Butterflies Flying in Wisconsin in May (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in Wisconsin in May in our iNaturalist sample; 10 of the top 50 are at their peak this month. The list is ranked by number of research-grade observations.

Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct

Top butterflies in May

Juvenal's Duskywing414 obs.

Red Admiral351 obs.

American Lady313 obs.

Monarch307 obs.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail219 obs.

Small White183 obs.

Mourning Cloak183 obs.

Black Swallowtail162 obs.

Silver-spotted Skipper150 obs.

Eastern Pine Elfin146 obs.

Hobomok Skipper134 obs.

Question Mark126 obs.

All butterflies flying in Wisconsin in May

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Juvenal's Duskywing	Erynnis juvenalis	Skippers	414	May (peak)
2	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	351	Jul (rising)
3	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	313	May (peak)
4	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	307	Jul (rising)
5	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	219	Aug (rising)
6	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	183	Aug (rising)
7	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	183	Jun (rising)
8	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	162	Aug (rising)
9	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	150	Aug (rising)
10	Eastern Pine Elfin	Callophrys niphon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	146	May (peak)
11	Hobomok Skipper	Lon hobomok	Skippers	134	Jun (rising)
12	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	126	Jul (rising)
13	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	120	Aug (rising)
14	American Copper	Lycaena hypophlaeas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	113	Jul (rising)
15	Karner Blue	Plebejus samuelis	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	108	Jul (rising)
16	Baltimore Checkerspot	Euphydryas phaeton	Brush-footed Butterflies	93	Jun (rising)
17	Eastern Giant Swallowtail	Heraclides cresphontes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	88	Aug (rising)
18	Brown Elfin	Callophrys augustinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	74	May (peak)
19	Gorgone Checkerspot	Chlosyne gorgone	Brush-footed Butterflies	73	May (peak)
20	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	72	Jul (rising)
21	Meadow Fritillary	Boloria bellona	Brush-footed Butterflies	69	Aug (rising)
22	Silvery Blue	Glaucopsyche lygdamus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	66	May (peak)
23	Canadian Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio canadensis	Swallowtails and Parnassians	46	Jun (rising)
24	Dreamy Duskywing	Erynnis icelus	Skippers	45	May (peak)
25	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	44	Aug (rising)
26	Henry's Elfin	Callophrys henrici	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	43	May (peak)
27	Clouded Sulphur	Colias philodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	42	Sep (rising)
28	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	37	Aug (rising)
29	Harvester	Feniseca tarquinius	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	35	Jul (rising)
30	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	33	Jun (rising)
31	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	32	Aug (rising)
32	Northern Crescent	Phyciodes cocyta	Brush-footed Butterflies	28	Jun (rising)
33	Gray Comma	Polygonia progne	Brush-footed Butterflies	24	Jul (rising)
34	Common Ringlet	Coenonympha california	Brush-footed Butterflies	23	Jun (rising)
35	Peck's Skipper	Polites peckius	Skippers	23	Aug (rising)
36	Little Wood Satyr	Megisto cymela	Brush-footed Butterflies	21	Jun (rising)
37	American Silver-bordered Fritillary	Boloria myrina	Brush-footed Butterflies	16	Jun (rising)
38	Common Sootywing	Pholisora catullus	Skippers	15	Aug (rising)
39	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	15	Sep (rising)
40	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	13	Jul (rising)
41	Wild Indigo Duskywing	Erynnis baptisiae	Skippers	11	Jul (rising)
42	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	11	Jun (rising)
43	Juniper Hairstreak	Callophrys gryneus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	10	Jul (rising)
44	Northern Cloudywing	Cecropterus pylades	Skippers	10	Jun (rising)
45	Spring Azure	Celastrina ladon	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	9	Apr (past peak)
46	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	9	Jul (rising)
47	Sleepy Duskywing	Erynnis brizo	Skippers	7	May (peak)
48	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	6	Aug (rising)
49	Tawny-edged Skipper	Polites themistocles	Skippers	4	Aug (rising)
50	Western Tailed-blue	Everes amyntula	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	4	May (peak)