Calycopis cecrops
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
The red-banded hairstreak (Calycopis cecrops) is a butterfly native to the southeastern United States. It feeds on fallen leaves of sumac species and other trees. It is 0.9–1.25 inches (23–32 mm) in size. It lives near coastal areas.
Its genome was sequenced in 2016. It has a false "head" that helps it avoid predators. In a 2012 experiment, C. cecrops was exposed to a jumping spider, Phidippus pulcherrimus, which researchers found to be a "very efficient strategy in deflecting attacks." Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Congaree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Big Cypress National Preserve | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Houston | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Red-Banded Hairstreak sighting in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on a given day, based on 20 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 69th most-seen of the 189 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March–April and June–January
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Red-Banded Hairstreak in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on a given day, against under 5% in February and May, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Red-Banded Hairstreak sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Red-Banded Hairstreak sightings, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in Congaree National Park (United States, about 20%), Great Smoky Mountains National Park (United States, about 20%) and Shenandoah National Park (United States, about 10%).
Same family: Lycaenidae
The closest relatives of the Red-Banded Hairstreak that you can see in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (family Lycaenidae, Gossamer-winged Butterflies) are Ceraunus Blue (about 30%), Atala (about 20%) and Eastern Pygmy-Blue (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Red-Banded Hairstreak is recorded against all the insects logged in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (20 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.
