Butterflies Flying in Texas in May (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in Texas in May in our iNaturalist sample; 8 of the top 50 are at their peak this month. The list is ranked by number of research-grade observations.

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Top butterflies in May

Black Swallowtail5,216 obs.

Gray Hairstreak4,641 obs.

Pipevine Swallowtail4,586 obs.

Common Buckeye4,486 obs.

Monarch4,069 obs.

Variegated Fritillary3,461 obs.

Gulf Fritillary3,183 obs.

Pearl Crescent3,176 obs.

Question Mark3,022 obs.

American Lady3,013 obs.

Checkered White2,827 obs.

Fiery Skipper2,785 obs.

All butterflies flying in Texas in May

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	5,216	May (peak)
2	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	4,641	Apr (past peak)
3	Pipevine Swallowtail	Battus philenor	Swallowtails and Parnassians	4,586	Apr (past peak)
4	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	4,486	Apr (past peak)
5	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	4,069	Oct (rising)
6	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	3,461	Apr (past peak)
7	Gulf Fritillary	Dione vanillae	Brush-footed Butterflies	3,183	Oct (rising)
8	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	3,176	May (peak)
9	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	3,022	Apr (past peak)
10	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	3,013	Apr (past peak)
11	Checkered White	Pontia protodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	2,827	Apr (past peak)
12	Fiery Skipper	Hylephila phyleus	Skippers	2,785	Oct (rising)
13	Reakirt's Blue	Echinargus isola	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	2,691	Apr (past peak)
14	Hackberry Emperor	Asterocampa celtis	Brush-footed Butterflies	2,592	Apr (past peak)
15	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	2,526	Apr (past peak)
16	Tawny Emperor	Asterocampa clyton	Brush-footed Butterflies	2,250	Oct (rising)
17	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	1,868	Apr (past peak)
18	Phaon Crescent	Phyciodes phaon	Brush-footed Butterflies	1,844	Oct (rising)
19	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	1,752	May (peak)
20	Queen	Danaus gilippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	1,554	Oct (rising)
21	Horace's Duskywing	Erynnis horatius	Skippers	1,538	May (peak)
22	Dainty Sulphur	Nathalis iole	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	1,257	Apr (past peak)
23	Bordered Patch	Chlosyne lacinia	Brush-footed Butterflies	1,208	Jul (rising)
24	Funereal Duskywing	Erynnis funeralis	Skippers	1,010	Apr (past peak)
25	American Snout	Libytheana carinenta	Brush-footed Butterflies	960	Oct (rising)
26	Sleepy Orange	Eurema nicippe	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	899	Oct (rising)
27	Little Yellow	Eurema lisa	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	813	Oct (rising)
28	Huron Skipper	Atalopedes huron	Skippers	804	Oct (rising)
29	Texan Crescent	Anthanassa texana	Brush-footed Butterflies	749	Apr (past peak)
30	Vesta Crescent	Phyciodes graphica	Brush-footed Butterflies	730	Apr (past peak)
31	Oak Hairstreak	Satyrium favonius	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	727	May (peak)
32	Great Purple Hairstreak	Atlides halesus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	656	Oct (rising)
33	Lyside Sulphur	Kricogonia lyside	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	621	Apr (past peak)
34	Juniper Hairstreak	Callophrys gryneus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	592	Mar (past peak)
35	Silvery Checkerspot	Chlosyne nycteis	Brush-footed Butterflies	558	May (peak)
36	Little Wood Satyr	Megisto cymela	Brush-footed Butterflies	501	Apr (past peak)
37	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	496	Oct (rising)
38	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	488	May (peak)
39	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	451	Oct (rising)
40	Southern Broken-Dash	Polites otho	Skippers	430	Oct (rising)
41	Marine Blue	Leptotes marina	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	423	May (peak)
42	Dun Skipper	Euphyes vestris	Skippers	399	Apr (past peak)
43	Clouded Skipper	Lerema accius	Skippers	396	Oct (rising)
44	Tropical Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius oileus	Skippers	389	Oct (rising)
45	Eastern Giant Swallowtail	Heraclides cresphontes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	355	Sep (rising)
46	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	349	Apr (past peak)
47	Goatweed Leafwing	Anaea andria	Brush-footed Butterflies	325	Mar (past peak)
48	Spicebush Swallowtail	Papilio troilus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	312	Aug (rising)
49	Great Southern White	Ascia monuste	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	309	Apr (past peak)
50	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	266	Apr (past peak)