Doxocopa cyane
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
Doxocopa cyane, the Mexican emperor or cyan emperor, is a species of butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. These butterflies inhabit cloudforest at elevations between about 600–1,800 metres (2,000–5,900 ft) above sea level.
Doxocopa cyane has a wingspan of about 55 millimetres (2.2 in). The color of the wings varies by sex. Males show a brilliant electric-blue iridescence on the upperside of the wings, while the wings of the females lack this iridescence. Females have usually a brown ground color with wide longitudinal bands of orange and white on forewings and hindwings.
Larvae feed on Celtis spinosa. Males are solitary and territorial. They usually visit wet muddy patches and feed on rotting fruits, dung or carrion. Females mainly inhabit the forest canopy. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Podocarpus National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 2 | Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Cyan Emperor sighting in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve on a given day, based on 10 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 239th most-seen of the 506 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June to November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Cyan Emperor in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in December to May, the lowest months. Those are among Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve's wettest months, with about 320 mm of rain a month against 45 mm in March.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Cyan Emperor sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Cyan Emperor sightings, Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Podocarpus National Park (Ecuador, about 20%).
Same family: Nymphalidae
The closest relatives of the Cyan Emperor that you can see in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Common Morpho (about 30%), Clysonymus Longwing (about 30%) and Wide-Bordered Satyr (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Cyan Emperor is recorded against all the insects logged in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve (10 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.
