Junonia hierta
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Junonia hierta, the yellow pansy, is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in the Palaeotropics. It is usually seen in open scrub and grassland habitats. The male upper side is bright yellow. The costa of the forewing has a broad triangular jet-black projection downwards at the discocellulars, and the dorsum has a triangular projection upwards near the tornus; this black margin narrows near the middle of the termen and bears on the apex two short transverse preapical white streaks crossed by the black veins. Below these is an obscure ocellus that is sometimes absent. The anterior half and the terminal margin of the hindwing is black, and the dorsum is broadly shaded with brown while the anterior black area has a large brilliant blue spot. The cilia of both forewings and hindwings are white alternated with brown.
The underside of the forewing is pale yellow. The cell is crossed by three laterally black-margined orange-yellow bars, beyond that is a short, broad, irregular jet-black oblique band from costa to base of vein 4. The hindwing is greyish yellow, and in the dry season its form is strongly irrorated (sprinkled) with dusky scales. With a prominent transverse... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lusaka | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 2 | Ouagadougou | 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso | |
| 3 | Accra | 🇬🇭 Ghana | |
| 4 | Nairobi | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 5 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Cairo | 🇪🇬 Egypt | |
| 7 | Jaipur | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Harare | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 9 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 10 | Bengaluru | 🇮🇳 India |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow Pansy sighting in Serengeti National Park on a given day, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 4th most-seen of the 14 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow Pansy in Serengeti National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March, May, July–September and December, the lowest months. That is one of Serengeti National Park's wettest months, with about 140 mm of rain against 5 mm in July.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Yellow Pansy sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
21st of 27
Of the 27 parks where we can rate Yellow Pansy sightings, Serengeti National Park ranks 21st at about 10%. The best odds are in Waterberg Plateau Park (Namibia, about 50%), Cat Tien National Park (Vietnam, about 40%) and Golden Gate Highlands National Park (South Africa, about 30%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Yellow Pansy is recorded against all the insects logged in Serengeti 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.
