Catopsilia pomona
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Catopsilia pomona, the common emigrant or lemon emigrant, is a medium-sized pierid butterfly found in Asia and parts of Australia. The species gets its name from its habit of migration. Some early authors considered them as two distinct species Catopsilia crocale and Catopsilia pomona.
The species has pale and dark morphs in Australia. The form crocale has the antennae black and the form pomona has the antennae pinkish or red. The development of these forms has been linked to photoperiod and temperature during growth.
Quoted from Bingham, C. T. (1907) The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma: Butterflies volume 2. "The upperside of the male is chalky-white, sometimes with a more or less broad and clearly defined basal sulphur-yellow area on both fore and hind wings; this sulphur-yellow colour is at times diffused over the whole surface of the wings, though generally it becomes paler towards the terminal margins. For the fore wing, the whole, or sometimes only the apical half, of the costa narrowly black, this color widened out irregularly at the apex; termen widely black at the apex, the colour narrowed posteriorly. This border in some specimens... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cuc Phuong National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 2 | Bandhavgarh National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Nagarhole National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Periyar National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Kanha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Cat Tien National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 7 | Yala National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 8 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 9 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 10 | Gunung Leuser National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 11 | Taroko National Park | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 12 | Springbrook National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 13 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lemon Migrant sighting in Springbrook National Park on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 228th most-seen of the 429 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.
April
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Lemon Migrant in Springbrook National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February, June–July and September–December, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Lemon Migrant sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
12th of 13
Of the 13 parks where we can rate Lemon Migrant sightings, Springbrook National Park ranks 12th at about 10%. The best odds are in Cuc Phuong National Park (Vietnam, about 40%), Bandhavgarh National Park (India, about 30%) and Nagarhole National Park (India, about 20%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Pieridae
The closest relatives of the Lemon Migrant that you can see in Springbrook National Park (family Pieridae, Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs) are Black Jezebel (about 10%), Common Grass Yellow (about 10%) and Small White (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Lemon Migrant is recorded against all the insects logged in Springbrook National Park (9 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.
