Papilio anchisiades
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Papilio anchisiades, the ruby-spotted swallowtail or red-spotted swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found from southern Texas south to Argentina. Rare strays can be found up to Kansas, southeastern Arizona, and western Texas.
The wingspan is 70–100 mm.P. anchisiades. A widely distributed variable species. Hindwing posteriorly somewhat prolonged, less triangular; the tail is wanting or is only somewhat longer than the other marginal teeth, yet in the female sometimes as long and pointed as in the following species. The red spots of both the rows of the hindwing on the underside partly contiguous, or at least two pairs placed quite close together. Larva often resting together in hundreds on the stems of citrus. A very common insect, which is fond drinking at moist places on the banks of rivers; not a forest species.
— idaeus F. (=pandion Feldr., pandonius Stgr.). Forewing usually with a distinct white spot at the end of the cell above and beneath or only beneath. Central America, from Mexico to Panama. — anchisiades Esp. (= anchises L. partim, theramenes Fldr,, pompeius Kirby) (10d). Very variable. Forewing with two white spots... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iguazú National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | Iguaçu National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Serra dos Órgãos National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 5 | Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Yasuní National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 7 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 8 | Soberanía National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Porto Alegre | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | São Luís | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Recife | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Salvador | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 6 | Brasilia | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 7 | Belo Horizonte | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 8 | Curitiba | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 9 | Vitória | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 10 | Goiânia | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Ruby-Spotted Swallowtail sighting in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve on a given day, based on 18 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 148th 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 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Ruby-Spotted Swallowtail in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in February–May and September, the lowest months. That is one of Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve's wettest months, with about 510 mm of rain against 45 mm in March.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Ruby-Spotted 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.
5th of 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Ruby-Spotted Swallowtail sightings, Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in Iguazú National Park (Argentina, about 20%), Iguaçu National Park (Brazil, about 20%) and Serra dos Órgãos National Park (Brazil, about 10%).
Same genus: Papilio
The closest relatives of the Ruby-Spotted Swallowtail that you can see in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve (genus Papilio, Common Swallowtails) are Thoas Swallowtail (about 10%), Black Swallowtail (about 10%) and Magnificent Swallowtail (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ruby-Spotted Swallowtail is recorded against all the insects logged in Monteverde Cloud Forest 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.
