Freyeria trochylus
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Freyeria trochylus, the grass jewel, is a small butterfly found in Africa, Arabia (United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia), southern Europe (Bulgaria and Greece), India and southern Asia that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family.
Male upperside: brown, somewhat variable in tint. Specimens from dry localities are much paler than those taken in areas with a comparatively heavy rainfall. Forewing: uniform, with a very ill-defined anteciliary dark line in some specimens. Hindwing: a subterminal series of round black spots crowned with pale ochraceous, the posterior four spots generally well defined and outwardly edged with white, the anterior spots obsolescent and without the interior edging of yellow or the outer edging of white; a well-marked, slender anteciliary black line. Cilia white, basal halves brown.
Underside: pale silky brown. Forewing: with the following white markings: a short line on the inner and outer sides of the discocellulars; a transverse, slightly curved, discal series of small, more or less incomplete rings; a transverse postdiscal series of disconnected slender lunules; a subterminal series of similar but more regular lunules and a terminal... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Namib-Naukluft National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 4 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lusaka | 🇿🇲 Zambia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Grass Jewel sighting in iSimangaliso Wetland Park on a given day, based on 15 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 137th most-seen of the 316 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.
December to June
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Grass Jewel in iSimangaliso Wetland Park on a given day, against under 5% in July to November, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Brown Grass Jewel sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Brown Grass Jewel sightings, iSimangaliso Wetland Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (South Africa, about 20%).
Same family: Lycaenidae
The closest relatives of the Brown Grass Jewel that you can see in iSimangaliso Wetland Park (family Lycaenidae, Gossamer-winged Butterflies) are Common Hairstreak (about 20%), Forest Hairtail (about 20%) and African Grass Blue (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Brown Grass Jewel is recorded against all the insects logged in iSimangaliso Wetland Park (15 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.
