Battus polydamas
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
Battus polydamas, also known as the gold rim swallowtail, the Polydamas swallowtail or the tailless swallowtail, is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 10th edition of Systema Naturae, published in 1758. Adults generally have black wings with yellow markings while the larval stage is mainly about consuming acids from toxic plants to make themselves unpalatable to predators. They are mainly found in the Neotropical region, and in many of the Caribbean islands.
The Polydamas swallowtail is widespread in the Neotropical realm throughout Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and in southern United States, including Texas and Florida. It also inhabits many Caribbean islands such as Jamaica, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Within this broad range, B. polydamas prefers habitats where they can access its larval host plants, particularly species in the genus Aristolochia. However, it is most often found in open woodlands, along the edges of forests, or abandoned fields, and occasionally in gardens with their preferable host plants.
The wingspan... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iguazú National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | Iguaçu National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Henri Pittier National Park | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 4 | Main Ridge Forest Reserve | 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago | |
| 5 | Carara National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Iberá National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 7 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 8 | Parque Natural Metropolitano | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 9 | Soberanía National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 10 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 11 | Arenal Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 12 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 13 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 14 | Tijuca National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Cruz de la Sierra | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 2 | Asuncion | 🇵🇾 Paraguay | |
| 3 | Porto Alegre | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Buenos Aires | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 5 | San Pedro Sula | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 6 | Fortaleza | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 7 | Campo Grande | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 8 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 9 | Orlando | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Montevideo | 🇺🇾 Uruguay |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Polydamas Swallowtail sighting in Main Ridge Forest Reserve on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 221st most-seen of the 346 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Polydamas Swallowtail in Main Ridge Forest Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in February, April–May, July and October–December, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Polydamas 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.
4th of 14
Of the 14 parks where we can rate Polydamas Swallowtail sightings, Main Ridge Forest Reserve ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Iguazú National Park (Argentina, about 20%), Iguaçu National Park (Brazil, about 20%) and Henri Pittier National Park (Venezuela, about 10%).
Same order: Lepidoptera
The closest relatives of the Polydamas Swallowtail that you can see in Main Ridge Forest Reserve (order Lepidoptera, Butterflies and Moths) are Virbia medarda (about 40%), Red Peacock (about 40%) and Checkered Apogeshna Moth (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Polydamas Swallowtail is recorded against all the insects logged in Main Ridge Forest Reserve (7 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.
