Hypolycaena philippus
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Hypolycaena philippus, the purple-brown hairstreak or common hairstreak, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is native to sub-Saharan Africa where it is commonly found in wooded locations. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Common Hairstreak sighting in Lusaka on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 60th most-seen of the 72 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Common Hairstreak in Lusaka on a given day, against under 5% in January–March, May and July–November, the lowest months. That is one of Lusaka's driest months, with about 30 mm of rain against 210 mm in January.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Hairstreak sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 7
Of the 7 cities where we can rate Common Hairstreak sightings, Lusaka ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire, about 40%), Lagos (Nigeria, about 30%) and Accra (Ghana, about 20%).
Same family: Lycaenidae
The closest relatives of the Common Hairstreak that you can see in Lusaka (family Lycaenidae, Gossamer-winged Butterflies) are African Grass Blue (about 90%), Lemolea Harvester (about 60%) and Geranium Bronze (about 60%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Hairstreak is recorded against all the insects logged in Lusaka (5 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.
