Pholisora catullus
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Pholisora catullus, the common sootywing or roadside rambler, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found from the central parts of the United States, south to central Mexico. Strays may colonize up to southern British Columbia, northern Michigan, southern Quebec and southern Maine. It is not found on peninsular Florida.
The wingspan is 25–33 mm. There are two generations with adults on wing from May to August in the northern part of its range and from March to November in Texas. The larvae feed on Chenopodium album, Amaranthus and Celosia species. Adults feed on flower nectar from various flowers, including dogbane, marjoram, oxalis, white clover, common milkweed, peppermint, cucumber and melon. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bahía de Loreto National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 2 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Torreón | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 5 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 6 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Common Sootywing sighting in Big Bend National Park on a given day, based on 15 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 141st most-seen of the 329 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.
August
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Common Sootywing in Big Bend National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to March, the lowest months. That is one of Big Bend National Park's wettest months, with about 45 mm of rain 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 Sootywing 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 3 parks where we can rate Common Sootywing sightings, Big Bend National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Bahía de Loreto National Park (Mexico, about 10%).
Same family: Hesperiidae
The closest relatives of the Common Sootywing that you can see in Big Bend National Park (family Hesperiidae, Skippers) are Orange Skipperling (about 30%), Mournful Duskywing (about 10%) and Golden-Headed Scallopwing (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Sootywing is recorded against all the insects logged in Big Bend National Park (15 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.
