Microtia elva
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
Microtia is a monotypic genus of butterflies from southern United States and Central America in the family Nymphalidae. It contains the single species Microtia elva, the elf. Larvae of this species feed on Tetramerium and other species in the family Acanthaceae. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rincón de la Vieja National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Ostional Wildlife Refuge | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Las Baulas Marine National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Masaya Volcano National Park | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua | |
| 5 | Cañón del Sumidero National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 6 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Managua | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua | |
| 2 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 3 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report an Elf Butterfly sighting in Ostional Wildlife Refuge on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 13th most-seen of the 47 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report an Elf Butterfly in Ostional Wildlife Refuge on a given day, against under 5% in August–October and December–June, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Elf Butterfly sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Elf Butterfly sightings, Ostional Wildlife Refuge ranks 2nd at about 20%. The best odds are in Rincón de la Vieja National Park (Costa Rica, about 30%).
Same family: Nymphalidae
The closest relatives of the Elf Butterfly that you can see in Ostional Wildlife Refuge (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Banded Peacock (about 60%), Malachite (about 40%) and Gulf Fritillary (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Elf Butterfly is recorded against all the insects logged in Ostional Wildlife Refuge (14 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.
