Popa spurca
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Popa spurca, also known as the African twig mantis, is a species of mantis native to Africa. It takes its common name from its resemblance to twig from a woody plant and grows up to 8 centimetres (3.1 in) long if female or 7 cm (2.8 in) long if male. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ranomafana National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 2 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an African Twig Mantis sighting in Durban on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 186th most-seen of the 401 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.
July–August and October–January
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an African Twig Mantis in Durban on a given day, against under 5% in February–June and September, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most African Twig Mantis sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
5th of 6
Of the 6 cities where we can rate African Twig Mantis sightings, Durban ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Harare (Zimbabwe, about 10%), Nairobi (Kenya, about 10%) and Pretoria (South Africa, about 10%).
Same order: Mantodea
The closest relatives of the African Twig Mantis that you can see in Durban (order Mantodea, Mantises) are Common Spiny Flower Mantis (about 20%), Flag Mantis (about 10%) and Cryptic Mantis (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the African Twig Mantis is recorded against all the insects logged in Durban (11 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.
