Hypolycaena philippus
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Hypolycaena philippus, the purple-brown hairstreak or common hairstreak, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is native to sub-Saharan Africa where it is commonly found in wooded locations. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Common Hairstreak sighting in Kruger National Park on a given day, based on 71 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 53rd most-seen of the 748 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.
May
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Common Hairstreak in Kruger National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April and August, the lowest months. That is one of Kruger National Park's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain against 110 mm in February.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Hairstreak sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Common Hairstreak sightings, Kruger National Park ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in iSimangaliso Wetland Park (South Africa, about 20%), uMkhuze Game Reserve (South Africa, about 20%) and Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park (South Africa, about 10%).
Same family: Lycaenidae
The closest relatives of the Common Hairstreak that you can see in Kruger National Park (family Lycaenidae, Gossamer-winged Butterflies) are Leaden Hairtail (about 10%), Axiocerses perion (about 10%) and African Grass Blue (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Hairstreak is recorded against all the insects logged in Kruger National Park (71 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.
