Tirumala petiverana
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
Tirumala petiverana, the blue monarch, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is widespread in tropical and subtropical Sub-Saharan Africa. Their habitat consists of Afromontane, lowland and riverine forests as well as moist savanna.
The wingspan is 60–75 mm. There is one generation per year. Adults are on wing from February to May (with peaks in April) in Zimbabwe. The larvae feed on Pergularia extensa, Pergularia daemia, Daemia, Hoya, and Marsdenia rubicunda.
Seitz, A. Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 25 Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kigali | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 2 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | San Pedro Sula | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 4 | San Salvador | 🇸🇻 El Salvador | |
| 5 | Nairobi | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 6 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Blue Monarch sighting in Kigali on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 19th most-seen of the 25 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Blue Monarch in Kigali on a given day, against under 5% in September to May, the lowest months. That is one of Kigali's driest months, with about 55 mm of rain against 180 mm in April.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Blue Monarch sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 6 cities where we can rate Blue Monarch sightings, Kigali has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come San José (Costa Rica, about 20%) and San Pedro Sula (Honduras, about 10%).
Same family: Nymphalidae
The closest relatives of the Blue Monarch that you can see in Kigali (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Soldier Commodore (about 50%), Dark Blue Pansy (about 40%) and Mycalesis rhacotis (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Blue Monarch is recorded against all the insects logged in Kigali (7 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.
