Pholisora catullus
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
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 |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Common Sootywing sighting in Chicago on a given day, based on 26 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 379th most-seen of the 978 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Common Sootywing in Chicago on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
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.
9th of 11
Of the 11 cities where we can rate Common Sootywing sightings, Chicago ranks 9th at under 5%. The best odds are in Sacramento (United States, about 10%), Baltimore (United States, about 10%) and Philadelphia (United States, about 10%).
Same family: Hesperiidae
The closest relatives of the Common Sootywing that you can see in Chicago (family Hesperiidae, Skippers) are Fiery Skipper (about 10%), Peck's Skipper (about 10%) and Silver-Spotted Skipper (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 Chicago (26 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.
