Dryadula phaetusa
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Dryadula is a monotypic genus of the butterfly family Nymphalidae. Its single species, Dryadula phaetusa, known as the banded orange heliconian, banded orange, or orange tiger, is native from Brazil to central Mexico, and in summer can be found rarely as far north as central Florida. Its wingspan ranges from 86 to 89 mm, and it is colored a bright orange with thick black stripes in males and a duller orange with fuzzier black stripes in females.
It feeds primarily on the nectar of flowers and on bird droppings; its caterpillar feeds on passion vines including Passiflora tetrastylis. It is generally found in lowland tropical fields and valleys. This species is unpalatable to birds and belongs to the "orange" Müllerian mimicry complex.
Prior to their mating season, males of this species congregate by the hundreds on patches of moist soil that contain mineral salts, a behavior known as mud-puddling. When they cannot find such deposits, the insects visit various animals to drink salty secretions from their skin and nostrils.
Nat. 10 ed., 1: 478). The... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iberá National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | Soberanía National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 3 | Iguazú National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 4 | Iguaçu National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Chirripó National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 7 | Arenal Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 8 | Carara National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 9 | Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | São Luís | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Porto Alegre | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Banded Orange Heliconian sighting in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 95th most-seen of the 302 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.
January to July
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Banded Orange Heliconian in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August to December, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Banded Orange Heliconian sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
7th of 9
Of the 9 parks where we can rate Banded Orange Heliconian sightings, Arenal Volcano National Park ranks 7th at about 10%. The best odds are in Iberá National Park (Argentina, about 40%), Soberanía National Park (Panama, about 20%) and Iguazú National Park (Argentina, about 20%).
Same family: Nymphalidae
The closest relatives of the Banded Orange Heliconian that you can see in Arenal Volcano National Park (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Banded Peacock (about 30%), Banded Owl-Butterfly (about 20%) and Julia Heliconian (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Banded Orange Heliconian is recorded against all the insects logged in Arenal Volcano 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.
