Sphinx kalmiae
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Sphinx kalmiae, the laurel sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Breton Highlands National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Gros Morne National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Laurel Sphinx sighting in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 24 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 202nd 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.
September
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Laurel Sphinx in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in November to June, the lowest months.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Laurel Sphinx sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
Among the best
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Laurel Sphinx sightings, Great Smoky Mountains National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Cape Breton Highlands National Park (Canada, about 10%) and Gros Morne National Park (Canada, about 10%).
Same family: Sphingidae
The closest relatives of the Laurel Sphinx that you can see in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (family Sphingidae, Sphinx Moths) are Virginia Creeper Sphinx (about 10%), Blinded Sphinx (about 10%) and Walnut Sphinx (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Laurel Sphinx is recorded against all the insects logged in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (24 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.
