Discolampa ethion
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Discolampa ethion, the banded blue Pierrot, is a contrastingly marked butterfly found in South Asia that belongs to the blues or family Lycaenidae. The species was first described by John O. Westwood in 1851. The following description is taken from Charles Thomas Bingham Fauna of British India: Butterflies Volume II (1907).
Male. Upperside, forewings and hindwings: medially and obliquely crossed by a very broad pure white band that is broadly edged on its inner and outer margins by dark blue and does not extend on the forewing above vein 6, just above vein 3 it projects outwards for a short distance whence the inner margin of its dark blue edging is carried obliquely to vein 6; the extreme bases of the wings black; the costal margin of the fore and the terminal margins of both forewings and hindwings broadly black; on both wings a light iridescent blue suffusion from base outwards. Underside: snow-white. Forewings and hindwings: the following jet-black markings: Forewing: two broad more or less parallel streaks from base extended obliquely to the costa, the outer of the two apically curved and on the costa coalescent with the inner streak; costal margin very narrowly... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nagarhole National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Taman Negara National Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 3 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Banded Blue Pierrot sighting in Mysuru on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 68th most-seen of the 95 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.
August to October
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Banded Blue Pierrot in Mysuru on a given day, against under 5% in November to July, the lowest months. Those are among Mysuru's wettest months, with about 130 mm of rain a month against almost none in January.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Banded Blue Pierrot sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 3 cities where we can rate Banded Blue Pierrot sightings, Mysuru has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Kochi (India, under 5%) and Bengaluru (India, under 5%).
Same family: Lycaenidae
The closest relatives of the Banded Blue Pierrot that you can see in Mysuru (family Lycaenidae, Gossamer-winged Butterflies) are Red Pierrot (about 30%), Zebra Blue (about 20%) and Common Pierrot (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Banded Blue Pierrot is recorded against all the insects logged in Mysuru (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.
