Lycaeides melissa
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The Melissa blue (Plebejus melissa) is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in western North America, from Canada to Mexico. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Badlands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Yellowstone National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Melissa Blue sighting in Yellowstone National Park on a given day, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 69th most-seen of the 160 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June to September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Melissa Blue in Yellowstone National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to May, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Melissa Blue 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 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Melissa Blue sightings, Yellowstone National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Badlands National Park (United States, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Melissa Blue is recorded against all the insects logged in Yellowstone National Park (16 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.
