Blue-Spotted Charaxes

Blue-Spotted Charaxes

Charaxes cithaeron

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Nairobi

In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%

13 Verified sightings at Nairobi
February Best month

About the Blue-Spotted Charaxes

Charaxes cithaeron, the blue-spotted emperor or blue-spotted charaxes, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in south-east Africa. The wingspan is 70–80 mm in males and 85–95 mm in females. Ch. cithaeron Fldr. male: forewing above black with two transverse rows of blue spots; the proximal row in the middle, composed of 6 spots (2 in cellule lb and one each in 2-5), the distal consists of 8 spots, of which the first, in 6 and 7, are white; an elongate blue spot in la beyond the middle. Hindwing above beyond the middle with a broad transverse band, posteriorly whitish and anteriorly blue, blue submarginal spots and whitish marginal streaks. The basal part of the under surface with irregularly arranged, black, white-edged transverse streaks. The female has on the upperside a broad, curved white transverse band, proximally sharply defined, on the forewing and a bluish white transverse band on the hindwing and is hence very similar above to the female of violetta East Africa from Natal to Kenia in British East Africa.

A full description is also given by Walter Rothschild and Karl Jordan (1900). Novitates Zoologicae Volume 7:287-524. [1] page 379... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability

More parks will be added in future updates.

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Nairobi 🇰🇪 Kenya
~10%
2 Durban 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Blue-Spotted Charaxes in Nairobi?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-Spotted Charaxes sighting in Nairobi on a given day, based on 13 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 37th most-seen of the 123 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.

When is the best time to see a Blue-Spotted Charaxes in Nairobi?

January–February and September–November

In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-Spotted Charaxes in Nairobi on a given day, against under 5% in May to July, the lowest months.

Is Nairobi the best place to see a Blue-Spotted Charaxes?

Yes

Of the 2 cities where we can rate Blue-Spotted Charaxes sightings, Nairobi has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Durban (South Africa, about 10%).

Which relatives of the Blue-Spotted Charaxes live in Nairobi?

Same genus: Charaxes

The closest relatives of the Blue-Spotted Charaxes that you can see in Nairobi (genus Charaxes, Emperor Butterflies) are Green-Veined Emperor (about 20%) and White-Barred Emperor (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Blue-Spotted Charaxes sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Blue-Spotted Charaxes is recorded against all the insects logged in Nairobi (13 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.

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