Pontia protodice
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Pontia protodice, the checkered white or southern cabbage butterfly, is a common North American butterfly in the family Pieridae. Its green larva is a type of cabbage worm. The upperside of the wings are white and marked with black and gray, more so on the female than on the male. The underside of the hindwings is marked with extensive yellow-brown veins. The wingspan is 1.25–1.75 inches (3.2–4.4 cm). In its pre-adult form, the egg is orange, and mature larvae are black dotted and bluish green to gray with a yellow dorsal, lateral and sublateral stripe. The pupa overwinters, and varies in color from blue-gray to cream.
Pontia protodice is most commonly found in the southern parts on the United States along with some of the northern areas of Mexico. Occasionally the species can be found in the northern parts of the U.S. and southern Canada. It is absent from the Pacific Northwest and the New England area, although populations have become increasingly erratic just east of the Appalachians.P. protodice are most widespread in late summer and autumn, not earlier in the season.
Habitats are open areas, including desert, plains, and disturbed... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joshua Tree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Death Valley National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Channel Islands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Padre Island National Seashore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Zion National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 10 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Yosemite National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ciudad Juárez | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 2 | Torreón | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 3 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | San Luis Potosí | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 5 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Puebla | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 7 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 8 | Tijuana | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 9 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 10 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Checkered White sighting in Phoenix on a given day, based on 73 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 32nd most-seen of the 264 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Checkered White in Phoenix on a given day, against under 5% in June–July, September and November–December, the lowest months. That is one of Phoenix's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain against 35 mm in January.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Checkered White sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
14th of 21
Of the 21 cities where we can rate Checkered White sightings, Phoenix ranks 14th at about 10%. The best odds are in Ciudad Juárez (México, about 20%), Torreón (México, about 20%) and San Antonio (United States, about 20%).
Same family: Pieridae
The closest relatives of the Checkered White that you can see in Phoenix (family Pieridae, Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs) are Sleepy Orange (about 10%) and Dainty Sulphur (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Checkered White is recorded against all the insects logged in Phoenix (73 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.
