Graphium macleayanus
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
Graphium macleayanus, the Macleay's swallowtail, is a butterfly belonging to the family Papilionidae. The species was named after Alexander Macleay. Macleay's swallowtail was first described by William Elford Leach in 1814. The name is synonymous with Papilio macleayanus.
The caterpillar grows to a length of 4 cm. The pupa is green with thin yellow lines. The adult female Macleay's swallowtail has a wingspan of 59 mm, whilst the adult male has a wingspan of 53 mm. The upperside of the wing is green with white markings and black edges. The lower surface is a deeper green with black, brown and white markings. The lower wings are strongly tailed.
The Macleay's swallowtail is one of the most widely distributed swallowtail butterflies in Australia. It is found in eastern Australia including the ACT, New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania. It is the only swallowtail found in Tasmania. The species has also been found on Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island, but... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Lamington National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Kosciuszko National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Springbrook National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sydney | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Macleay's Swallowtail sighting in Lamington National Park on a given day, based on 48 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 46th most-seen of the 430 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Macleay's Swallowtail in Lamington National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March and May–July, the lowest months. That is one of Lamington National Park's wettest months, with about 160 mm of rain against 40 mm in August.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Macleay's Swallowtail sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Macleay's Swallowtail sightings, Lamington National Park ranks 2nd at about 20%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park (Australia, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Macleay's Swallowtail is recorded against all the insects logged in Lamington National Park (48 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.
