Neptis sappho
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
Neptis sappho, the Pallas' sailer or common glider, is a nymphalid butterfly found in Central Europe, Russia, India and other parts of temperate Asia and Japan. The wingspan is 40–46 mm.The upper side of the forewings is black or black-brown in ground colour with a band of white spots. Two white, wedge-shaped spots are also found between the band and the wing base. The underside is rusty brown and otherwise shows the same white markings as the upper side. The upper side of the hind wings is also black or black-brown in colour with a broad inner and a narrow outer band, each white with a white band, which are only broken by the dark veins. In contrast to the very similar Neptis rivularis, the white markings are more extensive and have two rows on the hind wings. The rusty brown underside is slightly lighter than in N. rivularis.
The larvae feed on Lathyrus vernus, Lathyrus niger and Robinia pseudoacacia. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nikko National Park | 🇯🇵 Japan |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Pallas' Sailer sighting in Nikko National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 53rd most-seen of the 86 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Pallas' Sailer in Nikko National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February–May, July and October–December, the lowest months.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Pallas' Sailer sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Nikko National Park, in our data
Nikko National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Pallas' Sailer sightings: about 20% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Nymphalidae
The closest relatives of the Pallas' Sailer that you can see in Nikko National Park (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Mourning Cloak (about 30%), Diana Treebrown (about 30%) and Tropical Fritillary (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Pallas' Sailer is recorded against all the insects logged in Nikko National Park (5 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.
