Charaxes cithaeron
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
Charaxes cithaeron, the blue-spotted emperor or blue-spotted charaxes, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in south-east Africa. The wingspan is 70–80 mm in males and 85–95 mm in females. Ch. cithaeron Fldr. male: forewing above black with two transverse rows of blue spots; the proximal row in the middle, composed of 6 spots (2 in cellule lb and one each in 2-5), the distal consists of 8 spots, of which the first, in 6 and 7, are white; an elongate blue spot in la beyond the middle. Hindwing above beyond the middle with a broad transverse band, posteriorly whitish and anteriorly blue, blue submarginal spots and whitish marginal streaks. The basal part of the under surface with irregularly arranged, black, white-edged transverse streaks. The female has on the upperside a broad, curved white transverse band, proximally sharply defined, on the forewing and a bluish white transverse band on the hindwing and is hence very similar above to the female of violetta East Africa from Natal to Kenia in British East Africa.
A full description is also given by Walter Rothschild and Karl Jordan (1900). Novitates Zoologicae Volume 7:287-524. [1] page 379... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
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More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-Spotted Charaxes sighting in Durban on a given day, based on 35 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 56th most-seen of the 401 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-Spotted Charaxes in Durban on a given day, against under 5% in November to February, the lowest months. That is one of Durban's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain against 210 mm in January.
Among the best
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Blue-Spotted Charaxes sightings, Durban ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Nairobi (Kenya, about 10%).
Same genus: Charaxes
The closest relatives of the Blue-Spotted Charaxes that you can see in Durban (genus Charaxes, Emperor Butterflies) are White-Barred Emperor (about 10%), White Pearl Emperor (about 10%) and Green-Veined Emperor (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Blue-Spotted Charaxes is recorded against all the insects logged in Durban (35 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.
