Butterflies Flying in Pennsylvania in April (50 Species)

50 butterflies were recorded flying in Pennsylvania in April in our iNaturalist sample; 5 of the top 50 are at their peak this month. The list is ranked by number of research-grade observations.

Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov

Top butterflies in April

Small White522 obs.

Red Admiral426 obs.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail405 obs.

Eastern Comma352 obs.

Mourning Cloak288 obs.

Juvenal's Duskywing203 obs.

American Lady165 obs.

Pearl Crescent119 obs.

Spicebush Swallowtail119 obs.

Eastern Tailed-Blue106 obs.

Spring Azure99 obs.

Meadow Fritillary84 obs.

All butterflies flying in Pennsylvania in April

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	522	Jul (rising)
2	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	426	Jul (rising)
3	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	405	Jul (rising)
4	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	352	Aug (rising)
5	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	288	Apr (peak)
6	Juvenal's Duskywing	Erynnis juvenalis	Skippers	203	May (rising)
7	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	165	Jul (rising)
8	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	119	Aug (rising)
9	Spicebush Swallowtail	Papilio troilus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	119	Aug (rising)
10	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	106	Aug (rising)
11	Spring Azure	Celastrina ladon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	99	Apr (peak)
12	Meadow Fritillary	Boloria bellona	Brush-footed Butterflies	84	Aug (rising)
13	Zebra Swallowtail	Eurytides marcellus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	73	Jul (rising)
14	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	53	Jul (rising)
15	Sleepy Duskywing	Erynnis brizo	Skippers	45	Apr (peak)
16	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	43	Aug (rising)
17	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	42	Aug (rising)
18	Wild Indigo Duskywing	Erynnis baptisiae	Skippers	41	Aug (rising)
19	Falcate Orangetip	Anthocharis midea	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	39	Apr (peak)
20	Pipevine Swallowtail	Battus philenor	Swallowtails and Parnassians	31	Jul (rising)
21	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	29	Aug (rising)
22	Eastern Pine Elfin	Callophrys niphon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	29	May (rising)
23	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	25	Aug (rising)
24	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	22	Aug (rising)
25	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	19	Jul (rising)
26	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	18	Aug (rising)
27	White M Hairstreak	Parrhasius m-album	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	17	Aug (rising)
28	Zabulon Skipper	Lon zabulon	Skippers	17	Aug (rising)
29	Clouded Sulphur	Colias philodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	13	Aug (rising)
30	Juniper Hairstreak	Callophrys gryneus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	12	Jul (rising)
31	Harvester	Feniseca tarquinius	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	10	Jul (rising)
32	Common Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius communis	Skippers	10	Sep (rising)
33	Gray Comma	Polygonia progne	Brush-footed Butterflies	8	Jun (rising)
34	Baltimore Checkerspot	Euphydryas phaeton	Brush-footed Butterflies	7	Jun (rising)
35	Henry's Elfin	Callophrys henrici	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	6	Apr (peak)
36	American Copper	Lycaena hypophlaeas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	6	Jul (rising)
37	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	5	Aug (rising)
38	American Snout	Libytheana carinenta	Brush-footed Butterflies	4	Jul (rising)
39	Red-banded Hairstreak	Calycopis cecrops	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	4	Aug (rising)
40	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	4	Jul (rising)
41	Dreamy Duskywing	Erynnis icelus	Skippers	3	May (rising)
42	Brown Elfin	Callophrys augustinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	3	May (rising)
43	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	3	Sep (rising)
44	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	3	Sep (rising)
45	Horace's Duskywing	Erynnis horatius	Skippers	2	Jul (rising)
46	Sleepy Orange	Eurema nicippe	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	2	Aug (rising)
47	Peck's Skipper	Polites peckius	Skippers	2	Aug (rising)
48	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	1	Sep (rising)
49	Silvery Checkerspot	Chlosyne nycteis	Brush-footed Butterflies	1	Aug (rising)
50	Huron Skipper	Atalopedes huron	Skippers	1	Sep (rising)