Byblia anvatara
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Byblia anvatara, the common joker, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae, found in Sub-Saharan Africa. Wingspan: 38–43 mm in males and 40–45 mm in females. Its flight period is year round. Larvae feed on Tragia glabrata and Dalechampia capensis.
Bode, J. (2012), Pirate & Joker Sap Sucking, feeding on sugary sap of Ziziphus mucronata tree, YouTube video Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ankarafantsika National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 2 | Gorongosa National Park | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | |
| 3 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 4 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an African Joker sighting in Chobe National Park on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 8th most-seen of the 25 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.
January
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report an African Joker in Chobe National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February, May and July–December, the lowest months. That is one of Chobe National Park's wettest months, with about 150 mm of rain against almost none in May.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most African Joker sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate African Joker sightings, Chobe National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Ankarafantsika National Park (Madagascar, about 40%) and Gorongosa National Park (Mozambique, about 20%).
Same family: Nymphalidae
The closest relatives of the African Joker that you can see in Chobe National Park (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Guineafowl Butterfly (about 20%), Plain Tiger Butterfly (about 10%) and Yellow Pansy (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the African Joker is recorded against all the insects logged in Chobe National Park (9 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.
