Butterflies of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania ---- Sightings in 2017
Photographs of Lancaster County Butterflies from 2013       (2012 photos)       (2011 photos)  

(2010 photos)    Other year sightings     Berks Co. Butterfly Sightings

Lancaster Butterfly & Entomological Club     Berks Co. Butterfly Walks 2017

    The butterfly species with dates have been seen in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania this year. There are records of 109 species for Lancaster County. The list below includes all those seen in 2009 through 2016, a total of 89 species.  New species seen in 2017 will be added in red. No species were added to the list in 2016.    
If you have a reliable sighting not on this list for 2017, please send an email to . If you are not sure, but have a photograph, please send it. Contributors are vital to this data. We will appreciate your help. 
Beginning in 2009 and since 2016 covering 12 months
Sightings for 2017 - 61 species   ---  (October 33, November 15, December 3)

(Updated December 5, 2017.)
Latest updates: late dates for Cabbage White, Clouded Sulphur and Orange Sulphur.  
Thank you to our 15 (so far) contributors listed below.
Some highlights for 2017.
(First Monarch seen May 2 by Denis Quinn.) More recent report is April 20 by Matthew Dilley
Ocola Skipper by Lois Vedock, October 19
The day of the first sighting is listed for each month.
Family HESPERIIDAE Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Last
1 Silver-spotted Skipper 28 14 4 1 1 1 1 4 Nov 4
2 Long-tailed Skipper
3 Hoary-edged Skipper
4 Southern Cloudywing 
5 Northern Cloudywing
6 Dreamy Duskywing 
7 Sleepy Duskywing 13
8 Juvenal's Duskywing  9
9 Horace's Duskywing  24 3
10 Wild Indigo Duskywing 18 2 23 1 1 1 2 Oct 25
11 Common Checkered Skipper  23 12 4 6 2 Nov 6
12 Common Sootywing 8 Aug 28
13 Swarthy Skipper 1
14 Clouded Skipper
15 Least Skipper  28 1 8 1 4 3
16 European Skipper  27 29
17 Fiery Skipper  29 1 2 2 Nov 2
18 Leonard's Skipper
19 Cobweb Skipper  14
20 Indian Skipper
21 Peck's Skipper  10 8 21 6 1 2 Oct 6
22 Tawny-edged Skipper 3
23 Crossline Skipper
24 Long Dash 
25 Northern Broken Dash 
26 Little Glassy Wing 20 1
27 Sachem 8 4 2 Oct 27
28 Delaware Skipper 
29 Mulberry Wing
30 Hobomok Skipper  14 26
31 Zabulon Skipper  17 8 6 3 Sep 4
32 Broad-winged Skipper
33 Black Dash 
34 Dun Skipper  27 16 1 Sep 21
35 Dusted Skipper  9 May 9
36 Ocola Skipper 19 Oct 19
Family PAPILIONIDAE Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Last
37 Pipevine Swallowtail  30 1 1 1
38 Zebra Swallowtail  10 14 4 1 1 4
39 Black Swallowtail  23 14 18 1 1 3 3 Oct 27
40 Giant Swallowtail 
41 Eastern Tiger Swallowtail  5 14 3 4 1 1 1 Oct 7
42 Spicebush Swallowtail 20 9 4 1 1 1 Sep 10
Family PIERIDAE Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Last
43 Cabbage Butterfly = Cabbage White  24 8 2 2 3 1 1 1 2 2 3 Dec 3
44 Falcate Orangetip 10 Apr 10
45 Clouded Sulphur  2 2 5 2 2 1 Dec 1
46 Orange Sulphur 16 2 8 1 1 3 3 2 1 Dec 1
47 Cloudless Sulphur 28 19 26 Oct 26
48 Little Yellow
49 Sleepy Orange  15 2 1 2 Oct 21
50 Dainty Sulphur 
Family LYCAENIDAE Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Last
51 Harvester 
52 American Copper  14 2
53 Bronze Copper
54 Coral Hairstreak
55 Banded Hairstreak  23 2
56 Red-banded Hairstreak 14 1 1 19 Oct 28
57 Juniper Hairstreak 
58 Brown Elfin  20
59 Henry's Elfin
60 Pine Elfin
61 White-m Hairstreak  1 14 Oct 14
62 Gray Hairstreak  20 4 1 3 Oct 17
63 Eastern Tailed Blue 29 9 1 1 1 2 Oct 6
64 Spring Azure  8 4 14
65 Summer Azure  18 1 1 1 3 19 Oct 19
66 Appalachian Azure
Family NYMPHALIDAE
 Subfamily LIBYTHEINAE 		 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Last
67 Snout Butterfly  7 1 2 Nov 2
Subfamily HELICONIINAE
68 Variegated Fritillary 30 8 1 4 2 2 Nov 6
69 Great Spangled Fritillary 5 29
70 Regal Fritillary
71 Meadow Fritillary 15 14 4 1 6 3 2 2 Nov 5
72 Silvery Checkerspot 4 1
Subfamily NYMPHALINAE
73 Pearl Crescent 28 2 3 1 1 3 2 Oct 22
74 Baltimore 
75 Question Mark 20 7 1 4 5 Oct 5
76 Eastern Comma 19 9 5 23 1 1 4 2 2 Nov 2
77 Mourning Cloak  19 2
78 American Painted Lady  29 18 6 21 Oct 21
79 Painted Lady  20 8 1 1 1 2 Nov 2
80 Red Admiral 13 15 1 4 1 1 3 2 Nov 2
81 Buckeye  2 1 1 2 Nov 6
82 Red-spotted Purple  7 3 1
83 Viceroy 29 23 6 Oct 6
Subfamily APATURINAE
84 Hackberry Butterfly = Hackberry Emperor 22 1 6 1 Sep 23
85 Tawny Emperor  26 7 Aug 20
Subfamily SATYRINAE
86 Appalachian Eyed Brown  12
87 Little Wood Satyr  24 1
87 Common Wood Nymph  3
Subfamily DANAINAE
89 Monarch 20 2 3 1 1 1 1 2 Nov 2
Monthly Totals
3 3 25 22 37 36 31 34 33 15 3
Yearly butterfly sightings in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
2009 (67)
2010 (72)
2011 (70)
2012 (79)
2013 (75)
2014 (__)
2015 (60)
2016 (62)
2017 (61)
2018 (57)
2019 (58)
2020 (53)
2021 (61)
2022 (56+)
2023 (58)
2024 (--)
Contributors to this year's sightings are: Don Billet, Jon Campbell, Matthew Dilley, Fred Habbeger, Randy Miller, Denis Quinn, Rick Schoenberger, Nancy and Bob Schutsky, Stan Smith, Dave Sonnen, Ray Uhlig, Lois Vedock, Carol Welsh, and Mervin Wenger.
For Berks County, PA butterfly sightings go to Berks Butterfly Sightings - 2017.

A site with data on butterfly distributions by county (and photographs) for North America can be found at Butterflies and Moths of NA.   (http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/)