Microtia elva
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Microtia is a monotypic genus of butterflies from southern United States and Central America in the family Nymphalidae. It contains the single species Microtia elva, the elf. Larvae of this species feed on Tetramerium and other species in the family Acanthaceae. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rincón de la Vieja National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Ostional Wildlife Refuge | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Las Baulas Marine National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Masaya Volcano National Park | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua | |
| 5 | Cañón del Sumidero National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 6 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Managua | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua | |
| 2 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 3 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Elf Butterfly sighting in Cumbres de Monterrey National Park on a given day, based on 85 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 26th most-seen of the 431 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.
November
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report an Elf Butterfly in Cumbres de Monterrey National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May and December–March, the lowest months. That is one of Cumbres de Monterrey National Park's driest months, with about 45 mm of rain against 180 mm in September.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Elf Butterfly sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
6th of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Elf Butterfly sightings, Cumbres de Monterrey National Park ranks 6th at about 10%. The best odds are in Rincón de la Vieja National Park (Costa Rica, about 30%), Ostional Wildlife Refuge (Costa Rica, about 20%) and Las Baulas Marine National Park (Costa Rica, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Elf Butterfly is recorded against all the insects logged in Cumbres de Monterrey National Park (85 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
