Mangrove Skipper

Mangrove Skipper

Phocides batabano

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Miami

In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%

154 Verified sightings at Miami
173 In all 2 parks From 2019 to 2026
August Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Mangrove Skipper

Phocides batabano, including the mangrove skipper, is a skipper in the family Hesperiidae. It is found in North America, namely in the United States from coast to coast in peninsular Florida and the Florida Keys, Cuba and adjacent regions like the Bahamas and Cayman Island.

The wingspan is 48–70 mm. Adults are on the wing from November to August in southern Florida. The larvae feed on Rhizophora mangle species. Adults feed on nectar of various plants, including mangrove, shepherd's needle, citrus, and bougainvillaea flowers.

Strays may be found up to coastal South Carolina. Phocides pigmalion batabano (Cuba, Cayman) Phocides pigmalion batabanoides (Bahamas) Phocides pigmalion okeechobee (Florida) Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Everglades National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
2 Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge 🇺🇸 United States
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Miami 🇺🇸 United States
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Mangrove Skipper in Miami?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Mangrove Skipper sighting in Miami on a given day, based on 154 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 85th most-seen of the 826 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Mangrove Skipper in Miami?

January to November

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Mangrove Skipper in Miami on a given day, against under 5% in December, the lowest month.

What time of day is best to see a Mangrove Skipper?

Between 9 am and noon

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Mangrove Skipper sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Where else can you see a Mangrove Skipper?

Only Miami, in our data

Miami is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Mangrove Skipper sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.

Which relatives of the Mangrove Skipper live in Miami?

Same family: Hesperiidae

The closest relatives of the Mangrove Skipper that you can see in Miami (family Hesperiidae, Skippers) are Horace's Duskywing (about 20%), Fiery Skipper (about 10%) and Three-Spotted Skipper (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Mangrove Skipper sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Mangrove Skipper is recorded against all the insects logged in Miami (154 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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