Cymothoe alcimeda
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
Cymothoe alcimeda, the battling glider, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in South Africa and Zimbabwe. The wingspan is 40–50 mm for males and 45–55 mm for females. Adults are on wing year round, but mainly in summer from October onwards. Peaks occur in November and from February to April.
The larvae feed on Kiggelaria africana. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Battling Glider sighting in Garden Route National Park on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 153rd most-seen of the 298 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November to March
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Battling Glider in Garden Route National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April to October, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Battling Glider sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Garden Route National Park, in our data
Garden Route National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Battling Glider sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Nymphalidae
The closest relatives of the Battling Glider that you can see in Garden Route National Park (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Mycalesis rhacotis (about 30%), Rainforest Dancing Brown (about 30%) and Painted Lady (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Battling Glider is recorded against all the insects logged in Garden Route National Park (12 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.
