Rapala varuna
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Rapala varuna, the indigo flash, is a species of lycaenid or blue butterfly found in the Indomalayan realm and the Australasian realm. Male. Upperside dark indigo-blue, glossed, and in certain lights with a greenish tint. Forewing with the blue colour merging into the broad black costal and outer marginal borders. Hindwing with the costal space and abdominal fold blackish, outer margin with a very narrow black band; the abdominal space outside the fold darker black than the colour of the fold; anal lobe black, with an orange spot, and a few greyish-white scales along its upper side; tail black, tipped with white. Cilia of both wings black with pale tips, with a white medial line through it from the anal lobe to vein 3. Underside rufous-brown, varying in shade of colour somewhat in different examples, markings darker brown. Forewing with a bar at the end of the cell, a moderately broad discal band from near the costa to the sub-median vein, slightly outwardly curved above its middle, in some examples with a patch of black suffusion, joining it to the discal bar; a sub-marginal narrower band. Hindwing with similar discoidal and discal bands, the latter outwardly edged... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
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More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Indigo Flash sighting in Brisbane on a given day, based on 93 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 158th most-seen of the 1083 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 August
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Indigo Flash in Brisbane on a given day, against under 5% in September to December, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Indigo Flash sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 6 cities where we can rate Indigo Flash sightings, Brisbane ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Taipei (Taiwan, about 10%).
Same family: Lycaenidae
The closest relatives of the Indigo Flash that you can see in Brisbane (family Lycaenidae, Gossamer-winged Butterflies) are Rounded Sixline Blue (about 20%), Speckled Line-Blue (about 20%) and Lesser Grass Blue (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Indigo Flash is recorded against all the insects logged in Brisbane (93 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.
