Heliopetes ericetorum
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Heliopetes ericetorum, the northern white-skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found in North America in the United States from eastern Washington south to western Colorado, southern California and Arizona, and in Baja California in north-western Mexico. The habitat consists of open woodland, chaparral, dry washes, desert mountains and arid lands.
There are two broods per year, with adults on wing from April to October. Adult males are mostly white with black chevrons along the wings' margins. Adult females' marginal markings are larger and darker, and their wings have more gray or black at the base.
Larvae feed on the leaves of mallow species, including Sphaeralcea, Althaea and Malva species. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Joshua Tree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Northern White-Skipper sighting in Grand Canyon National Park on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 60th most-seen of the 143 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.
June
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Northern White-Skipper in Grand Canyon National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July, September and November–April, the lowest months. That is one of Grand Canyon National Park's driest months, with almost no rain against 40 mm in March.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Northern White-Skipper sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Northern White-Skipper sightings, Grand Canyon National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (United States, about 20%) and Joshua Tree National Park (United States, about 20%).
Same family: Hesperiidae
The closest relatives of the Northern White-Skipper that you can see in Grand Canyon National Park (family Hesperiidae, Skippers) are Silver-Spotted Skipper (about 10%), Orange Skipperling (about 10%) and Taxiles Skipper (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Northern White-Skipper is recorded against all the insects logged in Grand Canyon National Park (14 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.
