Euptoieta hegesia
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
Euptoieta hegesia, the Mexican fritillary, is a North and South American butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. The upperside of the wings is bright orange with the basal part of the hindwing unmarked. There is a row of submarginal black spots on both the forewing and the hindwing. The underside of the wings is yellow orange with no submarginal black spots. It has a wingspan of 2.5 to 3 inches.
The only similar species in the Mexican fritillary's range is the variegated fritillary (Euptoieta claudia). The variegated fritillary has black median lines on the upperside of the hindwing, and on the underside of the hindwing it has a pale postmedian band.
The Mexican fritillary may be seen from mid-June to November in Arizona, from July to December in Texas and year-round in Mexico. This species may be encountered in a wide range of open habitats and gardens. The larva is shiny red, with middorsal silver spots edged with black. It has a subdorsal row of white spots ringed with black, a spiracular silver line with black edges, and six rows of black spines. The red head has two long black spines with clubbed ends... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cabo Pulmo National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 2 | Jaragua National Park | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | |
| 3 | Ostional Wildlife Refuge | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Anavilhanas National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Santa Rosa National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Rincón de la Vieja National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 7 | Bahía de Loreto National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 8 | Biotopo Cerro Cahuí | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | |
| 9 | Marino Ballena National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 10 | Las Baulas Marine National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 11 | Corcovado National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 12 | Cañón del Sumidero National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 13 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 14 | Parque Natural Metropolitano | 🇵🇦 Panama |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Mexican Fritillary sighting in Ostional Wildlife Refuge on a given day, based on 24 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 5th most-seen of the 47 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June and July
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Mexican Fritillary in Ostional Wildlife Refuge on a given day, against under 5% in February–April and September–November, the lowest months. Those are among Ostional Wildlife Refuge's wettest months, with about 420 mm of rain a month against 15 mm in February.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Mexican Fritillary sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 14
Of the 14 parks where we can rate Mexican Fritillary sightings, Ostional Wildlife Refuge ranks 3rd at about 30%. The best odds are in Cabo Pulmo National Park (Mexico, about 50%) and Jaragua National Park (Dominican Republic, about 30%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Nymphalidae
The closest relatives of the Mexican Fritillary 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 Mexican Fritillary is recorded against all the insects logged in Ostional Wildlife Refuge (24 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.
