Graphium sarpedon
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
Graphium sarpedon, the common bluebottle is a species of swallowtail butterfly that is found in East, South and Southeast Asia. There are approximately sixteen subspecies with differing geographical distributions. Upperside opaque black. Forewings and hindwings crossed from above the tornal area on the hindwing to near the apex of the forewing by a semi-hyaline broad pale blue medial band which is broadest in the middle, more or less greenish and macular anteriorly; the portion of the band that crosses interspaces 6, 7 and 8 on the hindwing white; beyond the band on the hindwing there is a sub-terminal line of blue slender lunules. Underside similar, ground colour dark brown. Hindwing: a short comparatively broad sub-basal band from costa to sub-costal vein, and the postdiscal area between the medial blue band and the sub-terminal lunules velvety black traversed by the pale veins and transversely, except in interspaces 6 and 7, by narrow crimson lines; lastly, a crimson spot near the tornal angle with an admarginal yellowish-white spot below it. Antenna, head, thorax and abdomen brown, the head and thorax suffused with greenish grey; beneath: the palpi, thorax and... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Namdapha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Cuc Phuong National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 3 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 4 | Kerinci Seblat National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 5 | Gunung Leuser National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 6 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 7 | Royal Manas National Park | 🇧🇹 Bhutan | |
| 8 | Taroko National Park | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 9 | Taman Negara National Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 10 | Khao Sok National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 11 | Cat Tien National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 12 | Kinabalu Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 13 | Danum Valley Conservation Area | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 14 | Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary | 🇲🇾 Malaysia |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Common Bluebottle sighting in Tokyo on a given day, based on 884 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 11th most-seen of the 1013 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July and September–October
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Common Bluebottle in Tokyo on a given day, against under 5% in December to March, the lowest months. Those are among Tokyo's wettest months, with about 200 mm of rain a month against 75 mm in February.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Bluebottle sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
19th of 36
Of the 36 cities where we can rate Common Bluebottle sightings, Tokyo ranks 19th at about 20%. The best odds are in Chongqing (China, about 40%), Nagoya (Japan, about 40%) and Hiroshima (Japan, about 30%).
Same family: Papilionidae
The closest relatives of the Common Bluebottle that you can see in Tokyo (family Papilionidae, Swallowtails and Parnassians) are Chinese Yellow Swallowtail (about 20%), Chinese Windmill (about 10%) and Old World Swallowtail (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Bluebottle is recorded against all the insects logged in Tokyo (884 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.
