Butterflies Flying in Virginia in September (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in Virginia in September in our iNaturalist sample; 14 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 September

Monarch4,296 obs.

Huron Skipper3,220 obs.

Common Buckeye1,969 obs.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail1,788 obs.

Pearl Crescent1,637 obs.

Eastern Tailed-Blue1,347 obs.

Variegated Fritillary1,085 obs.

Fiery Skipper796 obs.

Small White795 obs.

Black Swallowtail755 obs.

Silver-spotted Skipper738 obs.

Spicebush Swallowtail622 obs.

All butterflies flying in Virginia in September

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	4,296	Aug (past peak)
2	Huron Skipper	Atalopedes huron	Skippers	3,220	Sep (peak)
3	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	1,969	Sep (peak)
4	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	1,788	Aug (past peak)
5	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	1,637	Sep (peak)
6	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	1,347	Sep (peak)
7	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	1,085	Sep (peak)
8	Fiery Skipper	Hylephila phyleus	Skippers	796	Sep (peak)
9	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	795	Jun (past peak)
10	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	755	Aug (past peak)
11	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	738	Aug (past peak)
12	Spicebush Swallowtail	Papilio troilus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	622	Aug (past peak)
13	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	616	Aug (past peak)
14	Red-banded Hairstreak	Calycopis cecrops	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	575	Aug (past peak)
15	Cloudless Sulphur	Phoebis sennae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	533	Sep (peak)
16	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	520	Jun (past peak)
17	Sleepy Orange	Eurema nicippe	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	514	Aug (past peak)
18	Peck's Skipper	Polites peckius	Skippers	509	Sep (peak)
19	Hackberry Emperor	Asterocampa celtis	Brush-footed Butterflies	379	Aug (past peak)
20	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	365	Jul (past peak)
21	Clouded Skipper	Lerema accius	Skippers	358	Sep (peak)
22	Northern Pearly-eye	Lethe anthedon	Brush-footed Butterflies	347	Aug (past peak)
23	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	314	Oct (rising)
24	Least Skipper	Ancyloxypha numitor	Skippers	302	Aug (past peak)
25	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	300	Jun (past peak)
26	Common Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius communis	Skippers	285	Oct (rising)
27	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	284	Aug (past peak)
28	Ocola Skipper	Panoquina ocola	Skippers	280	Oct (rising)
29	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	274	Sep (peak)
30	Tawny Emperor	Asterocampa clyton	Brush-footed Butterflies	265	Aug (past peak)
31	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	261	Aug (past peak)
32	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	252	Jul (past peak)
33	Pipevine Swallowtail	Battus philenor	Swallowtails and Parnassians	235	Jul (past peak)
34	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	234	Mar (past peak)
35	Common Wood-Nymph	Cercyonis pegala	Brush-footed Butterflies	215	Jul (past peak)
36	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	211	Aug (past peak)
37	Silvery Checkerspot	Chlosyne nycteis	Brush-footed Butterflies	188	Jul (past peak)
38	Zabulon Skipper	Lon zabulon	Skippers	155	Aug (past peak)
39	Wild Indigo Duskywing	Erynnis baptisiae	Skippers	136	Aug (past peak)
40	Appalachian Brown	Lethe appalachia	Brush-footed Butterflies	126	Jun (past peak)
41	Horace's Duskywing	Erynnis horatius	Skippers	125	Jul (past peak)
42	Zebra Swallowtail	Eurytides marcellus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	124	Jun (past peak)
43	Long-tailed Skipper	Urbanus proteus	Skippers	109	Sep (peak)
44	American Snout	Libytheana carinenta	Brush-footed Butterflies	96	Jul (past peak)
45	Clouded Sulphur	Colias philodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	94	Sep (peak)
46	Southern Pearly-eye	Lethe portlandia	Brush-footed Butterflies	93	Sep (peak)
47	Carolina Satyr	Hermeuptychia sosybius	Brush-footed Butterflies	92	Aug (past peak)
48	Broad-winged Skipper	Poanes viator	Skippers	89	Jun (past peak)
49	Palamedes Swallowtail	Papilio palamedes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	85	Apr (past peak)
50	White M Hairstreak	Parrhasius m-album	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	77	Sep (peak)