Heliopetes macaira
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
Heliopetes macaira, the Turk's-cap white-skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found from southern Texas in North America, south through Central America to Paraguay. The wingspan is 32–35 mm. There are several generations with adults on wing from April to November in southern Texas.
The larvae feed on Malvaviscus drummondii. Adults feed on flower nectar. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Turk's-Cap White-Skipper sighting in Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 50th most-seen of the 112 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November to April
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Turk's-Cap White-Skipper in Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in May to October, the lowest months. Those are among Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve's driest months, with about 35 mm of rain a month against 150 mm in June.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Turk's-Cap White-Skipper sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve, in our data
Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Turk's-Cap White-Skipper sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Hesperiidae
The closest relatives of the Turk's-Cap White-Skipper that you can see in Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve (family Hesperiidae, Skippers) are Glassy-Winged Skipper (about 40%), Obscure Skipper (about 30%) and Whirlabout (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Turk's-Cap White-Skipper is recorded against all the insects logged in Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve (12 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.
