Catopsilia florella
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
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 Pretoria on a given day, based on 58 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 22nd most-seen of the 274 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April and June
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report an African Migrant in Pretoria on a given day, against under 5% in October to December, the lowest months. Those are among Pretoria's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain a month against 130 mm in December.
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.
5th of 14
Of the 14 cities where we can rate African Migrant sightings, Pretoria ranks 5th 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 Pretoria (family Pieridae, Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs) are Pioneer White (about 20%), Broad-Bordered Grass Yellow (about 20%) and African Caper (about 10%), 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 Pretoria (58 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.
