Kricogonia lyside
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
Kricogonia lyside, the lyside sulphur or guayacan sulphur, is a North American, Caribbean, and South American butterfly in the family Pieridae. In seasons with heavy monsoons, this butterfly is seen in massive migrations which are frequent in Texas but more rare in the southwest. It is also an occasional resident in southern Florida.
The lyside sulphur is variable. The upperside of the wings is pale yellow, usually with a black bar on the leading edge of the hindwing and a bright yellow patch near the base of the forewing. Some individuals also have black borders along the costa and apex of the forewing. The underside of the wings varies from a greenish color to bright yellow to almost white. Greener individuals have a whitish vein in the center of the hindwing and a bright yellow forewing basal patch. It has a wingspan of 3.8 to 6 cm (1.5 to 2.4 in).
Similar species in the lyside sulphur's range include Queen Alexandra's sulphur (Colias alexandra), the cloudless sulphur (Phoebis sennae), and the statira sulphur (Aphrissa statira). Queen Alexandra's sulphur has more yellow on the underside of the forewing and has a whitish spot in the... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jaragua National Park | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | |
| 2 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 4 | Calakmul Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 5 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 2 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Torreón | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 4 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lyside Sulphur sighting in Saguaro National Park on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 153rd most-seen of the 354 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February, July and September–November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lyside Sulphur in Saguaro National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March–June, August and December–January, the lowest months.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Lyside Sulphur 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 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Lyside Sulphur sightings, Saguaro National Park ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in Jaragua National Park (Dominican Republic, about 30%), Big Bend National Park (United States, about 30%) and Cumbres de Monterrey National Park (Mexico, about 10%).
Same family: Pieridae
The closest relatives of the Lyside Sulphur that you can see in Saguaro National Park (family Pieridae, Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs) are Dainty Sulphur (about 30%), Sleepy Orange (about 20%) and Southern Dogface (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Lyside Sulphur is recorded against all the insects logged in Saguaro 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.
