27 butterflies were recorded flying in South Carolina in December in our iNaturalist sample; 0 of the top 50 are at their peak this month. The list is ranked by number of research-grade observations.
Top butterflies in December
Gulf Fritillary
Cloudless Sulphur
Monarch
Common Buckeye
Long-tailed Skipper
Zebra Longwing
Little Yellow
American Lady
Red Admiral
Sleepy Orange
Fiery Skipper
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
All butterflies flying in South Carolina in December
| # | Species | Scientific name | Family | Obs. | Peak in state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gulf Fritillary | Dione vanillae | Brush-footed Butterflies | 59 | Sep (past peak) |
| 2 | Cloudless Sulphur | Phoebis sennae | Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs | 50 | Sep (past peak) |
| 3 | Monarch | Danaus plexippus | Brush-footed Butterflies | 40 | Oct (past peak) |
| 4 | Common Buckeye | Junonia coenia | Brush-footed Butterflies | 25 | Sep (past peak) |
| 5 | Long-tailed Skipper | Urbanus proteus | Skippers | 16 | Oct (past peak) |
| 6 | Zebra Longwing | Heliconius charithonia | Brush-footed Butterflies | 14 | Oct (past peak) |
| 7 | Little Yellow | Eurema lisa | Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs | 13 | Sep (past peak) |
| 8 | American Lady | Vanessa virginiensis | Brush-footed Butterflies | 10 | May (past peak) |
| 9 | Red Admiral | Vanessa atalanta | Brush-footed Butterflies | 9 | May (past peak) |
| 10 | Sleepy Orange | Eurema nicippe | Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs | 8 | Sep (past peak) |
| 11 | Fiery Skipper | Hylephila phyleus | Skippers | 7 | Jul (past peak) |
| 12 | Eastern Tiger Swallowtail | Papilio glaucus | Swallowtails and Parnassians | 4 | Aug (past peak) |
| 13 | Variegated Fritillary | Euptoieta claudia | Brush-footed Butterflies | 4 | Sep (past peak) |
| 14 | Ocola Skipper | Panoquina ocola | Skippers | 4 | Oct (past peak) |
| 15 | Pearl Crescent | Phyciodes tharos | Brush-footed Butterflies | 3 | Apr (past peak) |
| 16 | Palamedes Swallowtail | Papilio palamedes | Swallowtails and Parnassians | 3 | Apr (past peak) |
| 17 | American Snout | Libytheana carinenta | Brush-footed Butterflies | 2 | Apr (past peak) |
| 18 | Barred Yellow | Eurema daira | Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs | 2 | Sep (past peak) |
| 19 | Tropical Checkered-Skipper | Burnsius oileus | Skippers | 2 | Sep (past peak) |
| 20 | Painted Lady | Vanessa cardui | Brush-footed Butterflies | 1 | Oct (past peak) |
| 21 | Queen | Danaus gilippus | Brush-footed Butterflies | 1 | Sep (past peak) |
| 22 | Great Purple Hairstreak | Atlides halesus | Gossamer-winged Butterflies | 1 | Sep (past peak) |
| 23 | Carolina Satyr | Hermeuptychia sosybius | Brush-footed Butterflies | 1 | Apr (past peak) |
| 24 | Ceraunus Blue | Hemiargus ceraunus | Gossamer-winged Butterflies | 1 | Sep (past peak) |
| 25 | Silver-spotted Skipper | Epargyreus clarus | Skippers | 1 | Aug (past peak) |
| 26 | Southern Pearly-eye | Lethe portlandia | Brush-footed Butterflies | 1 | Sep (past peak) |
| 27 | Southern Broken-Dash | Polites otho | Skippers | 1 | Aug (past peak) |