Epargyreus clarus
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
Epargyreus clarus, the silver-spotted skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is claimed to be the most recognized skipper in North America. E. clarus occurs in fields, gardens, and at forest edges and ranges from southern Canada throughout most of the United States to northern Mexico, but is absent in the Great Basin and western Texas.
E. clarus larvae create and reside in unique shelters stuck together with silk, which do not protect them from predators. Natural predators of the species include paper wasp foragers, sphecid wasp and Crematogaster opuntiae ants. The species is also considered to be a perching species, meaning that adult males compete for territory to attract females. Although E. clarus is considered to be a pest of a few crop plants such as beans, its pest activity is not serious enough to warrant initiating major control measures.
Epargyreus clarus has a wide distribution throughout North America: it ranges from southern Canada throughout most of the United States to northern Mexico, but is absent from the Great Basin and western Texas. The silver-spotted skipper prefers open ranges where nectar plants are found,... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Congaree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Point Pelee National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Yosemite National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Detroit | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 9 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Silver-Spotted Skipper sighting in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 800 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 3rd most-seen of the 822 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Silver-Spotted Skipper in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in November to February, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Silver-Spotted Skipper sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 9 parks where we can rate Silver-Spotted Skipper sightings, Great Smoky Mountains National Park has the highest daily chance: about 40%. Next come Shenandoah National Park (United States, about 40%) and Congaree National Park (United States, about 20%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Hesperiidae
The closest relatives of the Silver-Spotted Skipper that you can see in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (family Hesperiidae, Skippers) are Juvenal's Duskywing (about 20%), Clouded Skipper (about 20%) and Zabulon Skipper (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Silver-Spotted Skipper is recorded against all the insects logged in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (800 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.
