Azanus jesous
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
Azanus jesous, the African babul blue or topaz-spotted blue, is a small butterfly found in Africa, Egypt, Syria, India, Sri Lanka and Myanmar that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family. The male upperside is a paler and much brighter purple than in A. ubaldus, the dark blue tint at the base of the wings is more pronounced. Forewing: without the clothing of specialized hair-like scales so conspicuous in A. ubaldus. Hindwing: with the dark tornal spots very obscure. Forewings and hindwings: with only slender dark anteciliary lines, but no regular brown edging. Underside: dull pale grey. Forewing: costal margin brown, a black white-encircled spot in cell, a dark chestnut-brown streak between vein 12 and subcostal vein; similarly coloured but somewhat paler transverse bars cross the upper discal area of the wing as follows: one on the discocellulars and three beyond, each bar edged internally and externally with white; below this two elongate brownish white-edged spots placed en echelon and beyond a slender, unbroken, transverse, postdiscal brown line; a transverse subterminal series of black spots, each surrounded with white, and a slender anteciliary dark line. In... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 3 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 4 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an African Babul Blue sighting in Tel Aviv on a given day, based on 39 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 38th most-seen of the 264 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.
July
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report an African Babul Blue in Tel Aviv on a given day, against under 5% in November to April, the lowest months. That is one of Tel Aviv's driest months, with almost no rain against 90 mm in January.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most African Babul Blue sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 7 cities where we can rate African Babul Blue sightings, Tel Aviv has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Pune (India, about 10%) and Hyderabad (India, about 10%).
Same family: Lycaenidae
The closest relatives of the African Babul Blue that you can see in Tel Aviv (family Lycaenidae, Gossamer-winged Butterflies) are Lang's Short-Tailed Blue (about 30%), Plains Cupid (about 30%) and Pea Blue (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the African Babul Blue is recorded against all the insects logged in Tel Aviv (39 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.
