Parides erithalion
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Parides erithalion, the variable cattleheart, is a North and South American butterfly in the family Papilionidae. The species was first described by Jean Baptiste Boisduval in 1836. The upperside of the wings is black with a row of red postmedian spots. The underside of the wings is also black with a row of pink and whitish spots.
In males of some subspecies the uppersides of the forewings have a large olivaceous-green patch from the inner margin forward, with a creamy-white spot, while hindwings have a band of three red spots. Fringe in both sexes is dotted with white. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary | 🇧🇿 Belize | |
| 2 | Podocarpus National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 3 | Lago de Yojoa | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 4 | Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 5 | Arenal Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Soberanía National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Medellín | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Variable Cattleheart sighting in Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 53rd most-seen of the 80 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
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Variable Cattleheart in Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–April, June–August and October–November, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Variable Cattleheart sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Variable Cattleheart sightings, Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary (Belize, about 30%), Podocarpus National Park (Ecuador, about 20%) and Lago de Yojoa (Honduras, about 10%).
Same genus: Parides
The closest relatives of the Variable Cattleheart that you can see in Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park (genus Parides, Cattlehearts) are Green-Celled Cattleheart (about 20%) and Iphidamas Cattleheart (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Variable Cattleheart is recorded against all the insects logged in Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park (5 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.
