Lorquin's Admiral

Lorquin's Admiral

Limenitis lorquini

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Sacramento

In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%

111 Verified sightings at Sacramento
354 In all 7 parks From 2019 to 2026
September 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 Sacramento?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lorquin's Admiral sighting in Sacramento on a given day, based on 111 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 45th 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 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.

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

June to September

In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Lorquin's Admiral in Sacramento on a given day, against under 5% in November to February, the lowest months. Those are among Sacramento's driest months, with almost no rain against 120 mm in December.

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 Sacramento the best place to see a Lorquin's Admiral?

Among the best

Of the 7 cities where we can rate Lorquin's Admiral sightings, Sacramento ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Seattle (United States, 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 Sacramento (111 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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