Flight period histograms for each species may be viewed by selecting the common name below. Histograms are based on modern record dates (1996 to present) unless there are no modern records (histogram will be annotated accordingly). The interactive phenology tool will also display flight periods and allow the comparison of several species simultaneously. PHENOLOGY TOOL1
Scientific Name | Subspecies | Common Name | 1st Date | Last Date |
Family Hesperiidae | Skippers | |||
Epargyreus clarus (Cramer) | Silver-spotted Skipper | 17-May | 30-Aug | |
Urbanus proteus (Linnaeus) * | Long-tailed Skipper | 19-Aug | 21-Aug | |
Thorybes pylades (Scudder) | Northern Cloudywing | 21-May | 20-Jul | |
Thorybes bathyllus (J. E. Smith) | Southern Cloudywing | 1-Jun | 14-Jun | |
Erynnis icelus (Scudder & Burgess) | Dreamy Duskywing | 7-May | 25-Jul | |
Erynnis baptisiae (Forbes) * | Wild Indigo Duskywing | 22-Apr | 27-Sep | |
Erynnis brizo (Boisduval & LeConte) | Sleepy Duskywing | 2-May | 2-Jun | |
Erynnis juvenalis (Fabricius) | Juvenal’s Duskywing | 24-Apr | 11-Jul | |
Pholisora catullus (Fabricius) | Common Sootywing | 18-Aug | 18-Aug | |
Carterocephalus palaemon (Pallas) | mandon (W. H. Edwards) | Arctic Skipper | 13-May | 17-Jul |
Ancyloxypha numitor (Fabricius) | Least Skipper | 30-May | 27-Sep | |
Thymelicus lineola (Ochsenheimer) | European Skipper | 5-Jun | 20-Aug | |
Hylephila phyleus (Drury) * | Fiery Skipper | 1-Aug | 9-Aug | |
Hesperia comma (Linnaeus) | laurentina (Lyman) | Laurentian Skipper | 27-Jul | 16-Sep |
Hesperia leonardus Harris | Leonard’s Skipper | 5-Aug | 13-Sep | |
Hesperia metea Scudder | Cobweb Skipper | 13-May | 11-Jun | |
Hesperia sassacus Harris | Indian Skipper | 21-May | 15-Jul | |
Polites peckius (W. Kirby) | Peck’s Skipper | 21-May | 8-Oct | |
Polites themistocles (Latreille) | Tawny-edged Skipper | 21-May | 20-Sep | |
Polites origenes (Fabricius) | Crossline Skipper | 10-Jun | 25-Sep | |
Polites mystic (W. H. Edwards) | Long Dash Skipper | 30-May | 15-Sep | |
Wallengrenia egeremet (Scudder) | Northern Broken Dash | 18-Jun | 14-Aug | |
Pompeius verna (W. H. Edwards) | Little Glassywing Skipper | 15-Jun | 3-Aug | |
Anatrytone logan (W. H. Edwards) | Delaware Skipper | 30-Jun | 7-Aug | |
Poanes hobomok (Harris) | Hobomok Skipper | 4-Apr | 12-Aug | |
Poanes massasoit (Scudder) * | Mulberry Wing | 5-Jul | 13-Aug | |
Poanes viator (W. H. Edwards) | zizaniae (Shapiro) | Broadwinged Skipper | 2-Jul | 14-Aug |
Euphyes bimacula (Grote & Robinson) | Two-spotted Skipper | 6-Jun | 24-Jul | |
Euphyes conspicua (W. H. Edwards) * | Black Dash | 3-Jul | 13-Aug | |
Euphyes vestris (Boisduval) | metacomet (Harris) | Dun Skipper | 20-Jun | 3-Sep |
Amblyscirtes hegon (Scudder) | Pepper & Salt Skipper | 26-May | 11-Jul | |
Amblyscirtes vialis (W. H. Edwards) | Common Roadside Skipper | 5-May | 26-Jul | |
Atrytonopsis hianna (Scudder) * | Dusted Skipper | 30-May | 20-Jun | |
Panoquina ocola (W.H. Edwards) * | Ocola Skipper | 17-Sep | 17-Sep | |
Family Papilionidae | Swallowtails | |||
Battus philenor (Linnaeus) | Pipevine Swallowtail | 28-Sep | 29-Sep | |
Papilio polyxenes Fabricius | asterius (Stoll) | Black Swallowtail | 1-May | 10-Sep |
Papilio brevicauda Saunders * | gaspeensis McDunnough | Short-tailed Swallowtail | NA | NA |
Papilio glaucus Linnaeus | Eastern Tiger Swallowtail | 13-Jun | 2-Sep | |
Papilio canadensis Rothschild & Jordan | Canadian Tiger Swallowtail | 30-Apr | 12-Aug | |
Papilio troilus Linnaeus | Spicebush Swallowtail | 11-Jul | 13-Aug | |
Papilio cresphontes Cramer | Giant Swallowtail | 1-Aug | 5-Set | |
Family Pieridae | Sulphurs and Whites | |||
Pontia protodice (Boisduval & LeConte) | Checkered White | 9-Aug | 9-Aug | |
Pieris rapae (Linnaeus) | Cabbage White | 17-Mar | 26-Oct | |
Pieris oleracea Harris | Mustard White | 5-May | 7-Sep | |
Colias philodice Godart | Clouded Sulphur | 1-May | 7-Nov | |
Colias eurytheme (Boisduval) | Alfalfa Butterfly | 15-May | 14-Nov | |
Colias interior Scudder | laurentina Scudder | Pink-edged Sulphur | 10-Jun | 18-Sep |
Phoebis sennae (Linnaeus) | eubule (Linnaeus) | Cloudless Sulphur | 19-Aug | 19-Sep |
Phoebis philea (Linnaeus) | Orange-barred Sulphur | Aug | Aug | |
Phoebis agarithe Boisduval | maxima Neumoegen | Large Orange Sulphur | 3-Sep | 3-Sep |
Pyrisitia lisa (Boisduval & LeConte) | Little Sulphur | 12-Jun | 24-Aug | |
Family Lycaenidae | Hairstreaks, Blues, Coppers, and Harvesters | |||
Subfamily Miletinae | Harvesters | |||
Feniseca tarquinius (Fabricius) | Harvester | 13-May | 30-Aug | |
Subfamily Lycaeninae | Hairstreaks, Blues, and Coppers | |||
Lycaena phlaeas (Linnaeus) | hypophlaeas Boisduval | American Copper | 10-May | 22-Oct |
Lycaena hyllus (Cramer) | Bronze Copper | 10-Jun | 7-Oct | |
Lycaena epixanthe (Boisduval & LeConte) | phaedra (Hall) | Bog Copper2 | 24-Jun | 22-Aug |
Lycaena epixanthe (Boisduval & LeConte) | michiganensis Rawson | Bog Copper2 | 24-Jun | 22-Aug |
Lycaena dorcas (W. Kirby) | Clayton’s Copper | 21-Jul | 20-Sep | |
Mitoura hesseli Rawson & Ziegler | Hessel’s Hairstreak | 14-May | 6-Jun | |
Mitoura gryneus (Hübner) | Olive Hairstreak | 16-May | 28-May | |
Incisalia augustinus (Westwood) | Brown Elfin | 13-Apr | 26-Jun | |
Incisalia polios Cook & Watson | Hoary Elfin | 29-Apr | 12-Jun | |
Incisalia henrici (Grote & Robinson) | Henry’s Elfin | 5-May | 21-Jun | |
Incisalia lanoraieensis Sheppard | Bog Elfin | 5-May | 10-Jun | |
Incisalia niphon (Hübner) | clarki (T. N. Freeman) | Eastern Pine Elfin | 16-Apr | 20-Jul |
Incisalia eryphon (Boisduval) | Western Pine Elfin | 12-May | 9-Jun | |
Satyrium titus (Fabricius) | Coral Hairstreak | 2-Jul | 6-Aug | |
Satyrium acadica (W. H. Edwards) | Acadian Hairstreak | 3-Jul | 9-Aug | |
Satyrium edwardsii (Grote & Robinson) | Edwards’ Hairstreak | 10-Jul | 29-Jul | |
Satyrium calanus (Hübner) | falacer (Godart) | Banded Hairstreak | 19-Jun | 3-Sep |
Satyrium liparops (LeConte) | strigosa (T. Harris) | Striped Hairstreak | 4-Jul | 21-Aug |
Strymon melinus (Hübner) | humuli (T. Harris) | Gray Hairstreak | 15-May | 27-Sep |
Erora laeta (W. H. Edwards) | Early Hairstreak | 18-May | 22-Jun | |
Cupido comyntas (Godart) | Eastern Tailed Blue | 13-May | 13-Oct | |
Cupido amyntula (Boisduval) | maritima (LeBlanc) | Western Tailed Blue | 20-Jun | 10-Jul |
Celastrina lucia (W. Kirby) | lucia (W. Kirby) | Northern Azure2 | 20-Apr | 11-Sep |
Celastrina neglecta (W. H. Edwards) | Summer Azure | 10-May | 26-Sep | |
Glaucopsyche lygdamus (Doubleday) | couperi Grote | Silvery Blue | 26-Apr | 17-Jul |
Plebejus idas (Linnaeus) | empetri T. Freeman | Crowberry Blue | 27-Jun | 24-Jul |
Plebejus idas (Linnaeus) | scuderrii (W.H. Edwards) * | Northern Blue | 13-Jul | 13-Jul |
Plebejus saepiolus (Boisduval) | amica (W. H. Edwards) | Greenish Blue | 18-May | 15-Jul |
Family Nymphalidae | Brushfoots, Monarchs, Satyrs | |||
Subfamily Libytheinae | Snouts | |||
Libytheana carinenta (Cramer) | bachmanii (Kirtland) | American Snout | 10-Jul | 2-Aug |
Subfamily Danainae | Monarchs or Milkweed Butterflies | |||
Danaus plexippus (Linnaeus) | Monarch | 8-Jun | 25-Oct | |
Subfamily Heliconiinae | Fritillaries | |||
Euptoieta claudia (Cramer) | Variegated Fritillary | 21-May | 30-Oct | |
Speyeria cybele (Fabricius) | cybele (Fabricius) | Great Spangled Fritillary2 | 16-Jun | 3-Oct |
Speyeria cybele (Fabricius) | novascotiae (McDunnough) | Great Spangled Fritillary2 | 16-Jun | 3-Oct |
Speyeria aphrodite (Fabricius) | aphrodite (Fabricius) | Aphrodite Fritillary2 | 27-Jun | 25-Sep |
Speyeria aphrodite (Fabricius) | winni (Gunder) | Aphrodite Fritillary2 | 27-Jun | 25-Sep |
Speyeria idalia (Drury) | Regal Fritillary | 6-Jul | 3-Aug | |
Speyeria atlantis (W. H. Edwards) | Atlantis Fritillary | 4-Jun | 13-Sep | |
Boloria eunomia (Esper) | dawsoni (Barnes & McDunnough) | Bog Fritillary | 6-Jun | 12-Jul |
Boloria selene (Schiffermüller)3 | atrocostalis (Huard) | Silver-bordered Fritillary2 | 18-May | 21-Sep |
Boloria selene (Schiffermüller)3 | myrina (Cramer) | Silver-bordered Fritillary2 | 18-May | 21-Sep |
Boloria bellona (Fabricius) | toddi (W. Holland) | Meadow Fritillary | 25-Apr | 16-Sep |
Boloria frigga (Thunberg) | saga (Staudinger) | Frigga Fritillary | 11-Jun | 24-Jun |
Boloria chariclea (Schneider) | grandis (W. Barnes & McDunnough) | Purple Lesser Fritillary | 3-Jul | 20-Jul |
Subfamily Nymphalinae | Checkerspots, Tortoiseshells, Commas, and Ladies | |||
Chlosyne nycteis (Doubleday) | Silvery Checkerspot | 7-Jun | 8-Jul | |
Chlosyne harrisii (Scudder) | albimontana (Avinoff) | Harris’ Checkerspot | 29-May | 4-Sep |
Phyciodes tharos (Drury) | Pearl Crescent | 5-May | 11-Oct | |
Phyciodes cocyta (Cramer) | Northern Crescent | 24-May | 6-Oct | |
Euphydryas phaeton (Drury) | Baltimore Checkerspot | 9-Jun | 31-Jul | |
Junonia coenia Hübner | Common Buckeye | 17-May | 30-Oct | |
Polygonia interrogationis (Fabricius) | Question Mark | 11-Apr | 9-Nov | |
Polygonia comma (Harris) | Eastern Comma | 1-Apr | 12-Oct | |
Polygonia satyrus (W. H. Edwards) | neomarsyas dos Passos | Satyr Comma | 12-Jun | 27-Jul |
Polygonia faunus (W. H. Edwards) | Green Comma | 4-Apr | 17-Sep | |
Polygonia gracilis (Grote & Robinson) | Hoary Comma | 20-May | 9-Sep | |
Polygonia progne (Cramer) | Gray Comma | 6-May | 19-Oct | |
Nymphalis l-album (Esper) | j-album (Boisduval & LeConte) | Compton Tortoiseshell | 28-Feb | 2-Nov |
Aglais milberti (Godart) | Milbert’s Tortoiseshell | 17-Mar | 19-Oct | |
Nymphalis antiopa (Linnaeus) | Mourning Cloak | 2-Apr | 25-Oct | |
Vanessa atalanta (Linnaeus) | rubria (Fruhstorfer) | Red Admiral | 20-Apr | 28-Oct |
Vanessa cardui (Linnaeus) | Painted Lady | 21-May | 4-Oct | |
Vanessa virginiensis (Drury) | American Lady | 28-Apr | 2-Nov | |
Limenitis arthemis (Drury)4 | White Admiral | 16-May | 1-Oct | |
Limenitis archippus (Cramer) | Viceroy | 24-May | 28-Sep | |
Subfamily Satyrinae | Satyrs and Arctics | |||
Lethe anthedon A. Clark | borealis A. Clark | Northern Pearly-Eye | 25-Jun | 7-Sep |
Lethe eurydice (Linnaeus) | Eyed Brown | 25-Jun | 7-Aug | |
Lethe appalachia R. Chermock | Appalachian Brown | 5-Jul | 1-Sep | |
Megisto cymela (Cramer) | Little Wood Satyr | 29-May | 27-Aug | |
Coenonympha california Westwood | inornata W. H. Edwards | Inornate Ringlet | 20-May | 6-Oct |
Cercyonis pegala (Fabricius)5 | nephele (W. Kirby) | Common Wood Nymph2 | 30-Jun | 25-Sep |
Cercyonis pegala (Fabricius)5 | alope (Fabricius) | Common Wood Nymph2 | 30-Jun | 25-Sep |
Oeneis jutta (Hübner) | balder (Guerin-Meneville) | Jutta Arctic | 18-May | 18-Jul |
Oeneis polixenes (Fabricius) | katahdin (Newcomb) | Katahdin Arctic | 23-Jun | 27-Jul |
- Thanks to Herb Wilson for designing the interactive phenology tool.
- The first and last flights dates and histograms have been merged for those cases when subspecies distinctions were not always determined or intermediate morphs were encountered.
- Bolaria selene - Two poorly differentiated subspecies occur in Maine; myrina (Cramer) in the southwest, and atrocostalis (Huard) in the north. A broad blend zone occurs across central Maine.
- Limenitis arthemis - The northern limit of the blend zone between the L.a. astyanax (Fabricius) (Red Spotted Purple) and L. arthemis occurs in southwestern Maine where some individuals may show reduced white banding on the wings and rare individuals may closely resemble the Red Spotted Purple phenotype.
- Cercyonis pegala - In southwestern Maine is alope (Fabricius), which has a well-developed yellowish to orange patch on the forewing. In northern Maine is nephele (Kirby), which lacks the forewing patch. A broad blend zone occurs between these two subspecies in southern and coastal Maine as far east as Calais producing phenotypes of intermediate appearance.
* new species/subspecies added to the state list during the survey