Ascia monuste
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Ascia is a genus of butterflies in the family Pieridae. It is monotypic, being represented by the single species Ascia monuste, commonly known as the great southern white, In this species the sexes may differ with the female being either light or dark colored. It is found from the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States, and south to Argentina. It is migratory along the south-eastern coast of the United States, with strays to Maryland, Kansas, and Colorado.
Larvae have distinct body segments within which there appears to be four to six subsegments. They are purplish-green with two longitudinal, greenish-yellow stripes on each side and the dorsal side. When full-grown, they are approximately one and a quarter inches long. The wingspan in adults is 63–86 mm (2.5–3.4 in). Adults are on wing all year round in southern Texas, peninsular Florida and along the Gulf Coast.
A. monuste is a migrating species that moves in one direction within its life span and does not return. It breeds in Florida but sometimes migrates along the coast up to 160 km (99 mi) to breed in more suitable areas. This species seeks out appropriate plant hosts for oviposition by detection of compounds... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Goiânia | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Salvador | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Recife | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Santo Domingo | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | |
| 6 | Guatemala City | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | |
| 7 | Manaus | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 8 | San Pedro Sula | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 9 | Vitória | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 10 | Tegucigalpa | 🇭🇳 Honduras |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Great Southern White sighting in Cumbres de Monterrey National Park on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 220th most-seen of the 431 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June, August and October–November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Great Southern White in Cumbres de Monterrey National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July, September and December–May, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Great Southern White sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
30th of 31
Of the 31 parks where we can rate Great Southern White sightings, Cumbres de Monterrey National Park ranks 30th at under 5%. The best odds are in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (United States, about 50%), Jaragua National Park (Dominican Republic, about 40%) and Bahía de Loreto National Park (Mexico, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Pieridae
The closest relatives of the Great Southern White that you can see in Cumbres de Monterrey National Park (family Pieridae, Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs) are Large Orange Sulphur (about 20%), Lyside Sulphur (about 10%) and Southern Dogface (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Great Southern White is recorded against all the insects logged in Cumbres de Monterrey National Park (11 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.
