Acraea esebria
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
Acraea esebria, the dusky acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae from southern and eastern Africa. The wingspan is 45–55 mm for males and 53–60 mm for females. Males and females both show the same range of colouration.
The dusky acraea is a variable species, but the most common form is black with a white band across the forewing and a white patch on the lower forewing and on the hindwing. There are a number of described morphs (with white, yellow or orange patches) including:
f. ertli f. esebria f. protea (black with creamy-yellow patches) f. monteironis (black with white patches) f. jacksoni The numerous forms of A. esebria differ especially in the colour of the light markings, in the breadth of the subapical band and the hindmarginal spot of the forewing and in the development of the dark marginal band on the upperside of the hindwing. According to Trimen the larva is light ochre-brown; each segment in the middle with a black transverse streak edged with light yellow; head black; spines black, only the lateral spines on segments 5-11 yellow; lives on species of the genus Fleurya. Pupa white with slightly yellowish tone and... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Dusky Acraea sighting in Durban on a given day, based on 200 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 5th most-seen of the 401 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Dusky Acraea in Durban on a given day, against under 5% in November, the lowest month.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Dusky Acraea sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Durban, in our data
Durban is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Dusky Acraea sightings: about 20% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same genus: Acraea
The closest relatives of the Dusky Acraea that you can see in Durban (genus Acraea, Acraeas) are Whitebar Acraea (about 20%), Dancing Amber (about 10%) and Yellow-Banded Amber (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Dusky Acraea is recorded against all the insects logged in Durban (200 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.
