Libytheana carinenta
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Libytheana carinenta also called the American snout butterfly or common snout butterfly is a member of the subfamily Libytheinae in the brush-footed butterfly family, Nymphalidae. This species is found in both North and South America. The larval host plants are Celtis species on which the eggs are laid singly. Massive migrations of this species often attract attention in the Texas and Mexican newspapers.
Snout butterflies have prominent elongated mouthparts (labial palpi) which, in concert with the antennae, give the appearance of the petiole (stem) of a dead leaf. Snouts often take advantage of this superb camouflage by hanging upside down under a twig, making them nearly invisible. Wings are patterned black-brown with white and orange markings. The forewings have a distinctive squared off, hook-like (falcate) tip.
The caterpillars appear humpbacked, having a small head, swollen first and second abdominal segments, and a last abdominal segment which is tapered and rounded. They are dark green with yellow stripes along the top and sides of the body, and have two black tubercles on the top of the thorax. Their food is the common hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) tree... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Congaree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Point Pelee National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 6 | Iguaçu National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 7 | Iguazú National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 8 | Joshua Tree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Iberá National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 11 | Death Valley National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 12 | Padre Island National Seashore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 13 | Zion National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 14 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 15 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 16 | Bahía de Loreto National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 17 | Calakmul Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Torreón | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 2 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 3 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | San Luis Potosí | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 7 | Toluca | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 8 | Phoenix | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Cordoba | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 10 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an American Snout sighting in Joshua Tree National Park on a given day, based on 56 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 44th most-seen of the 190 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.
October and November
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report an American Snout in Joshua Tree National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March to August, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most American Snout sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
8th of 17
Of the 17 parks where we can rate American Snout sightings, Joshua Tree National Park ranks 8th at about 10%. The best odds are in Saguaro National Park (United States, about 30%), Big Bend National Park (United States, about 30%) and Congaree National Park (United States, about 30%).
Same family: Nymphalidae
The closest relatives of the American Snout that you can see in Joshua Tree National Park (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Painted Lady (about 40%), California Patch (about 40%) and Sagebrush Checkerspot (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the American Snout is recorded against all the insects logged in Joshua Tree National Park (56 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.
