Spialia mafa
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Spialia mafa, the Mafa grizzled skipper or Mafa sandman, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found in south-western Africa, in KwaZulu-Natal, Botswana, Zimbabwe and from the Cape in South Africa to Sudan and southern Arabia.
These skippers are dark brown with white spots and both sides of the wings. Wingspan is from 22–26 mm. Flight period is year-round but peaks from September to April. The larvae feed on Hermannia, Pavonia and Hibiscus species (including Hibiscus aethiopicus). Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Speckled Sandman sighting in Cape Town on a given day, based on 6 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.
October
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Speckled Sandman in Cape Town on a given day, against under 5% in November to September, the lowest months.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Speckled Sandman sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all 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 Speckled Sandman sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Speckled Sandman is recorded against all the insects logged in Cape Town (6 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.
