Butterflies Flying in Washington in May (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in Washington in May in our iNaturalist sample; 15 of the top 50 are at their peak this month. The list is ranked by number of research-grade observations.

Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct

Top butterflies in May

Echo Azure511 obs.

Pale Swallowtail440 obs.

Boisduval's Blue436 obs.

Painted Lady417 obs.

Western Tiger Swallowtail355 obs.

Small White344 obs.

Common Ringlet293 obs.

Anise Swallowtail256 obs.

Lorquin's Admiral238 obs.

Juba Skipper202 obs.

Mourning Cloak201 obs.

Silvery Blue188 obs.

All butterflies flying in Washington in May

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Echo Azure	Celastrina echo	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	511	Apr (past peak)
2	Pale Swallowtail	Papilio eurymedon	Swallowtails and Parnassians	440	Jun (rising)
3	Boisduval's Blue	Icaricia icarioides	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	436	May (peak)
4	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	417	May (peak)
5	Western Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio rutulus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	355	Jun (rising)
6	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	344	Jul (rising)
7	Common Ringlet	Coenonympha california	Brush-footed Butterflies	293	May (peak)
8	Anise Swallowtail	Papilio zelicaon	Swallowtails and Parnassians	256	Jul (rising)
9	Lorquin's Admiral	Limenitis lorquini	Brush-footed Butterflies	238	Jun (rising)
10	Juba Skipper	Hesperia juba	Skippers	202	May (peak)
11	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	201	Apr (past peak)
12	Silvery Blue	Glaucopsyche lygdamus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	188	May (peak)
13	Margined White	Pieris marginalis	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	175	Jul (rising)
14	Satyr Comma	Polygonia satyrus	Brush-footed Butterflies	168	Apr (past peak)
15	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	144	Jul (rising)
16	Mylitta Crescent	Phyciodes mylitta	Brush-footed Butterflies	127	Jul (rising)
17	Brown Elfin	Callophrys augustinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	121	May (peak)
18	Sagebrush Checkerspot	Chlosyne acastus	Brush-footed Butterflies	120	May (peak)
19	West Coast Lady	Vanessa annabella	Brush-footed Butterflies	112	May (peak)
20	Propertius Duskywing	Erynnis propertius	Skippers	112	May (peak)
21	Juniper Hairstreak	Callophrys gryneus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	103	May (peak)
22	California Tortoiseshell	Nymphalis californica	Brush-footed Butterflies	88	Jul (rising)
23	Green Comma	Polygonia faunus	Brush-footed Butterflies	88	Sep (rising)
24	Western Tailed-blue	Everes amyntula	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	82	May (peak)
25	Coronis Fritillary	Argynnis coronis	Brush-footed Butterflies	75	Jul (rising)
26	Western Pine Elfin	Callophrys eryphon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	74	May (peak)
27	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	73	Aug (rising)
28	Edith's Checkerspot	Euphydryas editha	Brush-footed Butterflies	67	Jul (rising)
29	Two-tailed Swallowtail	Papilio multicaudata	Swallowtails and Parnassians	64	Jul (rising)
30	Milbert's Tortoiseshell	Aglais milberti	Brush-footed Butterflies	57	Jul (rising)
31	Purplish Copper	Tharsalea helloides	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	53	Aug (rising)
32	Common Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius communis	Skippers	50	Jul (rising)
33	Field Skipper	Atalopedes campestris	Skippers	48	Sep (rising)
34	Hoary Comma	Polygonia gracilis	Brush-footed Butterflies	46	Aug (rising)
35	Acmon Blue	Icaricia acmon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	43	May (peak)
36	Becker's White	Pontia beckerii	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	42	Jul (rising)
37	Pacific Fritillary	Boloria epithore	Brush-footed Butterflies	37	Jul (rising)
38	Lupine Blue	Icaricia lupini	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	34	Jun (rising)
39	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	33	Sep (rising)
40	Snowberry Checkerspot	Euphydryas colon	Brush-footed Butterflies	29	Jul (rising)
41	Dreamy Duskywing	Erynnis icelus	Skippers	28	Jun (rising)
42	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	28	Aug (rising)
43	Northern Cloudywing	Cecropterus pylades	Skippers	25	May (peak)
44	Sandhill Skipper	Polites sabuleti	Skippers	21	Aug (rising)
45	Melissa Blue	Plebejus melissa	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	19	Jun (rising)
46	Common Sootywing	Pholisora catullus	Skippers	16	May (peak)
47	Western White	Pontia occidentalis	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	16	Jul (rising)
48	Clodius Parnassian	Parnassius clodius	Swallowtails and Parnassians	15	Jul (rising)
49	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	14	Jun (rising)
50	Northern Checkerspot	Chlosyne palla	Brush-footed Butterflies	11	Jun (rising)