Leptomyrina lara
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Leptomyrina lara, the Cape black-eye, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in South Africa, in fynbos, Nama Karoo and Succulent Karoo throughout the Western Cape to the Eastern Cape, the eastern parts of Free State, the mountains of Lesotho and Northern Cape.
The wingspan is 20–29 mm for males and 23–31 mm for females. Adults are on wing from August to April. There are several generations per year in summer and spring. The larvae feed on Kalanchoe lugardii, Crassula and Cotyledon plant species (including C. orbiculata). Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Cape Black-Eye sighting in Cape Town on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 264th most-seen of the 311 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Cape Black-Eye in Cape Town on a given day, against under 5% in February to December, the lowest months. That is one of Cape Town's driest months, with about 20 mm of rain against 140 mm in June.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Cape Black-Eye sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Cape Town, in our data
Cape Town is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Cape Black-Eye sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Lycaenidae
The closest relatives of the Cape Black-Eye that you can see in Cape Town (family Lycaenidae, Gossamer-winged Butterflies) are African Grass Blue (about 20%), Geranium Bronze (about 10%) and Water Geranium Bronze (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Cape Black-Eye is recorded against all the insects logged in Cape Town (8 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.
