Butterflies Flying in North Carolina in September (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in North Carolina in September in our iNaturalist sample; 14 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 September

Monarch3,263 obs.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail1,894 obs.

Common Buckeye1,795 obs.

Gulf Fritillary1,511 obs.

Fiery Skipper1,275 obs.

Cloudless Sulphur1,077 obs.

Variegated Fritillary1,053 obs.

Silver-spotted Skipper922 obs.

Pipevine Swallowtail802 obs.

Pearl Crescent727 obs.

Sleepy Orange712 obs.

Clouded Skipper702 obs.

All butterflies flying in North Carolina in September

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	3,263	Sep (peak)
2	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	1,894	Aug (past peak)
3	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	1,795	Sep (peak)
4	Gulf Fritillary	Dione vanillae	Brush-footed Butterflies	1,511	Sep (peak)
5	Fiery Skipper	Hylephila phyleus	Skippers	1,275	Jul (past peak)
6	Cloudless Sulphur	Phoebis sennae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	1,077	Sep (peak)
7	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	1,053	Sep (peak)
8	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	922	Aug (past peak)
9	Pipevine Swallowtail	Battus philenor	Swallowtails and Parnassians	802	Jul (past peak)
10	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	727	Apr (past peak)
11	Sleepy Orange	Eurema nicippe	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	712	Aug (past peak)
12	Clouded Skipper	Lerema accius	Skippers	702	Sep (peak)
13	Huron Skipper	Atalopedes huron	Skippers	546	Aug (past peak)
14	Red-banded Hairstreak	Calycopis cecrops	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	502	Aug (past peak)
15	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	498	Apr (past peak)
16	Long-tailed Skipper	Urbanus proteus	Skippers	454	Oct (rising)
17	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	445	Jun (past peak)
18	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	438	Jul (past peak)
19	Hackberry Emperor	Asterocampa celtis	Brush-footed Butterflies	407	Sep (peak)
20	Ocola Skipper	Panoquina ocola	Skippers	374	Oct (rising)
21	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	315	Sep (peak)
22	Palamedes Swallowtail	Papilio palamedes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	305	Aug (past peak)
23	Spicebush Swallowtail	Papilio troilus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	294	Aug (past peak)
24	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	276	Jun (past peak)
25	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	265	Jun (past peak)
26	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	256	Aug (past peak)
27	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	223	Jul (past peak)
28	Common Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius communis	Skippers	212	Oct (rising)
29	Carolina Satyr	Hermeuptychia sosybius	Brush-footed Butterflies	176	Aug (past peak)
30	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	164	May (past peak)
31	Horace's Duskywing	Erynnis horatius	Skippers	161	Jul (past peak)
32	Tawny Emperor	Asterocampa clyton	Brush-footed Butterflies	152	Aug (past peak)
33	Common Wood-Nymph	Cercyonis pegala	Brush-footed Butterflies	144	Jul (past peak)
34	Least Skipper	Ancyloxypha numitor	Skippers	141	Aug (past peak)
35	Zabulon Skipper	Lon zabulon	Skippers	140	Aug (past peak)
36	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	120	Sep (peak)
37	Southern Pearly-eye	Lethe portlandia	Brush-footed Butterflies	103	Sep (peak)
38	Little Yellow	Eurema lisa	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	101	Sep (peak)
39	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	98	Mar (past peak)
40	Silvery Checkerspot	Chlosyne nycteis	Brush-footed Butterflies	97	Jul (past peak)
41	Eastern Gemmed-Satyr	Cyllopsis gemma	Brush-footed Butterflies	97	Apr (past peak)
42	Broad-winged Skipper	Poanes viator	Skippers	96	Jun (past peak)
43	Northern Pearly-eye	Lethe anthedon	Brush-footed Butterflies	94	Aug (past peak)
44	Great Purple Hairstreak	Atlides halesus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	92	Sep (peak)
45	Diana Fritillary	Argynnis diana	Brush-footed Butterflies	69	Jun (past peak)
46	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	67	Jul (past peak)
47	Eastern Giant Swallowtail	Heraclides cresphontes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	65	Aug (past peak)
48	Whirlabout	Hedone vibex	Skippers	59	Sep (peak)
49	Eufala Skipper	Lerodea eufala	Skippers	58	Sep (peak)
50	Meadow Fritillary	Boloria bellona	Brush-footed Butterflies	55	Jun (past peak)