Papilio anactus
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Papilio anactus, the dainty swallowtail, dingy swallowtail or small citrus butterfly is a medium-sized butterfly from the family Papilionidae, that is endemic to Australia. For protection against predators, this non-poisonous butterfly mimics the poisonous male Cressida cressida, another swallowtail butterfly that obtains its toxic properties through its host plant, the Dutchman's pipe.
Papilio anactus is endemic to Australia. It was originally only present in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, but due to the growing of citrus, a larval food plant of this species, in orchards, the species spread to South Australia in the late 1920s. Papilio anactus is not present on Kangaroo Island or elsewhere in Australia, as there are currently too few citrus trees. Sadly this butterfly is much less common than it once used to be.
It also occurs on New Caledonia. There, it may be an introduced species or a vagrant. The eggs are relatively large, pale yellow, and roughly spherical. The eggs change to an orange colour when the larvae are almost ready to emerge.
Females only lay eggs on the newly grown leaves of the host plant. They are laid at the... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hattah-Kulkyne National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Dainty Swallowtail sighting in Brisbane on a given day, based on 157 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 97th most-seen of the 1083 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.
December to February
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Dainty Swallowtail in Brisbane on a given day, against under 5% in May to October, the lowest months. Those are among Brisbane's wettest months, with about 140 mm of rain a month against 40 mm in July.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Dainty Swallowtail sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 cities where we can rate Dainty Swallowtail sightings, Brisbane ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Melbourne (Australia, about 20%).
Same genus: Papilio
The closest relatives of the Dainty Swallowtail that you can see in Brisbane (genus Papilio, Common Swallowtails) are Orchard Swallowtail (about 30%) and Lime Swallowtail (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Dainty Swallowtail is recorded against all the insects logged in Brisbane (157 verified sightings), 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.
