Types of Butterflies in South Carolina
South Carolina has roughly 165 butterfly and skipper species on record, spread from the Blue Ridge escarpment in the north-west corner through the Piedmont and Sandhills to the salt marshes and sea islands of the Lowcountry. The state butterfly is the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, designated in 1994, and the everyday species are the Cloudless Sulphur, Gulf Fritillary, Pearl Crescent, Red-spotted Purple, Eastern Tailed-Blue and the swallowtails. Because the coast rarely freezes hard, butterflies fly in every month of the year in the Lowcountry, and the autumn passage of Monarchs and Cloudless Sulphurs down the beaches is the state's great butterfly spectacle.
On this page
- Butterflies found in South Carolina
- Butterflies of South Carolina at a glance
- Signature South Carolina butterflies
- The South Carolina butterfly calendar
- Where to see butterflies in South Carolina
- Host plants and butterfly gardening in South Carolina
- Rare and threatened butterflies in South Carolina
- How to identify butterflies in South Carolina, and names to treat with caution
- Frequently asked questions
Butterflies of South Carolina at a glance
South Carolina is a small state with a long gradient. In the north-west corner the Blue Ridge escarpment rises above 1,000 m at Sassafras Mountain, and its cove forests hold Appalachian butterflies such as the Diana Fritillary, Appalachian Azure and West Virginia White. The Piedmont and the Sandhills in the middle of the state carry the typical eastern fauna, and the Coastal Plain and the Lowcountry sea islands add southern species, the Palamedes Swallowtail, Great Southern White, Eastern Pygmy-Blue and Yucca Giant-Skipper among them, that never reach the mountains. The whole list runs to roughly 165 species.
The brush-footed butterflies are the largest family, though this page's chart shows only a few of them; the state also has the Monarch, Viceroy, Red-spotted Purple, Pearl Crescent, Common Buckeye, Question Mark, Red Admiral and a run of satyrs and wood-nymphs. The hairstreaks, elfins and blues come next, followed by the skippers, which supply about a third of the total, the whites and sulphurs and seven swallowtails.
Signature South Carolina butterflies
The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail became the state butterfly in 1994. Males are yellow with four black tiger stripes; females come in the same yellow form or in a dark form that mimics the poisonous Pipevine Swallowtail, and the dark form is more frequent in South Carolina than in the north. With a wingspan that can pass 140 mm it shares the title of largest state butterfly with the Giant Swallowtail.
The other swallowtails are just as easy to find: the Spicebush Swallowtail in every wood, the Black Swallowtail in gardens with parsley and dill, the Zebra Swallowtail wherever pawpaw grows along river bluffs, and the Palamedes Swallowtail, a Lowcountry speciality of red-bay swamps that flies slowly over the roads of the ACE Basin and the Francis Marion National Forest.
On the coast the Gulf Fritillary, bright orange with silver-spangled underwings, breeds on passion vine in almost every garden, and the Cloudless Sulphur, Little Yellow and Sleepy Orange flash over the partridge pea of roadsides. The Great Purple Hairstreak, iridescent blue with a red-spotted body, drops out of mistletoe-laden oaks to feed on flowers, while the Red-banded Hairstreak, Gray Hairstreak, Juniper Hairstreak and the Eastern Tailed-Blue are the small butterflies of every field edge.
The South Carolina butterfly calendar
Along the coast there is no real off-season: Cloudless Sulphurs, Gulf Fritillaries and Long-tailed Skippers fly through December in mild years, and the overwintering adults, the Mourning Cloak, Question Mark and Eastern Comma, appear on any warm January afternoon. Inland the year begins in late February and March with the Falcate Orangetip, the Spring Azure and the elfins, the Brown, Henry's and Eastern Pine Elfins, all of which are gone by May.
The swallowtails and the Pearl Crescent are flying by April, and numbers build through June and July, when the fields of the Piedmont are full of sulphurs, hairstreaks, skippers and the Great Spangled Fritillary. Late summer brings a second and third brood of almost everything, and the Lowcountry fills with southern immigrants such as the Long-tailed Skipper and the Ceraunus Blue. September and October are the migration months: Monarchs move down the beaches from Myrtle Beach to Hilton Head on their way to Mexico, and Cloudless Sulphurs stream south past the dunes in numbers that can reach hundreds per hour. Our guide to butterfly migration explains what drives both journeys.
Where to see butterflies in South Carolina
Butterflies are easiest along sunny woodland edges, power-line cuts and old fields, but a few public sites stand out.
- Congaree National Park — old-growth bottomland forest near Columbia, with Zebra Swallowtails on the pawpaw, Palamedes Swallowtails and the hackberry butterflies along the boardwalk.
- Caesars Head, Jones Gap and Table Rock State Parks — the Blue Ridge species: Diana Fritillary, Appalachian Azure, Pipevine Swallowtail and the mountain hairstreaks.
- Huntington Beach State Park and Cape Romain — the autumn Monarch and Cloudless Sulphur migration, and the salt-marsh Eastern Pygmy-Blue on glasswort.
- Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge and the ACE Basin — Lowcountry swamps and marsh edges for Palamedes Swallowtail, Great Southern White and Long-tailed Skipper.
- Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge — longleaf pine and wiregrass for the Frosted Elfin, Yucca Giant-Skipper and the sandhill hairstreaks.
The mountain species are shared with North Carolina, and the coastal ones continue south into Georgia and Florida.
Host plants and butterfly gardening in South Carolina
A South Carolina garden can breed a dozen species with the right host plants, most of them native trees and weeds rather than flowers.
- Tulip poplar, sweetbay and wild cherry — the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.
- Spicebush and sassafras — the Spicebush Swallowtail.
- Parsley, dill and fennel — the Black Swallowtail.
- Pawpaw — the Zebra Swallowtail; red bay the Palamedes.
- Passion vine — the Gulf Fritillary, which will strip a vine bare by August.
- Partridge pea and senna — Cloudless Sulphur, Sleepy Orange and Little Yellow.
- Milkweeds — the Monarch; butterfly weed and swamp milkweed suit the state better than tropical milkweed, which keeps breeding going too late on the coast.
- Eastern red cedar and mistletoe — the Juniper and Great Purple Hairstreaks.
- Clover, vetch and wild indigo — Eastern Tailed-Blue, Frosted Elfin and the Wild Indigo Duskywing.
For nectar, lantana, pentas, zinnias and salvias carry the summer, and native asters, goldenrod and blazing star feed the migrants in autumn.
Rare and threatened butterflies in South Carolina
No South Carolina butterfly is on the federal endangered species list, but the state wildlife action plan flags several as species of concern. The Frosted Elfin survives on a few longleaf-pine sites where wild indigo is kept open by fire; the Diana Fritillary is confined to the Blue Ridge counties and has vanished from much of its old range; the King's Hairstreak depends on a single shrub, the horse sugar, in Coastal Plain woods; and the Yucca and Cofaqui Giant-Skippers live only where yucca grows in old sandhill scrub.
The Palamedes Swallowtail faces a newer threat: laurel wilt, a fungal disease carried by an introduced beetle, has killed most of the mature red bays along the coast since the mid-2000s, removing the caterpillar's main food plant. The Monarch, proposed for federal listing as threatened in 2024, passes through the state in autumn and now overwinters in small numbers along the South Carolina coast rather than completing the flight to Mexico. Habitat loss to coastal development and the suppression of fire in the pine flatwoods are the broad threats behind all of them.
Butterflies found in South Carolina
74 species listed for South Carolina, grouped by family. Linked names have a full profile on this site with pictures of every life stage.
Brush-Footed (Nymphalidae)
Agraulis vanillaeGulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae)The Gulf fritillary is a long-winged orange butterfly of the southern United States, Mexico, the Caribbean and tropical America, and its defining mark
Danaus gilippusQueen (Danaus gilippus)A warm chestnut-brown milkweed butterfly of the southern states and the tropics, the queen is the monarch's smaller, darker cousin.
Aglais urticaeSmall Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)Orange-red with a black-and-yellow chequered front edge and a rim of blue crescents, the small tortoiseshell is the butterfly that turns up on a gardeGossamer-Winged (Lycaenidae)
Atlides halesusGreat Purple Hairstreak (Atlides halesus)The great purple hairstreak (Atlides halesus) is the largest hairstreak in the United States, a tailed gossamer-wing of the southern states and Mexico
Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus)Small, slate-grey and almost impossible to avoid, the gray hairstreak is the most widespread hairstreak in North America and probably the least fussy 
Calycopis cecropsRed-banded Hairstreak (Calycopis cecrops)The red-banded hairstreak is a small grey-brown butterfly of the southeastern United States, named for the broad white-and-red line that runs across t
Callophrys gryneusJuniper Hairstreak (Callophrys gryneus)The juniper hairstreak (Callophrys gryneus) is a small North American butterfly, barely over an inch across, whose underside is a clear leaf green cro
Celastrina ladonSpring Azure (Celastrina ladon)The spring azure is often the first butterfly of the year, a small violet-blue flake that appears along a woodland edge while the trees are still bare
Celastrina neglectaSummer Azure (Celastrina neglecta)A pale, frosted blue butterfly barely an inch across, the summer azure is the one that flies when the spring azures have finished.
Cupido comyntasEastern Tailed Blue (Cupido comyntas)Barely an inch across and never far from a clover lawn, the eastern tailed blue is one of the most abundant butterflies in the eastern United States a
Glaucopsyche lygdamusSilvery Blue (Glaucopsyche lygdamus)One of the first blues on the wing each spring, the silvery blue flashes metallic silver-blue in flight and then settles to show a plain grey undersidShow all 23 other gossamer-winged species names
- Harvester (Feniseca tarquinius)
- Harvester (Feniseca tarquinius)
- Gray Copper (Lycaena dione)
- Gray Copper (Lycaena dione)
- Bronze Copper (Lycaena hyllus)
- Ruddy Copper (Lycaena rubidus)
- Purplish Copper (Lycaena helloides)
- Coral Hairstreak (Satyrium titus)
- Edwards' Hairstreak (Satyrium edwardsii)
- White-M Hairstreak (Parrhasius m-album)
- Striped Hairstreak (Satyrium liparops)
- King's Hairstreak (Satyrium kingi)
- Oak Hairstreak (Satyrium favonius)
- Banded Hairstreak (Satyrium calanus)
- Brown Elfin (Callophrys augustinus)
- Frosted Elfin (Callophrys irus)
- Henry's Elfin (Callophrys henrici)
- Eastern Pine Elfin (Callophrys niphon)
- Cassius Blue (Leptotes cassius)
- Eastern Pygmy-Blue (Brephidium exilis)
- Appalachian Azure (Celastrina neglectamajor)
- Holly Azure (Celastrina idella)
- Ceraunus Blue (Hemiargus ceraunus)
White and Sulphurs (Pieridae)
Pieris rapaeCabbage White (Pieris rapae)The cabbage white is probably the most-seen butterfly on the planet: a small, chalk-white insect with one or two black spots that drifts over allotmen
Pontia protodiceCheckered White (Pontia protodice)The checkered white is a medium-sized white butterfly of dry, open, disturbed ground across the United States and northern Mexico, recognised by the g
Colias philodiceClouded Sulphur (Colias philodice)The clouded sulphur is the plain yellow butterfly of North American roadsides, clover lawns and alfalfa fields, common from Alaska to the Gulf.
Colias eurythemeOrange Sulphur (Colias eurytheme)The orange sulphur is a medium-sized orange-and-black butterfly of open fields, roadsides and alfalfa farms across almost the whole of North America, 
Eurema lisaLittle Yellow (Eurema lisa)A thumbnail-sized sulphur that flutters low over roadsides and fallow fields, the little yellow is one of the most numerous butterflies in eastern Nor
Phoebis sennaeCloudless Sulphur (Phoebis sennae)The cloudless sulphur is a large, fast-flying lemon-yellow butterfly of the Americas, resident from Argentina north through the tropics to the souther
Eurema nicippeSleepy Orange (Eurema nicippe)The sleepy orange is a small, deep-orange sulphur of the southern United States, Mexico and Central America, easily known by the ragged black border tEurema lisaLittle Yellow (Eurema lisa)A thumbnail-sized sulphur that flutters low over roadsides and fallow fields, the little yellow is one of the most numerous butterflies in eastern Nor- Falcate Orangetip (Anthocharis midea)
- West Virginia White (Pieris virginiensis)
- Great Southern White (Ascia monuste)
- Southern Dogface (Colias cesonia)
- Dainty Sulphur (Nathalis iole)
Swallowtail (Papilionidae)
Papilio polyxenesBlack Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes)The black swallowtail is a black, yellow-spotted butterfly of open country across most of North America, and its caterpillar is the familiar green-andPapilio glaucusEastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)The eastern tiger swallowtail is a large yellow butterfly with four black tiger stripes on each forewing and a tail on each hindwing, and it is the co
Papilio cresphontesGiant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes)The largest butterfly in the United States and Canada, the giant swallowtail sails over citrus groves and woodland edges on dark wings crossed by a baPapilio palamedesPalamedes Swallowtail (Papilio palamedes)The big dark swallowtail of southern swamp forests, the palamedes is tied almost entirely to one tree, the redbay.
Battus philenorPipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor)The pipevine swallowtail is a large black North American swallowtail with an iridescent blue to blue-green hindwing and a single curved row of seven oPapilio troilusSpicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus)The spicebush swallowtail is a black swallowtail of eastern North American woodland edges and swamps, marked by a row of ivory spots along the forewin
Protographium marcellusZebra Swallowtail (Protographium marcellus)The zebra swallowtail is a white-and-black striped butterfly of the eastern United States with the longest tails of any North American swallowtail, anSkipper (Hesperiidae)
Urbanus proteusLong-tailed Skipper (Urbanus proteus)A stocky brown skipper with a shimmer of blue-green over its body and wing bases and two long tails trailing from the hindwings, the long-tailed skipp
Epargyreus clarusSilver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus)The silver-spotted skipper is a large, chocolate-brown butterfly of gardens, field edges and woodland clearings across almost the whole of North AmeriShow all 18 other skipper species names
- Cofaqui Giant-Skipper (Megathymus cofaqui)
- Yucca Giant-Skipper (Megathymus yuccae)
- Common Checkered-Skipper (Pyrgus communis)
- Common Sootywing (Pholisora catullus)
- Confusing Cloudywing (Thorybes confusis)
- Dreamy Duskywing (Erynnis icelus)
- Golden Banded-Skipper (Autochton cellus)
- Hayhurst's Scallopwing (Staphylus hayhurstii)
- Hoary Edge (Achalarus lyciades)
- Horace's Duskywing (Erynnis horatius)
- Juvenal's Duskywing (Erynnis juvenalis)
- Mottled Duskywing (Erynnis martialis)
- Northern Cloudywing (Thorybes pylades)
- Sleepy Duskywing (Erynnis brizo)
- Southern Cloudywing (Thorybes bathyllus)
- Tropical Checkered-Skipper (Pyrgus oileus)
- Wild Indigo Duskywing (Erynnis baptisiae)
- Zarucco Duskywing (Erynnis zarucco)
How to identify butterflies in South Carolina, and names to treat with caution
Big yellow-and-black butterflies with tails are Eastern Tiger Swallowtails; big black ones need a closer look at the hindwing, where a single row of orange spots means Spicebush, a double row Black Swallowtail, a blue sheen with no orange spots above Pipevine and a yellow-spotted body Palamedes. Orange butterflies on the coast with silver underwings are Gulf Fritillaries; smaller orange ones with black lace edges are Pearl Crescents. A large orange butterfly with black veins is a Monarch, and the Queen, a rare stray from Florida, is a darker orange without the veins. Bright lemon butterflies the size of a half-dollar are Cloudless Sulphurs, the smaller ones Little Yellows or Sleepy Oranges.
A few names on older South Carolina lists, including the chart above, are not part of the state's fauna. The Small Tortoiseshell is a European butterfly with no established population anywhere in the south-eastern United States, and the Gray, Ruddy and Purplish Coppers are butterflies of the Midwest and West that do not occur east of the Appalachians. The state-by-state guides show where those species really fly.
Frequently asked questions about South Carolina butterflies
How many species of butterfly are found in South Carolina?
Roughly 165 butterfly and skipper species have been recorded in South Carolina, including rare strays from Florida and the Gulf coast. About 130 breed in the state every year. The total is high for a small state because it runs from the Blue Ridge escarpment, with Appalachian species, to the sea islands of the Lowcountry, with subtropical ones.
What is the state butterfly of South Carolina?
The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) has been the official state butterfly of South Carolina since 1994. It is one of the largest butterflies in the state, with a wingspan of up to about 140 mm, yellow with four black stripes on each forewing; some females are entirely dark and mimic the poisonous Pipevine Swallowtail.
Where are the best places to see butterflies in South Carolina?
Congaree National Park near Columbia, the Blue Ridge state parks around Caesars Head and Table Rock, Huntington Beach State Park and Cape Romain on the coast, Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge near Hilton Head and the Carolina Sandhills refuge are the most rewarding public sites. Any sunny woodland edge or old field with wildflowers will produce butterflies from April to October.
Are Monarch butterflies native to South Carolina?
Monarchs breed in South Carolina in spring and summer on native milkweeds, so they are part of the state fauna, but most of the Monarchs people see are migrants passing down the coast in September and October on their way to Mexico. A small number now spend the winter along the South Carolina coast instead of migrating, which is a recent change.
Which gossamer-winged butterflies are common in South Carolina?
The Eastern Tailed-Blue, Summer Azure, Spring Azure, Gray Hairstreak and Red-banded Hairstreak are the most common small butterflies in South Carolina gardens and fields. The Juniper Hairstreak lives around eastern red cedar, the Great Purple Hairstreak around mistletoe-laden oaks, and the Eastern Pygmy-Blue, the smallest butterfly in North America, on glasswort in the salt marshes.
When is the best time to see butterflies in South Carolina?
June to September brings the most species and the highest numbers across the state, and September and October add the Monarch and Cloudless Sulphur migration along the beaches. On the coast butterflies fly in every month of a mild year, while in the Piedmont and mountains the first elfins and azures appear in March.
How do you identify an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail?
Look for a large yellow butterfly, up to about 140 mm across, with four black tiger stripes on each forewing, a black border dotted with yellow and a single tail on each hindwing. Females have more blue on the hindwing than males, and some females are almost entirely black; those dark females still show the faint shadow of the stripes on the underside.
Which butterflies are endangered in South Carolina?
No South Carolina butterfly is federally listed, but the state treats the Frosted Elfin, Diana Fritillary, King's Hairstreak, Yucca Giant-Skipper, Cofaqui Giant-Skipper and Mottled Duskywing as species of conservation concern. The Palamedes Swallowtail has declined since laurel wilt disease killed most of the coastal red bays, and the Monarch was proposed for federal protection in 2024.
Is the Small Tortoiseshell found in South Carolina?
No. The Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) is a European butterfly that has never established a population in the south-eastern United States, and its appearance on some South Carolina lists is an error. The orange-and-black butterflies of similar size in the state are the Pearl Crescent, the Question Mark, the Eastern Comma and the American Lady.
What is the largest butterfly in South Carolina?
The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and the Giant Swallowtail are the largest, with wingspans that can reach about 140 to 150 mm in large females. The Palamedes and Pipevine Swallowtails are only slightly smaller. The smallest is the Eastern Pygmy-Blue of the salt marshes, which can be under 15 mm across.
Published January 8, 2020 · Last updated September 21, 2026