Lorquin's Admiral

Lorquin's Admiral

Limenitis lorquini

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at San Diego

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

215 Verified sightings at San Diego
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 San Diego?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lorquin's Admiral sighting in San Diego on a given day, based on 215 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 55th most-seen of the 693 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 Lorquin's Admiral in San Diego?

April to October

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lorquin's Admiral in San Diego on a given day, against under 5% in November to March, the lowest months.

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 San Diego the best place to see a Lorquin's Admiral?

Among the best

Of the 7 cities where we can rate Lorquin's Admiral sightings, San Diego ranks 4th at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. 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 San Diego (215 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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