Butterflies Flying in South Dakota in August (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in South Dakota in August in our iNaturalist sample; 23 of the top 50 are at their peak this month. The list is ranked by number of research-grade observations.

May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct

Top butterflies in August

Monarch246 obs.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail172 obs.

Painted Lady159 obs.

Melissa Blue98 obs.

Orange Sulphur72 obs.

Black Swallowtail65 obs.

Viceroy59 obs.

Small White57 obs.

Huron Skipper53 obs.

Common Checkered-Skipper52 obs.

Silver-spotted Skipper49 obs.

Pearl Crescent42 obs.

All butterflies flying in South Dakota in August

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	246	Sep (rising)
2	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	172	Aug (peak)
3	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	159	Sep (rising)
4	Melissa Blue	Plebejus melissa	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	98	Aug (peak)
5	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	72	Aug (peak)
6	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	65	Aug (peak)
7	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	59	Aug (peak)
8	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	57	Aug (peak)
9	Huron Skipper	Atalopedes huron	Skippers	53	Aug (peak)
10	Common Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius communis	Skippers	52	Aug (peak)
11	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	49	Jun (past peak)
12	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	42	Aug (peak)
13	Least Skipper	Ancyloxypha numitor	Skippers	40	Aug (peak)
14	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	38	Aug (peak)
15	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	32	Sep (rising)
16	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	27	Aug (peak)
17	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	27	Jul (past peak)
18	Hackberry Emperor	Asterocampa celtis	Brush-footed Butterflies	27	Aug (peak)
19	Common Sootywing	Pholisora catullus	Skippers	24	Aug (peak)
20	Peck's Skipper	Polites peckius	Skippers	24	Aug (peak)
21	Common Wood-Nymph	Cercyonis pegala	Brush-footed Butterflies	22	Jul (past peak)
22	Meadow Fritillary	Boloria bellona	Brush-footed Butterflies	19	Aug (peak)
23	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	19	Jul (past peak)
24	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	16	Sep (rising)
25	Tawny-edged Skipper	Polites themistocles	Skippers	16	Aug (peak)
26	Clouded Sulphur	Colias philodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	15	Jul (past peak)
27	Checkered White	Pontia protodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	12	Aug (peak)
28	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	11	Jul (past peak)
29	Aphrodite Fritillary	Argynnis aphrodite	Brush-footed Butterflies	11	Jul (past peak)
30	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	9	Jul (past peak)
31	Woodland Skipper	Ochlodes sylvanoides	Skippers	9	Aug (peak)
32	Gorgone Checkerspot	Chlosyne gorgone	Brush-footed Butterflies	9	Jul (past peak)
33	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	8	May (past peak)
34	Bronze Copper	Tharsalea hyllus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	8	Aug (peak)
35	Weidemeyer's Admiral	Limenitis weidemeyerii	Brush-footed Butterflies	7	Jun (past peak)
36	Dainty Sulphur	Nathalis iole	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	6	Oct (rising)
37	Two-tailed Swallowtail	Papilio multicaudata	Swallowtails and Parnassians	6	Jun (past peak)
38	Milbert's Tortoiseshell	Aglais milberti	Brush-footed Butterflies	6	Jun (past peak)
39	Reakirt's Blue	Echinargus isola	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	6	Jul (past peak)
40	Western White	Pontia occidentalis	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	6	Aug (peak)
41	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	5	Jun (past peak)
42	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	5	Jul (past peak)
43	Fiery Skipper	Hylephila phyleus	Skippers	4	Sep (rising)
44	Gray Comma	Polygonia progne	Brush-footed Butterflies	4	Jul (past peak)
45	Common Ringlet	Coenonympha california	Brush-footed Butterflies	4	Jun (past peak)
46	Hoary Comma	Polygonia gracilis	Brush-footed Butterflies	3	Jul (past peak)
47	Northern Crescent	Phyciodes cocyta	Brush-footed Butterflies	3	Jul (past peak)
48	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	3	Jun (past peak)
49	Eastern Giant Swallowtail	Heraclides cresphontes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	3	Aug (peak)
50	Pine White	Neophasia menapia	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	2	Aug (peak)