Junonia terea
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Junonia terea, the soldier pansy or soldier commodore, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. The species was first described by Dru Drury in 1773. It is found in the Afrotropical realm. The wingspan is 50–55 mm in males and 52–60 mm in females.
The larvae feed on Asystasia gangetica, Phaulopsis imbricata, and Ruellia patula. Junonia terea terea (Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, western Kenya) Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arusha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 2 | Kibale National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 3 | Nairobi National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 4 | Lake Mburo National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 5 | Odzala-Kokoua National Park | 🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo | |
| 6 | Masai Mara National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 7 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 8 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Soldier Commodore sighting in Masai Mara National Reserve on a given day, based on 18 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 3rd most-seen of the 18 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Soldier Commodore in Masai Mara National Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in March, September and November, the lowest months.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Soldier Commodore sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
6th of 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Soldier Commodore sightings, Masai Mara National Reserve ranks 6th at about 10%. The best odds are in Arusha National Park (Tanzania, about 40%), Kibale National Park (Uganda, about 40%) and Nairobi National Park (Kenya, about 20%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Junonia
The closest relatives of the Soldier Commodore that you can see in Masai Mara National Reserve (genus Junonia, Buckeyes & Pansies) are Yellow Pansy (about 20%), Dark Blue Pansy (about 10%) and Little Pansy (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Soldier Commodore is recorded against all the insects logged in Masai Mara National Reserve (18 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.
