Anthocharis sara
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Anthocharis sara, the Sara orangetip, is one of three species in the Sara orangetip complex. It has a population extending from Baja California into extreme southwest Oregon and another extending from the east slope of the Sierra Nevada into far western Nevada. The common name Pacific orangetip is obsolete since it implies a distribution that includes two separate species.
Anthocharis sara is part of the Anthocharis sara complex, along with the southwestern orangetip (Anthocharis thoosa) and Julia orangetip (Anthocharis julia). Some have been spotted in the Grand Tetons Nation Park in June 2025. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joshua Tree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Channel Islands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Yosemite National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Sara Orangetip sighting in San Francisco on a given day, based on 30 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 287th most-seen of the 737 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Sara Orangetip in San Francisco on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sara Orangetip sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 3 cities where we can rate Sara Orangetip sightings, San Francisco ranks 3rd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in San Diego (United States, under 5%) and Los Angeles (United States, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Sara Orangetip is recorded against all the insects logged in San Francisco (30 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.
