Callophrys fotis
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Callophrys fotis is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae, the gossamer-winged butterflies. It is known by several common names, including early elfin, desert elfin, Fotis hairstreak, Strecker's elfin, and Arizona gray elfin. It is native to the southwestern United States, where it occurs in southeastern California, Nevada, Utah, western Colorado, northern Arizona, and northwestern New Mexico.
This butterfly has a wingspan of 19 to 28 millimeters. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zion National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Desert Elfin sighting in Zion National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 75th most-seen of the 114 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.
March
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Desert Elfin in Zion National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June to February, the lowest months. That is one of Zion National Park's wettest months, with about 75 mm of rain against almost none in June.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Desert Elfin sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Zion National Park, in our data
Zion National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Desert Elfin sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Lycaenidae
The closest relatives of the Desert Elfin that you can see in Zion National Park (family Lycaenidae, Gossamer-winged Butterflies) are Western Pygmy-Blue (about 10%), Juniper Hairstreak (about 10%) and Gray Hairstreak (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Desert Elfin is recorded against all the insects logged in Zion National Park (6 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.
