Quick Answer: When Do Butterflies Come Out

Butterfly season isn’t only in the summer. Learn when butterflies come out and how their habits change with the weather and seasons. Summer is peak butterfly season with warm, sunny weather that sends colorful sulphurs, monarchs and swallowtails flitting through our gardens.

What month are butterflies most active?

September is a peak time for butterflies, especially after last winter, which seems to have decimated spring and summer butterfly numbers in our area. Butterflies are almost guaranteed to linger in your garden into autumn and even winter if their larval (caterpillar) food plants are available.

What time of year do butterflies hatch?

They are laid throughout much of eastern North America from late April through June. They do not undergo reproductive diapause. Generation 2 larvae are widely distributed throughout the eastern United States, first beginning to appear in the south in early May, and in the north in mid to late May.