Niphanda fusca
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
Niphanda fusca is a parasitic butterfly primarily found in East Asian countries such as Japan and Korea. It is a "cuckoo-type" parasite of the ant Camponotus japonicus. It utilizes chemical mimicry to trick the host worker ants into adopting it while it is a third-instar caterpillar. From there, it is fed mouth-to-mouth by the worker ants as though it were one of their own young.
The butterflies of this species differ in color between the male and the female. The male has more of a purple tint with a gray underwing. N. fusca is currently an endangered butterfly, with an alarming and rapid decrease in numbers. Many locations that have previously recorded sightings have now become areas where the butterfly is extinct. These changes, which have come about mostly in the past 40 years, have resulted from habitat changes moving away from preferred early stage succession ecosystems, as well as habitat changes due to urban development.
The butterfly has broad spotted wings, with larger and more pronounced patterns in the forewings. It is a beige-gray color, while its spotted patterns are a darker brown. The male butterfly has been observed to have a gray underwing. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nanjing | 🇨🇳 China |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Niphanda fusca sighting in Nanjing on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 242nd most-seen of the 272 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May to July
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Niphanda fusca in Nanjing on a given day, against under 5% in August to April, the lowest months. Those are among Nanjing's wettest months, with about 170 mm of rain a month against 40 mm in December.
Only Nanjing, in our data
Nanjing is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Niphanda fusca sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Lycaenidae
The closest relatives of the Niphanda fusca that you can see in Nanjing (family Lycaenidae, Gossamer-winged Butterflies) are Pale Grass Blue (about 20%), Angled Sunbeam (about 20%) and Holly Blue (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Niphanda fusca is recorded against all the insects logged in Nanjing (6 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.
