Urania fulgens
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
Urania fulgens, the urania swallowtail moth or green page moth, is a day-flying moth of the family Uraniidae. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1854. It is found from Veracruz, Mexico, through Central America to northwestern South America (west of the Andes and south to Ecuador). It is highly migratory and has been recorded as a vagrant to the US state of Texas.
It is sometimes confused with the similar U. leilus, but that species is found east of the Andes in South America, is slightly larger, and has more white to the "tail". The two have been treated as conspecific. As appears to be the case for all Urania, the larvae of U. fulgens feed exclusively on the toxic Omphalea species. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Corcovado National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Utría National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 3 | Carara National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Piedras Blancas National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 5 | Coiba National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 6 | Manuel Antonio National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 7 | Darién National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 8 | Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 9 | Tortuguero National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 10 | Marino Ballena National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 11 | Bastimentos Island National Marine Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 12 | Cahuita National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 13 | Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 14 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 15 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 16 | Soberanía National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 17 | Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 18 | Arenal Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 19 | Parque Natural Metropolitano | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 20 | Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Medellín | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 2 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 3 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Urania Swallowtail Moth sighting in San José on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 126th most-seen of the 239 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.
April, June–July and September–October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Urania Swallowtail Moth in San José on a given day, against under 5% in May, August and November–March, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Urania Swallowtail Moth sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 3 cities where we can rate Urania Swallowtail Moth sightings, San José ranks 3rd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Medellín (Colombia, about 10%) and Panama City (Panama, about 10%).
Same order: Lepidoptera
The closest relatives of the Urania Swallowtail Moth that you can see in San José (order Lepidoptera, Butterflies and Moths) are Monarch (about 30%), Banded Peacock (about 30%) and Rusty-Tipped Page (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Urania Swallowtail Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in San José (11 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.
