Lorquin's Admiral

Lorquin's Admiral

Limenitis lorquini

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Los Angeles

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%

253 Verified sightings at Los Angeles
354 In all 7 parks From 2019 to 2026
August Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Lorquin's Admiral

Lorquin's admiral (Limenitis lorquini) is a butterfly in the Nymphalinae subfamily. The butterfly is named after Pierre Joseph Michel Lorquin, a French naturalist who came to California from France during the Gold Rush, and made important discoveries on the natural history of the terrain.

The Lorquin's admiral can mostly be found across the Upper Sonoran to the Canadian Zone, east to western Montana and Idaho. Known areas include southern British Columbia (including Vancouver Island, north of Emerald Lake), and Cypress Hills in southwestern Saskatchewan as well as southwestern Alberta.

The butterfly resides mostly in forest edges, mountain canyons, parks, streamsides, fencerows, orchards, and groves of cottonwood and poplar. Usually the butterflies feed on California buckeye, yerba santa, privet, bird droppings, and dung. They are extremely territorial and will attack any intruders into their habitat, including large birds.

The Lorquin's admiral has brown-black wings, each with a row of white spots across it. Its forewings have orange tips. Wingspan: 47 to 71 mm; females are generally larger than males. Larvae are usually... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Glacier National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
2 Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
3 Yosemite National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
4 Pacific Rim National Park Reserve 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
5 Great Bear Rainforest 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
6 Olympic National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
7 Redwood National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Seattle 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
2 Sacramento 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
3 Vancouver 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
4 San Diego 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
5 Portland 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
6 Los Angeles 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
7 San Francisco 🇺🇸 United States
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Lorquin's Admiral in Los Angeles?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Lorquin's Admiral sighting in Los Angeles on a given day, based on 253 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 96th most-seen of the 851 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.

When is the best time to see a Lorquin's Admiral in Los Angeles?

June to September

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lorquin's Admiral in Los Angeles on a given day, against under 5% in October to May, the lowest months. Those are among Los Angeles's driest months, with almost no rain against 75 mm in February.

What time of day is best to see a Lorquin's Admiral?

Between 11 am and 2 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Lorquin's Admiral sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Los Angeles the best place to see a Lorquin's Admiral?

6th of 7

Of the 7 cities where we can rate Lorquin's Admiral sightings, Los Angeles ranks 6th at under 5%. The best odds are in Seattle (United States, about 10%), Sacramento (United States, about 10%) and Vancouver (Canada, about 10%).

Where does the Lorquin's Admiral sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Lorquin's Admiral is recorded against all the insects logged in Los Angeles (253 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.

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