Protographium philolaus
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
Eurytides philolaus, the dark zebra swallowtail or dark kite-swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found from southern Texas to northern South America. The wingspan is 90–95 mm. "Antenna black; the 7. pale green band of the forewing only represented by a spot; hindwing with 2 red spots posteriorly; on the under surface the red line of the hindwing edged with black at both sides, undulate anteriorly. Scent-scales of the male short, broad, irregular, produced in a number of filaments. The female is in 2 forms: female f. philolaus Boisd. similar to the male, the underside paler, female f. niger Eimer (nigrescens Eimer; felicis Fruhst.) the pale green bands of the membrane of the wings scaled with black, the wings therefore black with slight traces of the bands."
The butterfly is found in low situations, often resting in crowds on the sand at the edge of rivers. The larvae feed on Annonaceae species. There are two recognised subspecies: Eurytides philolaus philolaus (Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, southern Texas)
Eurytides philolaus xanticles (Bates, 1863) (Panama, northern Colombia, northern Venezuela) Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 2 | Calakmul Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 3 | Biotopo Cerro Cahuí | 🇬🇹 Guatemala |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Dark Kite-Swallowtail sighting in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve on a given day, based on 29 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the most-seen of the 20 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.
May to July
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Dark Kite-Swallowtail in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in September to February, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Dark Kite-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.
Yes
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Dark Kite-Swallowtail sightings, Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve has the highest daily chance: about 30%. Next come Calakmul Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, about 20%) and Biotopo Cerro Cahuí (Guatemala, about 10%).
Same order: Lepidoptera
The closest relatives of the Dark Kite-Swallowtail that you can see in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve (order Lepidoptera, Butterflies and Moths) are Blue Monarch (about 20%), Zebra Longwing (about 20%) and White Peacock (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Dark Kite-Swallowtail is recorded against all the insects logged in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve (29 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.
