Butterflies Flying in West Virginia in May (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in West Virginia in May in our iNaturalist sample; 3 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 Nov

Top butterflies in May

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail180 obs.

Pipevine Swallowtail129 obs.

Little Wood Satyr109 obs.

Spicebush Swallowtail98 obs.

Zebra Swallowtail94 obs.

Pearl Crescent85 obs.

Silver-spotted Skipper59 obs.

Great Spangled Fritillary59 obs.

Juvenal's Duskywing52 obs.

Zabulon Skipper48 obs.

Eastern Tailed-Blue45 obs.

Red Admiral44 obs.

All butterflies flying in West Virginia in May

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	180	Aug (rising)
2	Pipevine Swallowtail	Battus philenor	Swallowtails and Parnassians	129	Jul (rising)
3	Little Wood Satyr	Megisto cymela	Brush-footed Butterflies	109	Jun (rising)
4	Spicebush Swallowtail	Papilio troilus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	98	Aug (rising)
5	Zebra Swallowtail	Eurytides marcellus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	94	Jun (rising)
6	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	85	Aug (rising)
7	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	59	Jul (rising)
8	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	59	Jun (rising)
9	Juvenal's Duskywing	Erynnis juvenalis	Skippers	52	Apr (past peak)
10	Zabulon Skipper	Lon zabulon	Skippers	48	Aug (rising)
11	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	45	Jul (rising)
12	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	44	Jul (rising)
13	Hobomok Skipper	Lon hobomok	Skippers	44	Jun (rising)
14	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	38	May (peak)
15	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	37	Jun (rising)
16	Silvery Checkerspot	Chlosyne nycteis	Brush-footed Butterflies	33	Aug (rising)
17	Dreamy Duskywing	Erynnis icelus	Skippers	32	May (peak)
18	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	28	Jun (rising)
19	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	26	Aug (rising)
20	Huron Skipper	Atalopedes huron	Skippers	21	Sep (rising)
21	Carolina Satyr	Hermeuptychia sosybius	Brush-footed Butterflies	20	May (peak)
22	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	20	Jun (rising)
23	Meadow Fritillary	Boloria bellona	Brush-footed Butterflies	19	Sep (rising)
24	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	19	Aug (rising)
25	Least Skipper	Ancyloxypha numitor	Skippers	18	Aug (rising)
26	Sleepy Duskywing	Erynnis brizo	Skippers	17	Apr (past peak)
27	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	17	Sep (rising)
28	Common Ringlet	Coenonympha california	Brush-footed Butterflies	17	Jun (rising)
29	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	14	Aug (rising)
30	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	13	Jun (rising)
31	Baltimore Checkerspot	Euphydryas phaeton	Brush-footed Butterflies	13	Jun (rising)
32	Northern Pearly-eye	Lethe anthedon	Brush-footed Butterflies	13	Aug (rising)
33	Peck's Skipper	Polites peckius	Skippers	12	Aug (rising)
34	Red-banded Hairstreak	Calycopis cecrops	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	11	Aug (rising)
35	American Copper	Lycaena hypophlaeas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	11	Jul (rising)
36	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	8	Sep (rising)
37	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	8	Sep (rising)
38	Hackberry Emperor	Asterocampa celtis	Brush-footed Butterflies	8	Aug (rising)
39	American Silver-bordered Fritillary	Boloria myrina	Brush-footed Butterflies	8	Jun (rising)
40	Wild Indigo Duskywing	Erynnis baptisiae	Skippers	5	Aug (rising)
41	Falcate Orangetip	Anthocharis midea	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	5	Apr (past peak)
42	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	4	Sep (rising)
43	Clouded Sulphur	Colias philodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	4	Jun (rising)
44	Harvester	Feniseca tarquinius	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	4	Jul (rising)
45	Eastern Gemmed-Satyr	Cyllopsis gemma	Brush-footed Butterflies	4	Aug (rising)
46	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	3	Aug (rising)
47	Tawny-edged Skipper	Polites themistocles	Skippers	3	Jul (rising)
48	Banded Hairstreak	Satyrium calanus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	3	Jun (rising)
49	Juniper Hairstreak	Callophrys gryneus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	3	Apr (past peak)
50	Eastern Giant Swallowtail	Heraclides cresphontes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	3	Jul (rising)