Charaxes varanes
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Charaxes varanes, the pearl emperor, Karkloof emperor, or pearl charaxes, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae, found in Africa from Saudi Arabia to South Africa. The wingspan is 65–70 millimetres (2.6–2.8 in) in males and 70–90 millimetres (2.8–3.5 in) in females. Its flight period is year round.
Larvae feed on Allophylus species and Cardiospermum halicacabum. The upperside of the body and roughly the inner half of the wings is white, sharply delineated on the forewings parallel to the length of the body, and diffusely delineated parallel to the margin of the hindwing. Outside the white area of the upperside, the wings are orange to brown, with a pattern of lighter and darker flecks. The underside of the body and wings mimic a dead leaf. A slightly diffuse but clear, sepia brown straight line divides the under wing in a zone next to the body and a zone near the wings' edges. The inner zone is mostly light beige with three parallel, curved, interrupted, grey-brown wavy lines, circling the wings' attachment to the body. A triangle based on the front of the forewing and bordering the division line has the dark grayish-brown color of the outer zone. The outer zone... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a White Pearl Emperor sighting in Durban on a given day, based on 46 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 45th most-seen of the 401 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June to August
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a White Pearl Emperor in Durban on a given day, against under 5% in February, September and November–December, the lowest months. Those are among Durban's driest months, with about 35 mm of rain a month against 210 mm in January.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White Pearl Emperor sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 cities where we can rate White Pearl Emperor sightings, Durban ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Lusaka (Zambia, about 20%).
Same genus: Charaxes
The closest relatives of the White Pearl Emperor that you can see in Durban (genus Charaxes, Emperor Butterflies) are White-Barred Emperor (about 10%), Blue-Spotted Charaxes (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 White Pearl Emperor is recorded against all the insects logged in Durban (46 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.
