Polites themistocles
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Polites themistocles, the tawny-edged skipper, is a North American butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. This species varies geographically and within populations. The upper side of the male's wings is brown or olive brown with the forewing having bright orange along the costa that ends at the stigma. The stigma is thicker than the male crossline skipper's (Polites origenes) and it usually runs more parallel to the costa. The upperside of the female's wings is brown with the forewing having a less conspicuous orange costa than the male. Near the end of the forewing cell there are two rectangular pale spots and three pale spots in a row in the subapical area. The underside of the wings vary form light brown to brown to brownish-orange. Sometimes the hindwing will have a crossband like the crossline skipper, but it is usually much more faint. The "tawny-edged" forewing strongly contrasts with the hindwing color. Its wingspan ranges from 3⁄4 to 1 inch (19–25 mm).
Similar species in the tawny-edged skipper's range include the crossline skipper and the Baracoa skipper (Polites baracoa). Crossline skippers are usually larger than tawny-edged... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Detroit | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Edmonton | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 6 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Tawny-Edged Skipper sighting in Denver on a given day, based on 22 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 192nd most-seen of the 461 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.
August
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Tawny-Edged Skipper in Denver on a given day, against under 5% in September to July, the lowest months. That is one of Denver's wettest months, with about 50 mm of rain against 15 mm in January.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Tawny-Edged Skipper sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 7
Of the 7 cities where we can rate Tawny-Edged Skipper sightings, Denver ranks 4th at under 5%. The best odds are in Toronto (Canada, about 10%), Chicago (United States, under 5%) and Detroit (United States, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Tawny-Edged Skipper is recorded against all the insects logged in Denver (22 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.
