Sandia mcfarlandi
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The Sandia hairstreak (Callophrys mcfarlandi) is a species of butterfly native to North America. A relatively rare butterfly with a limited range, it was discovered in La Cueva Canyon, Albuquerque, in spring of 1958, by Noel McFarland, then a student at the University of Kansas, and described the following year. The Sandia hairstreak was made one of the state insects of New Mexico in a 2002 bill approved the following year.
C. mcfarlandi is a relatively small butterfly with tailless wings that span 2.9–3.2 cm (11⁄8 to 11⁄4 inches). The wings of females are generally reddish-brown on the dorsal side with a narrow border of black around the edge. Males are typically brown. The underside of the wings of both sexes is usually greenish-yellow on the undersides with a postmedian line bordered with black near the base. This species exhibits a certain amount of polymorphism, making the phenotype of some individuals significantly different from that described here but according to one simple description "it is small and gold and green in color and it lives in and among beargrass plants, where its pink, lavender and white caterpillars eat beargrass flowers, making the butterfly... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Guadalupe Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Sandia mcfarlandi sighting in Guadalupe Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 49th most-seen of the 57 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April and July
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Sandia mcfarlandi in Guadalupe Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May–June and August–February, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sandia mcfarlandi sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Sandia mcfarlandi sightings, Guadalupe Mountains National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Big Bend National Park (United States, about 10%).
Same family: Lycaenidae
The closest relatives of the Sandia mcfarlandi that you can see in Guadalupe Mountains National Park (family Lycaenidae, Gossamer-winged Butterflies) are Marine Blue (about 20%), Great Purple Hairstreak (about 20%) and Reakirt's Blue (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Sandia mcfarlandi is recorded against all the insects logged in Guadalupe Mountains National Park (6 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.
