Catopsilia florella
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
Catopsilia florella, the African migrant, African emigrant, or common vagrant, is a butterfly of the family Pieridae. It is found in Africa (including Madagascar), Arabia (United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman) and the Canary Islands. Like Catopsilia pomona, this species also has a habit of migration. Many early authors mentioned the presence of this species in Asia; but those were probably due to confusion arises as Catopsilia pyranthe females exhibit a lot of seasonal variations. Catopsilia florella is not included as a species in India in any recent checklists.
The wingspan is 54–60 mm for males and 56–66 mm for females. Adults are on wing year-round. From South Africa, adults migrate from summer to autumn. They fly in a north-eastern direction. The larvae feed on Senna occidentalis, Senna septentrionalis, Senna petersiana, Senna italica, Cassia javanica, and Cassia fistula. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 3 | Gorongosa National Park | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | |
| 4 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 7 | Etosha National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 8 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 9 | Namib-Naukluft National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 10 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 11 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 12 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Accra | 🇬🇭 Ghana | |
| 2 | Kigali | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 3 | Ouagadougou | 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso | |
| 4 | Lusaka | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 5 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Cairo | 🇪🇬 Egypt | |
| 7 | Antananarivo | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 8 | Nairobi | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 9 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 10 | Kampala | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report an African Migrant sighting in Lusaka on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 30th most-seen of the 72 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April–July and September
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report an African Migrant in Lusaka on a given day, against under 5% in August, October and December–February, the lowest months. Those are among Lusaka's driest months, with about 5 mm of rain a month against 210 mm in January.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most African Migrant sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 14
Of the 14 cities where we can rate African Migrant sightings, Lusaka ranks 4th at about 20%. The best odds are in Accra (Ghana, about 30%), Kigali (Rwanda, about 30%) and Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso, about 20%).
Same family: Pieridae
The closest relatives of the African Migrant that you can see in Lusaka (family Pieridae, Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs) are African Caper (about 50%), Common Grass Yellow (about 30%) and Rüppell's Dotted Border (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the African Migrant is recorded against all the insects logged in Lusaka (12 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.
