Butterflies Flying in South Dakota in September (49 Species)

49 butterflies were recorded flying in South Dakota in September in our iNaturalist sample; 7 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 September

Monarch292 obs.

Red Admiral213 obs.

Painted Lady192 obs.

Orange Sulphur58 obs.

Melissa Blue58 obs.

Small White52 obs.

Eastern Comma40 obs.

Silver-spotted Skipper39 obs.

Common Checkered-Skipper37 obs.

Black Swallowtail32 obs.

Variegated Fritillary30 obs.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail29 obs.

All butterflies flying in South Dakota in September

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	292	Sep (peak)
2	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	213	Sep (peak)
3	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	192	Sep (peak)
4	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	58	Aug (past peak)
5	Melissa Blue	Plebejus melissa	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	58	Aug (past peak)
6	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	52	Aug (past peak)
7	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	40	Sep (peak)
8	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	39	Jun (past peak)
9	Common Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius communis	Skippers	37	Aug (past peak)
10	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	32	Aug (past peak)
11	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	30	Jul (past peak)
12	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	29	Aug (past peak)
13	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	26	Aug (past peak)
14	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	23	Aug (past peak)
15	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	20	Aug (past peak)
16	Huron Skipper	Atalopedes huron	Skippers	19	Aug (past peak)
17	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	18	Aug (past peak)
18	Peck's Skipper	Polites peckius	Skippers	18	Aug (past peak)
19	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	16	Jun (past peak)
20	Fiery Skipper	Hylephila phyleus	Skippers	11	Sep (peak)
21	Clouded Sulphur	Colias philodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	9	Jul (past peak)
22	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	9	Jul (past peak)
23	Dainty Sulphur	Nathalis iole	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	7	Oct (rising)
24	Aphrodite Fritillary	Argynnis aphrodite	Brush-footed Butterflies	7	Jul (past peak)
25	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	6	Jul (past peak)
26	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	6	May (past peak)
27	Hackberry Emperor	Asterocampa celtis	Brush-footed Butterflies	6	Aug (past peak)
28	Checkered White	Pontia protodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	5	Aug (past peak)
29	Northern Crescent	Phyciodes cocyta	Brush-footed Butterflies	4	Jul (past peak)
30	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	4	Jul (past peak)
31	Tawny-edged Skipper	Polites themistocles	Skippers	3	Aug (past peak)
32	Meadow Fritillary	Boloria bellona	Brush-footed Butterflies	3	Aug (past peak)
33	Western White	Pontia occidentalis	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	3	Aug (past peak)
34	Gray Comma	Polygonia progne	Brush-footed Butterflies	2	Jul (past peak)
35	Weidemeyer's Admiral	Limenitis weidemeyerii	Brush-footed Butterflies	2	Jun (past peak)
36	Two-tailed Swallowtail	Papilio multicaudata	Swallowtails and Parnassians	2	Jun (past peak)
37	Eastern Giant Swallowtail	Heraclides cresphontes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	2	Aug (past peak)
38	Bronze Copper	Tharsalea hyllus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	2	Aug (past peak)
39	Cloudless Sulphur	Phoebis sennae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	1	Sep (peak)
40	Least Skipper	Ancyloxypha numitor	Skippers	1	Aug (past peak)
41	American Snout	Libytheana carinenta	Brush-footed Butterflies	1	Aug (past peak)
42	Common Wood-Nymph	Cercyonis pegala	Brush-footed Butterflies	1	Jul (past peak)
43	Marine Blue	Leptotes marina	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	1	Sep (peak)
44	Woodland Skipper	Ochlodes sylvanoides	Skippers	1	Aug (past peak)
45	Milbert's Tortoiseshell	Aglais milberti	Brush-footed Butterflies	1	Jun (past peak)
46	Pine White	Neophasia menapia	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	1	Aug (past peak)
47	American Branded Skipper	Hesperia colorado	Skippers	1	Aug (past peak)
48	Reakirt's Blue	Echinargus isola	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	1	Jul (past peak)
49	Coronis Fritillary	Argynnis coronis	Brush-footed Butterflies	1	Jul (past peak)