Pholisora catullus
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
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 |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Common Sootywing sighting in Sacramento on a given day, based on 79 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 63rd most-seen of the 386 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.
August
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Common Sootywing in Sacramento on a given day, against under 5% in October to March, the lowest months. That is one of Sacramento's driest months, with almost no rain against 120 mm in December.
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.
Yes
Of the 11 cities where we can rate Common Sootywing sightings, Sacramento has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come 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 Sacramento (family Hesperiidae, Skippers) are Fiery Skipper (about 20%), Mournful Duskywing (about 20%) and Common Checkered-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 Sacramento (79 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.
