Burnsius communis
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Burnsius communis, the common checkered-skipper, formerly known as Pyrgus communis, is a species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It is known as the frequently seen Pyrginae species in the northern United States by collectors and watchers alike. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Badlands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Point Pelee National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Glacier National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Yosemite National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Detroit | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Salt Lake City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | San Luis Potosí | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 7 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Common Checkered-Skipper sighting in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 28 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 276th most-seen of the 822 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.
October
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Common Checkered-Skipper in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in December to September, the lowest months.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Checkered-Skipper sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 7
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Common Checkered-Skipper sightings, Great Smoky Mountains National Park ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in Badlands National Park (United States, about 20%), Point Pelee National Park (Canada, about 10%) and Glacier National Park (United States, about 10%).
Same family: Hesperiidae
The closest relatives of the Common Checkered-Skipper that you can see in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (family Hesperiidae, Skippers) are Silver-Spotted Skipper (about 40%), Juvenal's Duskywing (about 20%) and Clouded Skipper (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Checkered-Skipper is recorded against all the insects logged in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (28 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.
