecrops	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	40	Aug (rising)
20	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	39	Apr (rising)
21	Pipevine Swallowtail	Battus philenor	Swallowtails and Parnassians	38	Jul (rising)
22	Spring Azure	Celastrina ladon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	38	Mar (peak)
23	White M Hairstreak	Parrhasius m-album	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	37	Sep (rising)
24	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	34	Jun (rising)
25	Eastern Gemmed-Satyr	Cyllopsis gemma	Brush-footed Butterflies	29	Apr (rising)
26	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	28	Jul (rising)
27	Cloudless Sulphur	Phoebis sennae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	26	Sep (rising)
28	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	24	Jul (rising)
29	Common Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius communis	Skippers	23	Oct (rising)
30	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	21	Jul (rising)
31	Great Purple Hairstreak	Atlides halesus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	19	Sep (rising)
32	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	18	Sep (rising)
33	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	17	Sep (rising)
34	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	17	Sep (rising)
35	Juniper Hairstreak	Callophrys gryneus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	16	Apr (rising)
36	Silvery Blue	Glaucopsyche lygdamus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	14	Mar (peak)
37	Harvester	Feniseca tarquinius	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	13	Apr (rising)
38	Clouded Sulphur	Colias philodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	10	Jun (rising)
39	Eastern Pine Elfin	Callophrys niphon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	9	Apr (rising)
40	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	8	Aug (rising)
41	Gulf Fritillary	Dione vanillae	Brush-footed Butterflies	7	Sep (rising)
42	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	7	Sep (rising)
43	Carolina Satyr	Hermeuptychia sosybius	Brush-footed Butterflies	7	Aug (rising)
44	Clouded Skipper	Lerema accius	Skippers	6	Sep (rising)
45	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	4	Aug (rising)
46	Meadow Fritillary	Boloria bellona	Brush-footed Butterflies	4	Jun (rising)
47	Southern Cloudywing	Cecropterus bathyllus	Skippers	4	Jul (rising)
48	Horace's Duskywing	Erynnis horatius	Skippers	3	Jul (rising)
49	Fiery Skipper	Hylephila phyleus	Skippers	3	Jul (rising)
50	Dreamy Duskywing	Erynnis icelus	Skippers	3	Apr (rising)