Phalanta phalantha
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Phalanta phalantha, the common leopard or spotted rustic, is a sun-loving butterfly of the nymphalid or brush-footed butterfly family. The common leopard is a medium-sized butterfly with a wingspan of 50–55 mm with a tawny colour and marked with black spots. The underside of the butterfly is more glossy than the upper and both the male and female are similar looking. A more prominent purple gloss on the underside is found in the dry-season form of this butterfly.
Male aud female. Upperside bright yellowish-ochreous. Forewing with two black short slender sinuous bars across middle of the cell, a similar darker pair at its end, followed beyond by a short broad sinuous streak from the costa to the lower radial, and is then succeeded below the cell by an inwardly-oblique series of four irregular-shaped spots, and beyond by a medial-discal transverse row of similarly disposed narrow spots, an outer-discal row of round spots, then an inner submarginal sinuous line, confluent with an outer straight line, and a marginal row of triangular spots. Hindwing with a slightly-defined slender black lunule within the cell, two before its end, and two also above it; a transverse inner... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mudumalai National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 3 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prayagraj | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Accra | 🇬🇭 Ghana | |
| 3 | Jabalpur | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Thrissur | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Kanpur | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Chandigarh | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Dehradun | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Lusaka | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 9 | Chennai | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Chattogram | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Common Leopard sighting in Johannesburg on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 139th most-seen of the 213 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March to May
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Common Leopard in Johannesburg on a given day, against under 5% in June to February, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Leopard sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
32nd of 35
Of the 35 cities where we can rate Common Leopard sightings, Johannesburg ranks 32nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Prayagraj (India, about 30%), Accra (Ghana, about 30%) and Jabalpur (India, about 30%).
Same family: Nymphalidae
The closest relatives of the Common Leopard that you can see in Johannesburg (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Garden Acraea (about 30%), Junonia archesia (about 30%) and Painted Lady (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Leopard is recorded against all the insects logged in Johannesburg (8 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.
