Pontia protodice
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
Pontia protodice, the checkered white or southern cabbage butterfly, is a common North American butterfly in the family Pieridae. Its green larva is a type of cabbage worm. The upperside of the wings are white and marked with black and gray, more so on the female than on the male. The underside of the hindwings is marked with extensive yellow-brown veins. The wingspan is 1.25–1.75 inches (3.2–4.4 cm). In its pre-adult form, the egg is orange, and mature larvae are black dotted and bluish green to gray with a yellow dorsal, lateral and sublateral stripe. The pupa overwinters, and varies in color from blue-gray to cream.
Pontia protodice is most commonly found in the southern parts on the United States along with some of the northern areas of Mexico. Occasionally the species can be found in the northern parts of the U.S. and southern Canada. It is absent from the Pacific Northwest and the New England area, although populations have become increasingly erratic just east of the Appalachians.P. protodice are most widespread in late summer and autumn, not earlier in the season.
Habitats are open areas, including desert, plains, and disturbed... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joshua Tree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Death Valley National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Channel Islands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Padre Island National Seashore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Zion National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 10 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Yosemite National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ciudad Juárez | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 2 | Torreón | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 3 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | San Luis Potosí | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 5 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Puebla | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 7 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 8 | Tijuana | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 9 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 10 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Checkered White sighting in Big Bend National Park on a given day, based on 98 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 16th most-seen of the 329 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Checkered White in Big Bend National Park on a given day, against about 10% in July and December–January, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Checkered White sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 11 parks where we can rate Checkered White sightings, Big Bend National Park ranks 2nd at about 30%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Joshua Tree National Park (United States, about 30%).
Same family: Pieridae
The closest relatives of the Checkered White that you can see in Big Bend National Park (family Pieridae, Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs) are Sleepy Orange (about 30%), Lyside Sulphur (about 30%) and Dainty Sulphur (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Checkered White is recorded against all the insects logged in Big Bend National Park (98 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.
