Five-Bar Swordtail
Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
at Cuc Phuong National Park

In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%

9 Verified sightings at Cuc Phuong National Park From 2019 to 2026
128 In all 8 parks
June Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Five-Bar Swordtail

Graphium antiphates, The Five-bar swordtail is a species of papilionid butterfly found in South and Southeast Asia. The species was first described by Pieter Cramer in 1775. The ground colour of the upperside of both males and females is white. The forewing has the cell crossed by five short black bands, of which the basal extends to the dorsum, the sub-basal into interspace 1, the medial and pre-apical up to the median vein, and the apical or fifth along the discocellulars; this last band extends broadly on both sides of the veinlets and terminates at the lower apex of the cell; beyond these are broad postdiscal and terminal black transverse bands from costa to tornal angle; the two bands coalesce below vein 4 and terminate in a point at the tornus; the white portions of the cell anteriorly overlaid with pale green; short broken glossy green bands between the black cellular apical band and the discal band and anteriorly between the latter and the terminal band.

The upperside of the hindwing has the basal three-fourths uniformly white, with black markings on the underside that show through; the terminal fourth dark grey traversed by a curved irregular subterminal... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Cuc Phuong National Park 🇻🇳 Vietnam
~30%
2 Kaeng Krachan National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~20%
3 Sinharaja Forest Reserve 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~20%
4 Cat Tien National Park 🇻🇳 Vietnam
~20%
5 Gunung Leuser National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~20%
6 Taman Negara National Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~20%
7 Khao Sok National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%
8 Khao Yai National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Hong Kong 🇨🇳 China
~10%
2 Kuala Lumpur 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~10%
3 Tuen Mun 🇨🇳 China
~10%
4 Singapore 🇸🇬 Singapore
~10%
5 Guangzhou 🇨🇳 China
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Five-Bar Swordtail in Cuc Phuong National Park?

Possible

About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Five-Bar Swordtail sighting in Cuc Phuong National Park on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 69th most-seen of the 126 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Five-Bar Swordtail in Cuc Phuong National Park?

June

In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Five-Bar Swordtail in Cuc Phuong National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August and October–March, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Five-Bar Swordtail?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Five-Bar Swordtail 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 Cuc Phuong National Park the best place to see a Five-Bar Swordtail?

Yes

Of the 8 parks where we can rate Five-Bar Swordtail sightings, Cuc Phuong National Park has the highest daily chance: about 30%. Next come Kaeng Krachan National Park (Thailand, about 20%) and Sinharaja Forest Reserve (Sri Lanka, about 20%).

Which relatives of the Five-Bar Swordtail live in Cuc Phuong National Park?

Same genus: Graphium

The closest relatives of the Five-Bar Swordtail that you can see in Cuc Phuong National Park (genus Graphium, Swordtails, Jays, Bluebottles and allies) are Common Bluebottle (about 30%), Common Jay (about 30%) and Lesser Zebra (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Five-Bar Swordtail sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Five-Bar Swordtail is recorded against all the insects logged in Cuc Phuong National Park (9 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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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