Heliophorus epicles
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
Heliophorus epicles, commonly known as the purple sapphire, is a species of lycaenid or blue butterfly found in Asia. The species was first described by Jean Baptiste Godart in 1823. The subspecies of Heliophorus epicles are:
Apart from that they can be found from Kumaon in the Himalayas to southern Myanmar. They mainly inhabit in dense forest region. List of butterflies of India List of butterflies of India (Lycaenidae) Evans, W.H. (1932). The Identification of Indian Butterflies (2nd ed.). Mumbai, India: Bombay Natural History Society. Gaonkar, Harish (1996). Butterflies of... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Namdapha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Purple Sapphire sighting in Hong Kong on a given day, based on 36 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 309th 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.
March, May–June, August and October–December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Purple Sapphire in Hong Kong on a given day, against under 5% in January–February, April, July and September, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Purple Sapphire sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 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 Purple Sapphire sightings, Hong Kong ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Tuen Mun (China, about 20%).
Same family: Lycaenidae
The closest relatives of the Purple Sapphire 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 Purple Sapphire is recorded against all the insects logged in Hong Kong (36 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.
