Megisba malaya
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Megisba malaya, the Malayan, is a small species of butterfly found in South Asia and Southeast Asia. It belongs to the family of gossamer-winged butterflies (Lycaenidae). The species was first described by Thomas Horsfield in 1928.
It ranges from Sri Lanka and southern India to Bengal, and from Kumaon to Assam in India and Nepal, onto Myanmar. The butterfly is also found in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It is usually not a rare species, but may be less common, even rare, in parts of its range.
This butterfly resembles the Quaker (Neopithecops zalmora), especially in flight. The female Malayan has a broader and more rounded forewing than the male. Wet-season form: Upperside: from dull somewhat pale brown to dark brown, some specimens nearly uniform, others with a more or less distinct pale discal patch on the forewing. Hindwing: uniform; a slender short filamentous tail at apex of vein 1, very often absent. Underside: white. Forewing: with the following brown markings: a spot in cell, a transverse short line on the discocellulars, a postdiscal curved series of transverse spots or very short bars that cross the wing from costa to dorsum and are in irregular echelon one... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taroko National Park | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 2 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Malayan sighting in Taichung on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 144th most-seen of the 197 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Malayan in Taichung on a given day, against under 5% in August–September and November–March, the lowest months. That is one of Taichung's wettest months, with about 310 mm of rain against 40 mm in December.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Malayan sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 9 cities where we can rate Malayan sightings, Taichung ranks 3rd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Taipei (Taiwan, about 10%) and Kaohsiung (Taiwan, about 10%).
Same family: Lycaenidae
The closest relatives of the Malayan that you can see in Taichung (family Lycaenidae, Gossamer-winged Butterflies) are Pale Grass Blue (about 40%), Zebra Blue (about 20%) and Lesser Grass Blue (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Malayan is recorded against all the insects logged in Taichung (7 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.
