Brephidium barbouri
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The western pygmy blue (Brephidium exilis or Brephidium exile) is one of the smallest butterflies in the world and the smallest in North America. It has reached Hawaii, as well as the Persian Gulf, including Kuwait, eastern Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
The upperside is copper brown with dull blue at the bases of both wings. The underside of the hindwing is copper brown with white at the base; the fringe mostly white, with 3 small black spots near base, and a row of black spots at outer margin. The wingspan is 12–20 mm.
Males establish a territory in which they look for receptive females to mate with. After mating, females lay eggs on all parts of the host plant, oftenmost on the uppersides of leaves. The caterpillars eat all parts of the plant; host species include Pigweed (Chenopodium album), saltbush species (Atriplex), and others in the goosefoot family (Chenopodiaceae). Adult imagos appear in July–September in the north, while it appears year round in South Texas. Adults feed on nectar only.
This butterfly can be found in alkaline areas such as deserts, salt marshes, and barren areas. They are... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Brephidium barbouri sighting in Addo Elephant National Park on a given day, based on 24 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 23rd most-seen of the 198 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.
December and January
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Brephidium barbouri in Addo Elephant National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May–June, August and October–November, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Brephidium barbouri sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
Only Addo Elephant National Park, in our data
Addo Elephant National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Brephidium barbouri sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Lycaenidae
The closest relatives of the Brephidium barbouri that you can see in Addo Elephant National Park (family Lycaenidae, Gossamer-winged Butterflies) are African Grass Blue (about 20%), Geranium Bronze (about 10%) and Leaden Hairtail (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Brephidium barbouri is recorded against all the insects logged in Addo Elephant National Park (24 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.
