Zeltus amasa
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
Zeltus is a butterfly genus in the family Lycaenidae, the blues. It is monotypic containing the species Zeltus amasa, the fluffy tit, a small butterfly found in Indomalayan realm. The butterfly is found in India, specially the Western Ghats, Sikkim to Assam. It can also be found in Myanmar, Thailand, West Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, Singapore, Java and the Philippines.
The genus is small, and its wingspan is 28–32 millimeter. It has long fluffy tail (v.1, 13 mm.; v.2, 7 mm), which makes it easily recognizable. The forewing (FW) color of male Zeltus is blackish, and the basal area's color is pale blue. The forewing color of female Zeltus is dark brown. The hindwing (HW) color of the male is pale blue, the color of the apex is black.
Zeltus amasa has false eyes, legs, and antennae on the hindwing, which resembles and diverts attention from its real head. If it is attacked, its starts flying in an unexpected direction. Male. Upperside. Forewing with a small basal space, consisting of the basal half of the cell, and the lower basal portion of the wing greyish-blue, the rest of the wing black. Hindwing with a large black patch at the apex, the rest of the wing greyish-blue... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Namdapha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Royal Manas National Park | 🇧🇹 Bhutan | |
| 3 | Cuc Phuong National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 4 | Taman Negara National Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 5 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 6 | Cat Tien National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 7 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 8 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Fluffy Tit sighting in Hong Kong on a given day, based on 30 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 330th most-seen of the 1125 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April, June, August–September and November–December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Fluffy Tit in Hong Kong on a given day, against under 5% in January–March, May, July and October, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Fluffy Tit sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 6
Of the 6 cities where we can rate Fluffy Tit sightings, Hong Kong ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in Tuen Mun (China, about 20%), Singapore (Singapore, about 10%) and Jakarta (Indonesia, about 10%).
Same family: Lycaenidae
The closest relatives of the Fluffy Tit that you can see in Hong Kong (family Lycaenidae, Gossamer-winged Butterflies) are Pale Grass Blue (about 20%), Plains Cupid (about 20%) and Abisara echeria (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Fluffy Tit is recorded against all the insects logged in Hong Kong (30 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.
