Siproeta stelenes
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
Siproeta stelenes (malachite) is a Neotropical brush-footed butterfly (family Nymphalidae). The malachite has large wings that are black and brilliant green or yellow-green on the upperside and light brown and olive green on the underside. It is named for the mineral malachite, which is similar in color to the bright green on the butterfly's wings. Typically, the wingspread is between 8.5 and 10 cm (3.3 and 3.9 in). The malachite is found throughout Central and northern South America, where it is one of the most common butterfly species.
Adults feed on flower nectar, rotting fruit, dead animals, and bat dung. Females lay eggs on the new leaves of plants in the family Acanthaceae, especially Ruellia, Blechum and Plantago. The larvae are horned, spiny, black caterpillars with red markings, The pupal stage is green, with sharp, gold spines that can puncture predators.
Malachites often are confused with the heliconiine Philaethria dido. They have similar coloration, but their wing shapes are different. Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salvador | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Santo Domingo | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | |
| 3 | Cali | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 4 | Manaus | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | San Pedro Sula | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 7 | Belo Horizonte | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 8 | Recife | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 9 | Medellín | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 10 | Fortaleza | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Malachite sighting in Los Haitises National Park on a given day, based on 15 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 4th most-seen of the 15 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January and October
In those months about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Malachite in Los Haitises National Park on a given day, against about 10% in April and July–August, the lowest months. September has too few records to rate.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Malachite 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 46 parks where we can rate Malachite sightings, Los Haitises National Park ranks 2nd at about 50%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Rincón de la Vieja National Park (Costa Rica, about 50%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Nymphalidae
The closest relatives of the Malachite that you can see in Los Haitises National Park (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are White Peacock (about 50%), Zebra Longwing (about 50%) and Tiger Mimic-Queen (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Malachite is recorded against all the insects logged in Los Haitises National Park (15 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.
