Aloeides thyra
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Aloeides thyra, the red copper, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in the Western Cape, South Africa. The wingspan is 22–26 mm for males and 24–28 mm females. Adults are on wing from July to April with peaks in October and February. There are several generations per year through the warmer months.
The larvae feed on Aspalathus acuminata, A. laricifolia and A. cymbiformis. The larvae are attended to by Lepisiota capensis ants. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Red Copper sighting in Cape Town on a given day, based on 40 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 109th 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 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February–March and October–November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Red Copper in Cape Town on a given day, against under 5% in April–September and December–January, the lowest months. Those are among Cape Town's driest months, with about 35 mm of rain a month against 140 mm in June.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Red Copper 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 Red Copper sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Red Copper is recorded against all the insects logged in Cape Town (40 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.
