Butterflies Flying in Tennessee in May (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in Tennessee in May in our iNaturalist sample; 3 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 May

Great Spangled Fritillary911 obs.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail598 obs.

Pipevine Swallowtail589 obs.

Hackberry Emperor434 obs.

Silver-spotted Skipper370 obs.

Monarch333 obs.

Zabulon Skipper327 obs.

Spicebush Swallowtail324 obs.

Silvery Checkerspot316 obs.

Little Wood Satyr275 obs.

Zebra Swallowtail253 obs.

Eastern Tailed-Blue232 obs.

All butterflies flying in Tennessee in May

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	911	May (peak)
2	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	598	Aug (rising)
3	Pipevine Swallowtail	Battus philenor	Swallowtails and Parnassians	589	Jul (rising)
4	Hackberry Emperor	Asterocampa celtis	Brush-footed Butterflies	434	Aug (rising)
5	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	370	Jul (rising)
6	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	333	Sep (rising)
7	Zabulon Skipper	Lon zabulon	Skippers	327	Aug (rising)
8	Spicebush Swallowtail	Papilio troilus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	324	Jul (rising)
9	Silvery Checkerspot	Chlosyne nycteis	Brush-footed Butterflies	316	Jul (rising)
10	Little Wood Satyr	Megisto cymela	Brush-footed Butterflies	275	May (peak)
11	Zebra Swallowtail	Eurytides marcellus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	253	Apr (past peak)
12	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	232	Sep (rising)
13	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	228	Aug (rising)
14	Carolina Satyr	Hermeuptychia sosybius	Brush-footed Butterflies	207	Apr (past peak)
15	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	200	Jul (rising)
16	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	160	Sep (rising)
17	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	154	Jun (rising)
18	Northern Pearly-eye	Lethe anthedon	Brush-footed Butterflies	146	Aug (rising)
19	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	135	Jun (rising)
20	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	109	Sep (rising)
21	American Snout	Libytheana carinenta	Brush-footed Butterflies	101	Jul (rising)
22	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	100	Mar (past peak)
23	Huron Skipper	Atalopedes huron	Skippers	86	Aug (rising)
24	Red-banded Hairstreak	Calycopis cecrops	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	84	Sep (rising)
25	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	79	Sep (rising)
26	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	77	Jul (rising)
27	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	75	Aug (rising)
28	Tawny Emperor	Asterocampa clyton	Brush-footed Butterflies	69	Aug (rising)
29	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	53	Mar (past peak)
30	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	52	Aug (rising)
31	Juniper Hairstreak	Callophrys gryneus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	50	Apr (past peak)
32	Least Skipper	Ancyloxypha numitor	Skippers	48	Aug (rising)
33	Hoary Edge	Cecropterus lyciades	Skippers	42	Jul (rising)
34	Eastern Giant Swallowtail	Heraclides cresphontes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	37	Aug (rising)
35	Banded Hairstreak	Satyrium calanus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	35	Jun (rising)
36	Juvenal's Duskywing	Erynnis juvenalis	Skippers	34	Apr (past peak)
37	Dun Skipper	Euphyes vestris	Skippers	34	Aug (rising)
38	Appalachian Brown	Lethe appalachia	Brush-footed Butterflies	29	Aug (rising)
39	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	26	Sep (rising)
40	Little Glassywing	Vernia verna	Skippers	25	Aug (rising)
41	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	24	Aug (rising)
42	Harvester	Feniseca tarquinius	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	23	Apr (past peak)
43	Checkered White	Pontia protodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	20	Aug (rising)
44	Northern Cloudywing	Cecropterus pylades	Skippers	20	May (peak)
45	Clouded Skipper	Lerema accius	Skippers	19	Sep (rising)
46	Goatweed Leafwing	Anaea andria	Brush-footed Butterflies	17	Apr (past peak)
47	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	14	Oct (rising)
48	Gulf Fritillary	Dione vanillae	Brush-footed Butterflies	14	Sep (rising)
49	Fiery Skipper	Hylephila phyleus	Skippers	14	Oct (rising)
50	Clouded Sulphur	Colias philodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	14	Jul (rising)