Precis octavia
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
Precis octavia, the gaudy commodore, is a species of butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is native to Africa. Precis octavia was first described by Pieter Cramer in 1777. The nominate subspecies (Precis octavia octavia) flies from West Africa, through Cameroon, Gabon, Republic of Central Africa, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, north to Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Zimbabwe. It has a wet season form—orange with a pinkish flush and black markings on the upperside—and a dry season form—shining blue with a vivid red band on the hindwing. In his authoritative 2-vol. book "Butterflies of West Africa", Torben B. Larsen states "I believe this species has the most spectacular seasonal dimorphism of any butterfly, and the two morphs were [first] described as distinct species."
The southern subspecies (Precis octavia sesamus) also has two seasonal forms: a summer form (natalensis) which is red with black markings, and a winter form (sesamus) which is blue with a line of red markings on the wings. The winter form is slightly larger than the summer form. In both forms the males and females are alike, however the females are slightly larger.
Intermediate... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bwindi Impenetrable National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 2 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Gaudy Commodore sighting in Durban on a given day, based on 139 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 8th 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.
February
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Gaudy Commodore in Durban on a given day, against under 5% in June, the lowest month.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Gaudy Commodore sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 4
Of the 4 cities where we can rate Gaudy Commodore sightings, Durban ranks 3rd at about 20%. The best odds are in Lusaka (Zambia, about 30%) and Kampala (Uganda, about 20%).
Same family: Nymphalidae
The closest relatives of the Gaudy Commodore that you can see in Durban (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Spotted Brown Pansy (about 30%), Dark Blue Pansy (about 20%) and Common Mother-Of-Pearl (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Gaudy Commodore is recorded against all the insects logged in Durban (139 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.
