Siproeta stelenes
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
Siproeta stelenes (malachite) is a Neotropical brush-footed butterfly (family Nymphalidae). The malachite has large wings that are black and brilliant green or yellow-green on the upperside and light brown and olive green on the underside. It is named for the mineral malachite, which is similar in color to the bright green on the butterfly's wings. Typically, the wingspread is between 8.5 and 10 cm (3.3 and 3.9 in). The malachite is found throughout Central and northern South America, where it is one of the most common butterfly species.
Adults feed on flower nectar, rotting fruit, dead animals, and bat dung. Females lay eggs on the new leaves of plants in the family Acanthaceae, especially Ruellia, Blechum and Plantago. The larvae are horned, spiny, black caterpillars with red markings, The pupal stage is green, with sharp, gold spines that can puncture predators.
Malachites often are confused with the heliconiine Philaethria dido. They have similar coloration, but their wing shapes are different. Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salvador | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Santo Domingo | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | |
| 3 | Cali | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 4 | Manaus | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | San Pedro Sula | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 7 | Belo Horizonte | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 8 | Recife | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 9 | Medellín | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 10 | Fortaleza | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Malachite sighting in Cali on a given day, based on 21 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 7th most-seen of the 52 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January and February
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Malachite in Cali on a given day, against under 5% in May, September and November–December, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Malachite 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 27
Of the 27 cities where we can rate Malachite sightings, Cali ranks 3rd at about 20%. The best odds are in Salvador (Brazil, about 30%) and Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Malachite is recorded against all the insects logged in Cali (21 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.
