Erynnis icelus
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Erynnis icelus, also known as the dreamy duskywing or aspen dusky wing, is a species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It is found in boreal North America. The wingspan is 29–38 mm. There is one generation with adults on wing from April to early July. There might be a rare second generation in the southern Appalachian Mountains.
The larvae are pale green with multiple white dots. Its heart is visible as a green, middorsal stripe. The larvae feed on Salix, Populus and sometimes Betula species. Adults feed on nectar from flowers of blueberry, wild strawberry, blackberry, Labrador tea, dogbane, New Jersey tea, winter cress, purple vetch and lupine. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Isle Royale National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Elk Island National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Riding Mountain National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edmonton | 🇨🇦 Canada |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Dreamy Duskywing sighting in Riding Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 48th most-seen of the 104 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Dreamy Duskywing in Riding Mountain National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July to May, the lowest months. That is one of Riding Mountain National Park's wettest months, with about 100 mm of rain against 20 mm in February.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Dreamy Duskywing sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 7
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Dreamy Duskywing sightings, Riding Mountain National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Isle Royale National Park (United States, about 20%) and Elk Island National Park (Canada, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Dreamy Duskywing is recorded against all the insects logged in Riding Mountain National Park (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.
