Lon zabulon
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The Zabulon skipper (Lon zabulon) (sometimes called the southern dimorphic skipper) is a North American butterfly first described by the French naturalists Jean Baptiste Boisduval and John Eatton Le Conte from the state of Georgia, United States.
This small butterfly has slim, triangular wings. The upperside of the male's wings is mostly orange with the margins being dark brown. The underside of the male's wings is mainly yellow orange with the margins being dark brown. There is a yellow basal spot enclosed with brown. The upperside of the female's wings is dark brown with large, glassy spots near the forewing outer margin. The underside of the female's wings is a brownish-burgundy color with the hindwing having a white streak on the costal edge. The wing margins are broadly frosted. The wingspan measures 1+3⁄8 to 1+5⁄8 inches (35–41 mm).
The only similar species in the Zabulon skipper's range is the Hobomok skipper. The Hobomok skipper has a more northern range and different flight period than the Zabulon skipper. They also have more rounded wings. The upperside of the male Hobomok skipper's wings has thicker dark margins. The underside... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Congaree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Point Pelee National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Detroit | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Zabulon Skipper sighting in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 83 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 65th most-seen of the 822 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April–May and August
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Zabulon Skipper in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in November to March, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Zabulon 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.
3rd of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Zabulon Skipper sightings, Great Smoky Mountains National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Congaree National Park (United States, about 30%) and Shenandoah National Park (United States, about 20%).
Same family: Hesperiidae
The closest relatives of the Zabulon 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 Zabulon Skipper is recorded against all the insects logged in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (83 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.
