Papilio phorcas
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
Papilio phorcas, the apple-green swallowtail or green-banded swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in Africa. The larvae feed on Teclea nobilis, Teclea simplicifolia, Macrostylis villosa, Vepris, Calodendrum, Clausena, Citrus, Fagara and Toddalia species.
A tailed species. The ground colour is black, with green markings. Papilio phorcas is a member of the dardanus species group. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kibale National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 2 | Bwindi Impenetrable National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 3 | Lake Mburo National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 4 | Nairobi National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 5 | Arusha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 6 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nairobi | 🇰🇪 Kenya |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report an Apple-Green Swallowtail sighting in Nairobi National Park on a given day, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 5th most-seen of the 34 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report an Apple-Green Swallowtail in Nairobi National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February, May, July–August and December, the lowest months. That is one of Nairobi National Park's driest months, with about 35 mm of rain against 180 mm in April.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Apple-Green 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 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Apple-Green Swallowtail sightings, Nairobi National Park ranks 4th at about 20%. The best odds are in Kibale National Park (Uganda, about 50%), Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Uganda, about 30%) and Lake Mburo National Park (Uganda, about 30%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Papilio
The closest relatives of the Apple-Green Swallowtail that you can see in Nairobi National Park (genus Papilio, Common Swallowtails) are Narrow Green-Banded Swallowtail (about 20%), Citrus Swallowtail (about 20%) and Mocker Swallowtail (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Apple-Green Swallowtail is recorded against all the insects logged in Nairobi National Park (16 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.
