Mitoura spinetorum
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Callophrys spinetorum, the thicket hairstreak, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It was described by William Chapman Hewitson in 1867. It is found in North America from British Columbia through the Rocky Mountains to New Mexico and Mexico and through California to Baja California. The habitat consists of pinyon-juniper forests, mixed woodlands, and coniferous forests.
The wingspan is 25–32 mm. Adults are on wing from May to August in one generation per year. They feed on flower nectar. The larvae are specialists, feeding on the shoots, flowers, and fruit of dwarf mistletoes in the genus Arceuthobium. In particular, larvae have been documented feeding on A. campylopodum, A. occidentale, A. abietinum, A. blumeri, A. cyanocarpum, A. laricis, A. vaginatum subsp. cryptopodum, A. divaricatum, and A. globosum. The larvae resemble their host plants, both because of their segmented bodies and because they take on the color of their food, an example of mimicry. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yellowstone National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Grand Teton National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Banff National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Mitoura spinetorum sighting in Banff National Park on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 54th most-seen of the 105 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June and July
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Mitoura spinetorum in Banff National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August to May, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Mitoura spinetorum sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Mitoura spinetorum sightings, Banff National Park ranks 5th at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Yellowstone National Park (United States, about 10%), Grand Teton National Park (United States, about 10%) and Grand Canyon National Park (United States, about 10%).
Same family: Lycaenidae
The closest relatives of the Mitoura spinetorum that you can see in Banff National Park (family Lycaenidae, Gossamer-winged Butterflies) are Northern Blue (about 20%), Mariposa Copper (about 10%) and Silvery Blue (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Mitoura spinetorum is recorded against all the insects logged in Banff National Park (11 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
