Subtropical Lady
Daily sighting probability ~50% · Likely
at Quito

In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%

205 Verified sightings at Quito
28 In all 3 parks From 2019 to 2026
May Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Subtropical Lady

Vanessa carye, the western painted lady, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in South America, from the mountains of Colombia and west of Caracas (Venezuela) through Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, southern Brazil, and Paraguay to Patagonia in Argentina. It is also found on Easter Island and Tuamotus.

The larvae feed on Achyrocline flaccida and many other species. Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Lauca National Park 🇨🇱 Chile
~30%
2 Península Valdés 🇦🇷 Argentina
~30%
3 Nahuel Huapi National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 La Paz 🇧🇴 Bolivia
~80%
2 Cochabamba 🇧🇴 Bolivia
~60%
3 Quito 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~50%
4 Arequipa 🇵🇪 Peru
~50%
5 Santiago 🇨🇱 Chile
~40%
6 Mendoza 🇦🇷 Argentina
~30%
7 Rosario 🇦🇷 Argentina
~20%
8 Lima 🇵🇪 Peru
~20%
9 Buenos Aires 🇦🇷 Argentina
~10%
10 Montevideo 🇺🇾 Uruguay
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Subtropical Lady in Quito?

Likely

About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Subtropical Lady sighting in Quito on a given day, based on 205 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 4th most-seen of the 83 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Subtropical Lady in Quito?

January to November

In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Subtropical Lady in Quito on a given day, against about 30% in December, the lowest month.

What time of day is best to see a Subtropical Lady?

Between noon and 3 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Subtropical Lady sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Quito the best place to see a Subtropical Lady?

3rd of 13

Of the 13 cities where we can rate Subtropical Lady sightings, Quito ranks 3rd at about 50%. The best odds are in La Paz (Bolivia, about 80%) and Cochabamba (Bolivia, about 60%).

Where does the Subtropical Lady sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Subtropical Lady is recorded against all the insects logged in Quito (205 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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