Spialia spio
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
Spialia spio, the mountain sandman or Spio grizzled skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found in tropical Africa and south-western Arabia. It is found in eastern South Africa. The wingspan is 22–29 mm for males and 28–31 mm for females. Adults are on wing year-round in warmer areas. In South Africa it is more common in warmer months. In cooler areas adults are on wing from August to April.
The larvae feed on Lavatera arborea, Hibiscus (including Hibiscus aethiopicus, Hibiscus gossypinus and Hibiscus pusillus), Sida, Pavonia (including Pavonia burchellii, Pavonia macrophylla and Pavonia columella), Triumfetta and Hermannia species (including Hermannia diffusa, Hermannia incana, Hermannia comosa, Hermannia coccocarpa, Hermannia candicans, Hermannia pilosula, Hermannia pallius, Hermannia pollens and Hermannia cuneifolia). Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 2 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a White-Spot Sandman sighting in Kruger National Park on a given day, based on 23 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 243rd 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 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May to August
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a White-Spot Sandman in Kruger National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to April, 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 noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-Spot Sandman sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate White-Spot Sandman sightings, Kruger National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Gonarezhou National Park (Zimbabwe, about 30%) and Addo Elephant National Park (South Africa, about 10%).
Same family: Hesperiidae
The closest relatives of the White-Spot Sandman that you can see in Kruger National Park (family Hesperiidae, Skippers) are Striped Policeman (about 10%), Dark Elfin (about 10%) and Orange Elfin (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-Spot Sandman is recorded against all the insects logged in Kruger National Park (23 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.
