Butterflies Flying in Virginia in March (51 Species)

51 butterflies were recorded flying in Virginia in March in our iNaturalist sample; 2 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 March

Eastern Comma332 obs.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail297 obs.

Mourning Cloak216 obs.

Falcate Orangetip170 obs.

Small White161 obs.

Zebra Swallowtail156 obs.

Juvenal's Duskywing133 obs.

Henry's Elfin132 obs.

Summer Azure109 obs.

Question Mark83 obs.

American Snout58 obs.

Spring Azure46 obs.

All butterflies flying in Virginia in March

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	332	Mar (peak)
2	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	297	Aug (rising)
3	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	216	May (rising)
4	Falcate Orangetip	Anthocharis midea	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	170	Apr (rising)
5	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	161	Jun (rising)
6	Zebra Swallowtail	Eurytides marcellus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	156	Jun (rising)
7	Juvenal's Duskywing	Erynnis juvenalis	Skippers	133	Apr (rising)
8	Henry's Elfin	Callophrys henrici	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	132	Apr (rising)
9	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	109	Aug (rising)
10	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	83	Aug (rising)
11	American Snout	Libytheana carinenta	Brush-footed Butterflies	58	Jul (rising)
12	Spring Azure	Celastrina ladon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	46	Mar (peak)
13	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	40	Sep (rising)
14	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	29	Aug (rising)
15	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	28	Jul (rising)
16	Sleepy Duskywing	Erynnis brizo	Skippers	26	Apr (rising)
17	Sleepy Orange	Eurema nicippe	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	22	Aug (rising)
18	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	20	Aug (rising)
19	White M Hairstreak	Parrhasius m-album	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	16	Sep (rising)
20	Great Purple Hairstreak	Atlides halesus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	13	Aug (rising)
21	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	12	Jun (rising)
22	Clouded Sulphur	Colias philodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	12	Sep (rising)
23	Eastern Pine Elfin	Callophrys niphon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	12	Apr (rising)
24	Spicebush Swallowtail	Papilio troilus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	10	Aug (rising)
25	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	10	Sep (rising)
26	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	8	Jul (rising)
27	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	8	Aug (rising)
28	Juniper Hairstreak	Callophrys gryneus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	7	Jul (rising)
29	Brown Elfin	Callophrys augustinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	6	Apr (rising)
30	Gray Comma	Polygonia progne	Brush-footed Butterflies	6	Jul (rising)
31	Harvester	Feniseca tarquinius	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	6	Apr (rising)
32	Pipevine Swallowtail	Battus philenor	Swallowtails and Parnassians	5	Jul (rising)
33	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	5	Sep (rising)
34	Red-banded Hairstreak	Calycopis cecrops	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	5	Aug (rising)
35	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	4	Aug (rising)
36	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	3	Sep (rising)
37	Cloudless Sulphur	Phoebis sennae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	3	Sep (rising)
38	Wild Indigo Duskywing	Erynnis baptisiae	Skippers	3	Aug (rising)
39	Palamedes Swallowtail	Papilio palamedes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	3	Apr (rising)
40	Horace's Duskywing	Erynnis horatius	Skippers	2	Jul (rising)
41	Eastern Gemmed-Satyr	Cyllopsis gemma	Brush-footed Butterflies	2	Apr (rising)
42	Common Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius communis	Skippers	2	Oct (rising)
43	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	1	Oct (rising)
44	Fiery Skipper	Hylephila phyleus	Skippers	1	Sep (rising)
45	Dreamy Duskywing	Erynnis icelus	Skippers	1	May (rising)
46	Broad-winged Skipper	Poanes viator	Skippers	1	Jun (rising)
47	Meadow Fritillary	Boloria bellona	Brush-footed Butterflies	1	Jul (rising)
48	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	1	Sep (rising)
49	Zabulon Skipper	Lon zabulon	Skippers	1	Aug (rising)
50	Little Glassywing	Vernia verna	Skippers	1	Aug (rising)