Daphnis hypothous
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Daphnis hypothous, the jade hawkmoth, is a species of moth in the family Sphingidae described by Pieter Cramer in 1780. It is known from Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Myanmar, southern China, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. It is a rare vagrant to the Western Palaearctic realm. During the last hundred years a number have been discovered within the Middle East and one was even found in Scotland late in the 20th century but this was probably imported as a pupa with cargo.
The wingspan is 86–120 mm. It is a very fast flyer and is attracted to both sweet-smelling flowers and light. It differs from Daphnis nerii in having the head and collar uniformly dark purplish brown. Thorax and first two abdominal segments are dark green with a white fringe to the first segment. Other abdominal segments are dark olive green with the streaks and spots as in D. nerii.
Wings are similar to D. nerii but very much darker on both dorsal and ventral side. A white spot is present at the apex of forewing and at the end of cell of forewing ventral side. Larva is green with yellow dots at its sides. There is a dark dorsal line, a subdorsal purple-red band, edged with yellow on thoracic... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Danum Valley Conservation Area | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 2 | Sinharaja Forest Reserve | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 3 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 4 | Kinabalu Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Jade Hawkmoth sighting in Kinabalu Park on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 168th most-seen of the 297 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January, March and November
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Jade Hawkmoth in Kinabalu Park on a given day, against under 5% in February, June–July, September–October and December, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Jade Hawkmoth sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
4th of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Jade Hawkmoth sightings, Kinabalu Park ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Danum Valley Conservation Area (Malaysia, about 20%), Sinharaja Forest Reserve (Sri Lanka, about 20%) and Khao Yai National Park (Thailand, about 20%).
Same family: Sphingidae
The closest relatives of the Jade Hawkmoth that you can see in Kinabalu Park (family Sphingidae, Sphinx Moths) are Striped Green Hawkmoth (about 10%), Durian Hawkmoth (about 10%) and Notonagemia analis (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Jade Hawkmoth is recorded against all the insects logged in Kinabalu 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.
