Chlorostrymon simaethis
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Chlorostrymon simaethis, the silver-banded hairstreak, is a North and South American butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is also known as St. Christopher's hairstreak and the Key lime hairstreak. The upperside of the wings is dark, iridescent purple in males. Females are grayish brown, sometimes having iridescent purple on the basal area of the wings. The underside of the wings is bright, lime green in both sexes. Both wings have a bright silvery-white postmedian band. The silver band on the hindwing juts out towards the margin and turns back in, forming a V shape. Beyond this band, there is a dark brownish-red patch with a variable amount of silvery-white frosting. The frosting extends across the entire edge of the hindwing. The hindwings have one pair of tails. The wingspan ranges from 2.2 to 3.2 cm.
The amethyst hairstreak (Chlorostrymon maesites) is the only similar species in the silver-banded hairstreak's range. The amethyst hairstreak is smaller. The upperside of the male is dark, vivid, purplish blue. The upperside of the female is bright blue with dark forewing apexes. The underside of the forewing lacks the silver band. The hindwing... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cordoba | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | Porto Alegre | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Buenos Aires | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 4 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Silver-Banded Hairstreak sighting in Buenos Aires on a given day, based on 38 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 211th most-seen of the 558 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March to May
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Silver-Banded Hairstreak in Buenos Aires on a given day, against under 5% in June to February, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Silver-Banded Hairstreak sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 4
Of the 4 cities where we can rate Silver-Banded Hairstreak sightings, Buenos Aires ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Cordoba (Argentina, about 10%) and Porto Alegre (Brazil, about 10%).
Same family: Lycaenidae
The closest relatives of the Silver-Banded Hairstreak that you can see in Buenos Aires (family Lycaenidae, Gossamer-winged Butterflies) are Cassius Blue (about 20%), Strymon eurytulus (about 10%) and Emesis russula (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Silver-Banded Hairstreak is recorded against all the insects logged in Buenos Aires (38 verified sightings), 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.
