Papilio protenor
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Papilio protenor, the spangle, is a large butterfly found in South East Asia belonging to the swallowtail family. Upperside: velvety indigo-blue black, duller on the forewing than on the hindwing. Forewing with pale adnervular streaks broadened along the terminal margin and extended well into the cell. Hindwing: a broad pale yellowish-white subcostal streak; interspaces 4 to 6 irrorated (sprinkled) with bluish scales; tornal angle marked with red.
Underside: forewing dull black; adnervular streaks distinctly grey and much broader than on the upperside. Hindwing: ground colour as on the upperside, a large irregularly-shaped patch at the tornal angle that extends into interspace 2, and subterminal lunules in interspaces 2, 6, and 7 dull pinkish-red, cell irrorated more-or-less with a sprinkling of blue scales; the tornal patch with a black, outwardly blue-edged, round medial spot, and interspaces 4 and 5 with subterminal irrorations of blue scales. Antennae black; head, thorax and abdomen dark brownish-black.
Similar to male. Upperside: ground colour deep brownish-black; adnervular streaks on forewing yellowish; irroration of blue scales on outer... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cuc Phuong National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 2 | Namdapha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Taroko National Park | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 4 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Spangle Swallowtail sighting in Chengdu on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 16th most-seen of the 26 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April, June and August–October
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Spangle Swallowtail in Chengdu on a given day, against under 5% in May, July and November–March, the lowest months. Those are among Chengdu's wettest months, with about 140 mm of rain a month against 10 mm in January.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Spangle Swallowtail sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 13
Of the 13 cities where we can rate Spangle Swallowtail sightings, Chengdu ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in Guiyang (China, about 30%), Xiamen City (China, about 20%) and Hong Kong (China, about 20%).
Same genus: Papilio
The closest relatives of the Spangle Swallowtail that you can see in Chengdu (genus Papilio, Common Swallowtails) are Common Mormon Swallowtail (about 20%) and Chinese Peacock Swallowtail (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Spangle Swallowtail is recorded against all the insects logged in Chengdu (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.
