Butterflies Flying in Virginia in August (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in Virginia in August in our iNaturalist sample; 21 of the top 50 are at their peak this month. The list is ranked by number of research-grade observations.

Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Top butterflies in August

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail5,798 obs.

Monarch4,738 obs.

Huron Skipper3,105 obs.

Zabulon Skipper2,605 obs.

Silver-spotted Skipper2,097 obs.

Spicebush Swallowtail1,982 obs.

Common Buckeye1,379 obs.

Pearl Crescent1,291 obs.

Northern Pearly-eye923 obs.

Eastern Tailed-Blue916 obs.

Black Swallowtail817 obs.

Variegated Fritillary786 obs.

All butterflies flying in Virginia in August

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	5,798	Aug (peak)
2	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	4,738	Aug (peak)
3	Huron Skipper	Atalopedes huron	Skippers	3,105	Sep (rising)
4	Zabulon Skipper	Lon zabulon	Skippers	2,605	Aug (peak)
5	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	2,097	Aug (peak)
6	Spicebush Swallowtail	Papilio troilus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	1,982	Aug (peak)
7	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	1,379	Sep (rising)
8	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	1,291	Sep (rising)
9	Northern Pearly-eye	Lethe anthedon	Brush-footed Butterflies	923	Aug (peak)
10	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	916	Sep (rising)
11	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	817	Aug (peak)
12	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	786	Sep (rising)
13	Red-banded Hairstreak	Calycopis cecrops	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	762	Aug (peak)
14	Hackberry Emperor	Asterocampa celtis	Brush-footed Butterflies	631	Aug (peak)
15	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	625	Jun (past peak)
16	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	616	Aug (peak)
17	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	592	Jun (past peak)
18	Sleepy Orange	Eurema nicippe	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	586	Aug (peak)
19	Pipevine Swallowtail	Battus philenor	Swallowtails and Parnassians	581	Jul (past peak)
20	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	537	Jul (past peak)
21	Zebra Swallowtail	Eurytides marcellus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	510	Jun (past peak)
22	Silvery Checkerspot	Chlosyne nycteis	Brush-footed Butterflies	507	Jul (past peak)
23	Fiery Skipper	Hylephila phyleus	Skippers	487	Sep (rising)
24	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	479	Aug (peak)
25	Least Skipper	Ancyloxypha numitor	Skippers	430	Aug (peak)
26	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	390	Aug (peak)
27	Cloudless Sulphur	Phoebis sennae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	361	Sep (rising)
28	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	356	Aug (peak)
29	Little Glassywing	Vernia verna	Skippers	326	Aug (peak)
30	Tawny Emperor	Asterocampa clyton	Brush-footed Butterflies	317	Aug (peak)
31	Horace's Duskywing	Erynnis horatius	Skippers	314	Jul (past peak)
32	Peck's Skipper	Polites peckius	Skippers	311	Sep (rising)
33	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	292	Jun (past peak)
34	Clouded Skipper	Lerema accius	Skippers	290	Sep (rising)
35	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	236	Mar (past peak)
36	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	230	Oct (rising)
37	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	224	Sep (rising)
38	Common Wood-Nymph	Cercyonis pegala	Brush-footed Butterflies	222	Jul (past peak)
39	Carolina Satyr	Hermeuptychia sosybius	Brush-footed Butterflies	202	Aug (peak)
40	Dun Skipper	Euphyes vestris	Skippers	198	Aug (peak)
41	Wild Indigo Duskywing	Erynnis baptisiae	Skippers	193	Aug (peak)
42	American Snout	Libytheana carinenta	Brush-footed Butterflies	191	Jul (past peak)
43	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	164	Jul (past peak)
44	Appalachian Brown	Lethe appalachia	Brush-footed Butterflies	163	Jun (past peak)
45	Common Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius communis	Skippers	146	Oct (rising)
46	Ocola Skipper	Panoquina ocola	Skippers	114	Oct (rising)
47	Palamedes Swallowtail	Papilio palamedes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	98	Apr (past peak)
48	Swarthy Skipper	Nastra lherminier	Skippers	91	Aug (peak)
49	Broad-winged Skipper	Poanes viator	Skippers	79	Jun (past peak)
50	Meadow Fritillary	Boloria bellona	Brush-footed Butterflies	78	Jul (past peak)