Butterflies Flying in Wisconsin in September (60 Species)

60 butterflies were recorded flying in Wisconsin in September in our iNaturalist sample; 7 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 September

Monarch1,863 obs.

Small White559 obs.

Fiery Skipper503 obs.

Silver-spotted Skipper401 obs.

Eastern Tailed-Blue335 obs.

Painted Lady308 obs.

Black Swallowtail269 obs.

Viceroy245 obs.

Common Buckeye201 obs.

Great Spangled Fritillary195 obs.

Eastern Comma193 obs.

Clouded Sulphur174 obs.

All butterflies flying in Wisconsin in September

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Monarch	Danaus plexippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	1,863	Jul (past peak)
2	Small White	Pieris rapae	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	559	Aug (past peak)
3	Fiery Skipper	Hylephila phyleus	Skippers	503	Sep (peak)
4	Silver-spotted Skipper	Epargyreus clarus	Skippers	401	Aug (past peak)
5	Eastern Tailed-Blue	Everes comyntas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	335	Aug (past peak)
6	Painted Lady	Vanessa cardui	Brush-footed Butterflies	308	Aug (past peak)
7	Black Swallowtail	Papilio polyxenes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	269	Aug (past peak)
8	Viceroy	Limenitis archippus	Brush-footed Butterflies	245	Aug (past peak)
9	Common Buckeye	Junonia coenia	Brush-footed Butterflies	201	Jul (past peak)
10	Great Spangled Fritillary	Argynnis cybele	Brush-footed Butterflies	195	Jun (past peak)
11	Eastern Comma	Polygonia comma	Brush-footed Butterflies	193	Jul (past peak)
12	Clouded Sulphur	Colias philodice	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	174	Sep (peak)
13	Orange Sulphur	Colias eurytheme	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	142	Sep (peak)
14	Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	Brush-footed Butterflies	138	Jul (past peak)
15	American Copper	Lycaena hypophlaeas	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	112	Jul (past peak)
16	Peck's Skipper	Polites peckius	Skippers	109	Aug (past peak)
17	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Papilio glaucus	Swallowtails and Parnassians	104	Aug (past peak)
18	Mourning Cloak	Nymphalis antiopa	Brush-footed Butterflies	92	Jun (past peak)
19	Eastern Giant Swallowtail	Heraclides cresphontes	Swallowtails and Parnassians	92	Aug (past peak)
20	Least Skipper	Ancyloxypha numitor	Skippers	54	Aug (past peak)
21	American Lady	Vanessa virginiensis	Brush-footed Butterflies	48	May (past peak)
22	Pearl Crescent	Phyciodes tharos	Brush-footed Butterflies	45	Aug (past peak)
23	Meadow Fritillary	Boloria bellona	Brush-footed Butterflies	40	Aug (past peak)
24	Bronze Copper	Tharsalea hyllus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	37	Aug (past peak)
25	Question Mark	Polygonia interrogationis	Brush-footed Butterflies	28	Jul (past peak)
26	Gray Comma	Polygonia progne	Brush-footed Butterflies	28	Jul (past peak)
27	Northern Crescent	Phyciodes cocyta	Brush-footed Butterflies	26	Jun (past peak)
28	Huron Skipper	Atalopedes huron	Skippers	26	Oct (rising)
29	Variegated Fritillary	Euptoieta claudia	Brush-footed Butterflies	25	Aug (past peak)
30	Summer Azure	Celastrina neglecta	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	25	Jul (past peak)
31	Dainty Sulphur	Nathalis iole	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	23	Sep (peak)
32	Aphrodite Fritillary	Argynnis aphrodite	Brush-footed Butterflies	22	Jul (past peak)
33	Wild Indigo Duskywing	Erynnis baptisiae	Skippers	19	Jul (past peak)
34	Gray Hairstreak	Strymon melinus	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	16	Aug (past peak)
35	Little Yellow	Eurema lisa	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	15	Jul (past peak)
36	Pipevine Swallowtail	Battus philenor	Swallowtails and Parnassians	14	Jul (past peak)
37	Red-spotted Admiral	Limenitis arthemis	Brush-footed Butterflies	14	Jun (past peak)
38	American Snout	Libytheana carinenta	Brush-footed Butterflies	13	Jul (past peak)
39	American Silver-bordered Fritillary	Boloria myrina	Brush-footed Butterflies	13	Jun (past peak)
40	Common Checkered-Skipper	Burnsius communis	Skippers	12	Oct (rising)
41	Common Wood-Nymph	Cercyonis pegala	Brush-footed Butterflies	9	Jul (past peak)
42	Purplish Copper	Tharsalea helloides	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	8	Sep (peak)
43	Hackberry Emperor	Asterocampa celtis	Brush-footed Butterflies	7	Jun (past peak)
44	Tawny-edged Skipper	Polites themistocles	Skippers	6	Aug (past peak)
45	Harvester	Feniseca tarquinius	Gossamer-winged Butterflies	6	Jul (past peak)
46	Southern Dogface	Zerene cesonia	Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs	6	Sep (peak)
47	California Tortoiseshell	Nymphalis californica	Brush-footed Butterflies	5	Jul (past peak)
48	Ocola Skipper	Panoquina ocola	Skippers	5	Sep (peak)
49	Green Comma	Polygonia faunus	Brush-footed Butterflies	4	Jul (past peak)
50	Northern Pearly-eye	Lethe anthedon	Brush-footed Butterflies	4	Jul (past peak)