Charaxes candiope
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Charaxes candiope, the green-veined emperor or green-veined charaxes, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is common in sub-Saharan Africa. The habitat is forest and savanna excluding arid savanna. It also occurs in gardens and agricultural areas. Notes on the biology of candiope are given by Pringle et al. (1994), Larsen, T.B. (1991), Larsen, T.B. (2005) and Kielland, J. (1990).
Flight period is from October to June. The wingspan is 45–55 mm in males and 50–60 mm in females. The basic colour of the upperside wings is tawny or orange tawny, with a basal area slightly paler or pale ochre yellow. The unscaled veins and the costal edge of forewing are green. The hindwings have a submarginal black band with a series of tawny ochreous or whitish interstitial spots. The undersides of the forewings are clayish, slightly ochreous, while the hindwings are sepia colour. Forewings are rather falcate, while the hindwings have two small tails protruding from the lower edge.
A full description is given by Walter Rothschild and Karl Jordan, 1900 Novitates Zoologicae volume 7:287-524. [1] page 364 et seq. (for terms see Novitates Zoologicae... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Waterberg Plateau Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 2 | Nairobi National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 3 | Odzala-Kokoua National Park | 🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo | |
| 4 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 5 | Masai Mara National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 6 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 7 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Green-Veined Emperor sighting in Masai Mara National Reserve on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 10th most-seen of the 18 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Green-Veined Emperor in Masai Mara National Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in July, September and December–March, the lowest months. That is one of Masai Mara National Reserve's wettest months, with about 140 mm of rain against 15 mm in July.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Green-Veined Emperor sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 7
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Green-Veined Emperor sightings, Masai Mara National Reserve ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in Waterberg Plateau Park (Namibia, about 40%), Nairobi National Park (Kenya, about 20%) and Odzala-Kokoua National Park (Republic of the Congo, about 20%).
Same family: Nymphalidae
The closest relatives of the Green-Veined Emperor that you can see in Masai Mara National Reserve (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Yellow Pansy (about 20%), Dark Blue Pansy (about 10%) and Soldier Commodore (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Green-Veined Emperor is recorded against all the insects logged in Masai Mara National 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.
