Philotes sonorensis
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Philotes is a genus of butterflies in the family Lycaenidae. Philotes is a monotypic genus containing only Philotes sonorensis, the Sonoran blue or stonecrop blue, found in North America in California and Baja California.
Their habitat consists of rocky washes, outcrops, and cliffs in deserts. These habitats are associated with succulent host plants of the genus Dudleya (of the family Crassulaceae). The P. sonorensis larvae feed on Dudleya species, including D. cymosa, D. lanceolata and D. saxosa. They bore into the leaves of their host plant and after larval development, the chrysalids hibernate under stones.
The wingspan of an adult butterfly is 22–25 mm. Males are predominantly blue while females are darker with reduced blue scaling. The adult butterflies that emerge after pupation exhibit site fidelity, meaning that they do not stray from their consistent habitat. This dependency on specialized environments has made Philotes sonorensis a topic of research pertaining to taxonomy, ecology, behavior, and conservation efforts. Molecular studies surrounding this species' classification and phylogeny have contributed to the understanding of its relationships within Lycaenidae. Records of isolated populations of P. sonorensis along with its extinct subspecies (Philotes sonorensis extincta) have also shed light on the difficulty in conserving these heavily specialized butterflies. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yosemite National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Sonoran Blue sighting in Yosemite National Park on a given day, based on 173 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 59th 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 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Sonoran Blue in Yosemite National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May to January, the lowest months. That is one of Yosemite National Park's wettest months, with about 170 mm of rain against 25 mm in September.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sonoran Blue sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Yosemite National Park, in our data
Yosemite National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Sonoran Blue sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Lycaenidae
The closest relatives of the Sonoran 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 Sonoran Blue is recorded against all the insects logged in Yosemite National Park (173 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.
