Mestra amymone
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
Mestra is a genus of nymphalid butterfly. It contains the single species Mestra dorcas, the Jamaican mestra, which is found from southern North America to South America and possibly Mestra cana, the St Lucia mestra, found in the Lesser Antilles (though this may be a misidentification).
The wingspan is 35–50 mm. Adults are on wing year round in southern Texas, but it is most numerous from June to November. They have been recorded feeding on the nectar of Lantana flowers. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Biotopo Cerro Cahuí | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | |
| 2 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 3 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Calakmul Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Pedro Sula | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 2 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 3 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | San Luis Potosí | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 6 | Torreón | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 7 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Common Mestra sighting in Big Bend National Park on a given day, based on 51 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 36th most-seen of the 329 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August to October
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Common Mestra in Big Bend National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January to July, the lowest months. Those are among Big Bend National Park's wettest months, with about 40 mm of rain a month against 10 mm in April.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Mestra 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 4 parks where we can rate Common Mestra sightings, Big Bend National Park ranks 3rd at about 20%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Biotopo Cerro Cahuí (Guatemala, about 20%) and Cumbres de Monterrey National Park (Mexico, about 20%).
Same family: Nymphalidae
The closest relatives of the Common Mestra that you can see in Big Bend National Park (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Empress Leilia (about 40%), Queen (about 30%) and Limenitis bredowii (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Mestra is recorded against all the insects logged in Big Bend National Park (51 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.
