Butterflies Flying in Virginia in May (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in Virginia in May in our iNaturalist sample; 4 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 May

Zabulon Skipper1,273 obs.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail1,116 obs.

Silver-spotted Skipper625 obs.

Small White601 obs.

Eastern Tailed-Blue578 obs.

Pearl Crescent544 obs.

Silvery Checkerspot542 obs.

Great Spangled Fritillary534 obs.

Spicebush Swallowtail516 obs.

American Lady501 obs.

Zebra Swallowtail476 obs.

Monarch452 obs.

All butterflies flying in Virginia in May

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Zabulon Skipper	Lon zabulon	Skippers	1,273	Aug (rising)
2	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	1,116	Aug (rising)
3	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	625	Aug (rising)
4	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	601	Jun (rising)
5	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	578	Sep (rising)
6	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	544	Sep (rising)
7	Silvery Checkerspot	Chlosyne nycteis	Brush-footed Butterflies	542	Jul (rising)
8	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	534	Jun (rising)
9	Spicebush Swallowtail	Papilio troilus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	516	Aug (rising)
10	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	501	Jun (rising)
11	Zebra Swallowtail	Eurytides marcellus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	476	Jun (rising)
12	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	452	Aug (rising)
13	Little Wood Satyr	Megisto cymela	Brush-footed Butterflies	421	Jun (rising)
14	Red-banded Hairstreak	Calycopis cecrops	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	401	Aug (rising)
15	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	355	Aug (rising)
16	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	348	Jul (rising)
17	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	289	Aug (rising)
18	Pipevine Swallowtail	Battus philenor	Swallowtails and Parnassians	284	Jul (rising)
19	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	271	Aug (rising)
20	Huron Skipper	Atalopedes huron	Skippers	269	Sep (rising)
21	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	249	May (peak)
22	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	222	Mar (past peak)
23	Least Skipper	Ancyloxypha numitor	Skippers	185	Aug (rising)
24	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	184	Sep (rising)
25	Northern Pearly-eye	Lethe anthedon	Brush-footed Butterflies	138	Aug (rising)
26	American Snout	Libytheana carinenta	Brush-footed Butterflies	125	Jul (rising)
27	Hackberry Emperor	Asterocampa celtis	Brush-footed Butterflies	124	Aug (rising)
28	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	120	Aug (rising)
29	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	115	Jul (rising)
30	Peck's Skipper	Polites peckius	Skippers	112	Sep (rising)
31	Juvenal's Duskywing	Erynnis juvenalis	Skippers	111	Apr (past peak)
32	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	97	Sep (rising)
33	Carolina Satyr	Hermeuptychia sosybius	Brush-footed Butterflies	95	Aug (rising)
34	Palamedes Swallowtail	Papilio palamedes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	82	Apr (past peak)
35	Dreamy Duskywing	Erynnis icelus	Skippers	65	May (peak)
36	Hobomok Skipper	Lon hobomok	Skippers	65	May (peak)
37	Appalachian Brown	Lethe appalachia	Brush-footed Butterflies	64	Jun (rising)
38	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	60	Sep (rising)
39	Northern Cloudywing	Cecropterus pylades	Skippers	59	May (peak)
40	Dun Skipper	Euphyes vestris	Skippers	48	Aug (rising)
41	Southern Pearly-eye	Lethe portlandia	Brush-footed Butterflies	47	Sep (rising)
42	Little Glassywing	Vernia verna	Skippers	47	Aug (rising)
43	Juniper Hairstreak	Callophrys gryneus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	46	Jul (rising)
44	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	45	Oct (rising)
45	American Copper	Lycaena hypophlaeas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	44	Jul (rising)
46	Hoary Edge	Cecropterus lyciades	Skippers	41	Aug (rising)
47	Meadow Fritillary	Boloria bellona	Brush-footed Butterflies	40	Jul (rising)
48	Banded Hairstreak	Satyrium calanus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	39	Jun (rising)
49	Clouded Skipper	Lerema accius	Skippers	38	Sep (rising)
50	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	31	Aug (rising)