Butterflies Flying in Washington in October (42 Species)

42 butterflies were recorded flying in Washington in October in our iNaturalist sample; 1 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 October

California Tortoiseshell98 obs.

Field Skipper92 obs.

Small White80 obs.

Orange Sulphur66 obs.

Red Admiral61 obs.

Western Pygmy-Blue36 obs.

Painted Lady30 obs.

American Lady28 obs.

Juba Skipper24 obs.

Purplish Copper20 obs.

Lorquin's Admiral19 obs.

Common Checkered-Skipper19 obs.

All butterflies flying in Washington in October

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	California Tortoiseshell	Nymphalis californica	Brush-footed Butterflies	98	Jul (past peak)
2	Field Skipper	Atalopedes campestris	Skippers	92	Sep (past peak)
3	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	80	Jul (past peak)
4	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	66	Sep (past peak)
5	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	61	Jul (past peak)
6	Western Pygmy-Blue	Brephidium exilis	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	36	Oct (peak)
7	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	30	May (past peak)
8	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	28	Sep (past peak)
9	Juba Skipper	Hesperia juba	Skippers	24	May (past peak)
10	Purplish Copper	Tharsalea helloides	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	20	Aug (past peak)
11	Lorquin's Admiral	Limenitis lorquini	Brush-footed Butterflies	19	Jun (past peak)
12	Common Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius communis	Skippers	19	Jul (past peak)
13	Coronis Fritillary	Argynnis coronis	Brush-footed Butterflies	19	Jul (past peak)
14	Milbert's Tortoiseshell	Aglais milberti	Brush-footed Butterflies	16	Jul (past peak)
15	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	15	Aug (past peak)
16	West Coast Lady	Vanessa annabella	Brush-footed Butterflies	14	May (past peak)
17	Anna's Blue	Plebejus anna	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	14	Aug (past peak)
18	Satyr Comma	Polygonia satyrus	Brush-footed Butterflies	13	Apr (past peak)
19	Mylitta Crescent	Phyciodes mylitta	Brush-footed Butterflies	13	Jul (past peak)
20	Woodland Skipper	Ochlodes sylvanoides	Skippers	12	Aug (past peak)
21	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	11	Aug (past peak)
22	Western White	Pontia occidentalis	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	10	Jul (past peak)
23	Clouded Sulphur	Colias philodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	9	Aug (past peak)
24	Common Ringlet	Coenonympha california	Brush-footed Butterflies	9	May (past peak)
25	Hoary Comma	Polygonia gracilis	Brush-footed Butterflies	8	Aug (past peak)
26	Green Comma	Polygonia faunus	Brush-footed Butterflies	8	Sep (past peak)
27	Northern White-Skipper	Heliopetes ericetorum	Skippers	7	Sep (past peak)
28	Western Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio rutulus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	6	Jun (past peak)
29	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	6	Apr (past peak)
30	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	5	Aug (past peak)
31	Anise Swallowtail	Papilio zelicaon	Swallowtails and Parnassians	4	Jul (past peak)
32	Two-tailed Swallowtail	Papilio multicaudata	Swallowtails and Parnassians	4	Jul (past peak)
33	Echo Azure	Celastrina echo	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	3	Apr (past peak)
34	Sandhill Skipper	Polites sabuleti	Skippers	3	Aug (past peak)
35	Becker's White	Pontia beckerii	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	3	Jul (past peak)
36	Acmon Blue	Icaricia acmon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	3	May (past peak)
37	Melissa Blue	Plebejus melissa	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	2	Jun (past peak)
38	Pale Swallowtail	Papilio eurymedon	Swallowtails and Parnassians	1	Jun (past peak)
39	Common Wood-Nymph	Cercyonis pegala	Brush-footed Butterflies	1	Jul (past peak)
40	Clodius Parnassian	Parnassius clodius	Swallowtails and Parnassians	1	Jul (past peak)
41	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	1	Aug (past peak)
42	Hydaspe Fritillary	Argynnis hydaspe	Brush-footed Butterflies	1	Aug (past peak)