Pontia protodice
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Pontia protodice, the checkered white or southern cabbage butterfly, is a common North American butterfly in the family Pieridae. Its green larva is a type of cabbage worm. The upperside of the wings are white and marked with black and gray, more so on the female than on the male. The underside of the hindwings is marked with extensive yellow-brown veins. The wingspan is 1.25–1.75 inches (3.2–4.4 cm). In its pre-adult form, the egg is orange, and mature larvae are black dotted and bluish green to gray with a yellow dorsal, lateral and sublateral stripe. The pupa overwinters, and varies in color from blue-gray to cream.
Pontia protodice is most commonly found in the southern parts on the United States along with some of the northern areas of Mexico. Occasionally the species can be found in the northern parts of the U.S. and southern Canada. It is absent from the Pacific Northwest and the New England area, although populations have become increasingly erratic just east of the Appalachians.P. protodice are most widespread in late summer and autumn, not earlier in the season.
Habitats are open areas, including desert, plains, and disturbed... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joshua Tree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Death Valley National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Channel Islands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Padre Island National Seashore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Zion National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 10 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Yosemite National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ciudad Juárez | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 2 | Torreón | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 3 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | San Luis Potosí | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 5 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Puebla | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 7 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 8 | Tijuana | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 9 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 10 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Checkered White sighting in Yosemite National Park on a given day, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 94th most-seen of the 227 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–July and September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Checkered White in Yosemite National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August and October–May, the lowest months. Those are among Yosemite National Park's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain a month against 220 mm in January.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Checkered White sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
11th of 11
Of the 11 parks where we can rate Checkered White sightings, Yosemite National Park ranks 11th at about 10%. The best odds are in Joshua Tree National Park (United States, about 30%), Big Bend National Park (United States, about 30%) and Grand Canyon National Park (United States, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Checkered White is recorded against all the insects logged in Yosemite 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.
