Erynnis icelus
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Erynnis icelus, also known as the dreamy duskywing or aspen dusky wing, is a species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It is found in boreal North America. The wingspan is 29–38 mm. There is one generation with adults on wing from April to early July. There might be a rare second generation in the southern Appalachian Mountains.
The larvae are pale green with multiple white dots. Its heart is visible as a green, middorsal stripe. The larvae feed on Salix, Populus and sometimes Betula species. Adults feed on nectar from flowers of blueberry, wild strawberry, blackberry, Labrador tea, dogbane, New Jersey tea, winter cress, purple vetch and lupine. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Isle Royale National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Elk Island National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Riding Mountain National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edmonton | 🇨🇦 Canada |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Dreamy Duskywing sighting in Elk Island National Park on a given day, based on 13 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 65th most-seen of the 112 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.
May
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Dreamy Duskywing in Elk Island National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July to April, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Dreamy Duskywing sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 7
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Dreamy Duskywing sightings, Elk Island National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Isle Royale National Park (United States, about 20%).
Same family: Hesperiidae
The closest relatives of the Dreamy Duskywing that you can see in Elk Island National Park (family Hesperiidae, Skippers) are Essex Skipper (about 30%), Hobomok Skipper (about 20%) and Arctic Skipper (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Dreamy Duskywing is recorded against all the insects logged in Elk Island National Park (13 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.
