Agriades podarce
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Agriades podarce, the arrowhead Arctic blue, gray blue or Sierra Nevada blue, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in North America from southern Oregon to central California in the Klamath Range and the Sierra Nevada. The habitat consists of subalpine meadows.
The wingspan is 22–26 mm. Adults are on wing from June to September in one generation per year. They feed on flower nectar, including yellow composites and bistort. The larvae feed on Dodecatheon jeffreyi. Caterpillars or chrysalids hibernate. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Yosemite National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Sierra Blue sighting in Yosemite National Park on a given day, based on 75 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 34th most-seen of the 227 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Sierra Blue in Yosemite National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to May, the lowest months. That is one of Yosemite National Park's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain against 220 mm in January.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sierra 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.
Among the best
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Sierra Blue sightings, Yosemite National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (United States, about 10%).
Same family: Lycaenidae
The closest relatives of the Sierra Blue that you can see in Yosemite National Park (family Lycaenidae, Gossamer-winged Butterflies) are Spring Azure (about 20%), Lustrous Copper (about 20%) and Greenish Blue (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Sierra Blue is recorded against all the insects logged in Yosemite National Park (75 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.
