Marpesia petreus
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
Marpesia petreus, the ruddy daggerwing, is a species of butterfly belonging to the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Brazil north through Central America, Mexico, and the West Indies to southern Florida. Strays are found as far north as Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, and southern Texas.
The wingspan is 70–95 mm. The larvae feed on Ficus carica, Ficus pumila, and Ficus citrifolia. Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Porto Alegre | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Curitiba | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | San Pedro Sula | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 5 | Cali | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 6 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Rio de Janeiro | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 8 | Belo Horizonte | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 9 | Niterói | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 10 | Campinas | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Ruddy Daggerwing sighting in Big Cypress National Preserve on a given day, based on 36 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 24th most-seen of the 262 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Ruddy Daggerwing in Big Cypress National Preserve on a given day, against under 5% in November and December, the lowest months. That is one of Big Cypress National Preserve's wettest months, with about 210 mm of rain against 40 mm in March.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Ruddy Daggerwing 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 25 parks where we can rate Ruddy Daggerwing sightings, Big Cypress National Preserve ranks 6th at about 20%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Iguazú National Park (Argentina, about 20%), Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve (Ecuador, about 20%) and Iguaçu National Park (Brazil, about 20%).
Same family: Nymphalidae
The closest relatives of the Ruddy Daggerwing that you can see in Big Cypress National Preserve (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are White Peacock (about 40%), Gulf Fritillary (about 40%) and Queen (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ruddy Daggerwing is recorded against all the insects logged in Big Cypress National Preserve (36 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.
