Neptis saclava
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
Neptis saclava, the spotted sailer, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is native to Madagascar and to large areas of sub-Saharan Africa. Its wingspan is 40–45 mm in males and 45–48 mm in females The hindwing beneath at the base with whitish ground-colour and numerous irregular light red-brown spots, more or less joined together; cell of the forewing above unicolorous or with small white dots, beneath white with irregular light red-brown markings; discal spot 4 of the forewing is absent or very small, dot-like; the hindmarginal spot of the forewing is. large and touches the spot in cellule 2 or is only narrowly separated from it; the median band of the hindwing is 4—-7 mm. in breadth. Madagascar
Images BOLD Adults are on the wing year round with a peak from December to May. The larvae feed on Acalypha glabrata, Combretum bracteosum, Ricinus communis, Australina, and Pilea. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 2 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nairobi | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 2 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Lusaka | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 4 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Spotted Sailer sighting in Kruger National Park on a given day, based on 41 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 82nd most-seen of the 748 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June and July
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Spotted Sailer in Kruger National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to March, the lowest months. Those are among Kruger National Park's driest months, with about 5 mm of rain a month against 110 mm in February.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Spotted Sailer sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Spotted Sailer sightings, Kruger National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Gonarezhou National Park (Zimbabwe, about 30%).
Same family: Nymphalidae
The closest relatives of the Spotted Sailer that you can see in Kruger National Park (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Dancing Amber (about 20%), Plain Tiger Butterfly (about 20%) and Spotted Joker (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Spotted Sailer is recorded against all the insects logged in Kruger National Park (41 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.
