Chinese Peacock Swallowtail

Chinese Peacock Swallowtail

Papilio bianor

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Taipei

In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%

61 Verified sightings at Taipei
20 In 1 park From 2019 to 2026
March Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Chinese Peacock Swallowtail

Papilio bianor, also known as the common peacock, is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae, the swallowtails. It is native to Continental Asia. It is the state butterfly of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. This species is variable in size. Individuals emerged in the spring reach 4 to 8 centimeters wide, while those emerged in the summer can reach 12 centimeters. The forewings are black with dark veining and green scales. The undersides are brown, turning white distally with dark veining. The hindwings are tailed and have ridged edges containing reddish eyespots. The body is black with green scales.

The male has black hair on the forewings, which the female lacks.. P. bianor. Geographically as well as seasonally very variable. male: the pilose stripes broad, the posterior three usually united, when they are separated the stripe of the lower median remains broader than the interspace, which separates it from the stripe of the submedian fold; upper surface of the forewing dusted with green or greenblue, this scaling commonly condensed into a band before the narrowly dark distal margin; upper surface of the hindwing anteriorly blue... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Taroko National Park 🇹🇼 Taiwan
~10%

More parks will be added in future updates.

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Changzhou 🇨🇳 China
~30%
2 Guiyang 🇨🇳 China
~30%
3 Chongqing 🇨🇳 China
~30%
4 Wuhan 🇨🇳 China
~20%
5 Hefei 🇨🇳 China
~20%
6 Nanjing 🇨🇳 China
~20%
7 Changsha 🇨🇳 China
~20%
8 Suzhou 🇨🇳 China
~10%
9 Chengdu 🇨🇳 China
~10%
10 Kunming 🇨🇳 China
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Chinese Peacock Swallowtail in Taipei?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Chinese Peacock Swallowtail sighting in Taipei on a given day, based on 61 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 180th most-seen of the 765 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.

When is the best time to see a Chinese Peacock Swallowtail in Taipei?

February–April and July–November

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Chinese Peacock Swallowtail in Taipei on a given day, against under 5% in May–June and December–January, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Chinese Peacock Swallowtail?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Chinese Peacock Swallowtail 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 Taipei the best place to see a Chinese Peacock Swallowtail?

15th of 16

Of the 16 cities where we can rate Chinese Peacock Swallowtail sightings, Taipei ranks 15th at about 10%. The best odds are in Changzhou (China, about 30%), Guiyang (China, about 30%) and Chongqing (China, about 30%).

Which relatives of the Chinese Peacock Swallowtail live in Taipei?

Same genus: Papilio

The closest relatives of the Chinese Peacock Swallowtail that you can see in Taipei (genus Papilio, Common Swallowtails) are Great Mormon Swallowtail (about 20%), Lime Swallowtail (about 20%) and Spangle Swallowtail (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Chinese Peacock Swallowtail sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Chinese Peacock Swallowtail is recorded against all the insects logged in Taipei (61 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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