Catopsilia florella
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Catopsilia florella, the African migrant, African emigrant, or common vagrant, is a butterfly of the family Pieridae. It is found in Africa (including Madagascar), Arabia (United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman) and the Canary Islands. Like Catopsilia pomona, this species also has a habit of migration. Many early authors mentioned the presence of this species in Asia; but those were probably due to confusion arises as Catopsilia pyranthe females exhibit a lot of seasonal variations. Catopsilia florella is not included as a species in India in any recent checklists.
The wingspan is 54–60 mm for males and 56–66 mm for females. Adults are on wing year-round. From South Africa, adults migrate from summer to autumn. They fly in a north-eastern direction. The larvae feed on Senna occidentalis, Senna septentrionalis, Senna petersiana, Senna italica, Cassia javanica, and Cassia fistula. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 3 | Gorongosa National Park | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | |
| 4 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 7 | Etosha National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 8 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 9 | Namib-Naukluft National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 10 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 11 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 12 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Accra | 🇬🇭 Ghana | |
| 2 | Kigali | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 3 | Ouagadougou | 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso | |
| 4 | Lusaka | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 5 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Cairo | 🇪🇬 Egypt | |
| 7 | Antananarivo | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 8 | Nairobi | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 9 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 10 | Kampala | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an African Migrant sighting in Namib-Naukluft National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 41st most-seen of the 60 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.
February and March
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report an African Migrant in Namib-Naukluft National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April and July–January, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most African Migrant sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
9th of 12
Of the 12 parks where we can rate African Migrant sightings, Namib-Naukluft National Park ranks 9th at about 10%. The best odds are in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (South Africa, about 30%), Gonarezhou National Park (Zimbabwe, about 30%) and Gorongosa National Park (Mozambique, about 20%).
Same family: Pieridae
The closest relatives of the African Migrant that you can see in Namib-Naukluft National Park (family Pieridae, Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs) are Pioneer White (about 20%), Small Salmon Arab (about 10%) and Plain Vagrant (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the African Migrant is recorded against all the insects logged in Namib-Naukluft National Park (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.
