Phyllalia patens
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Phyllalia patens is a species of moth in the family Eupterotidae. It was described by Jean Baptiste Boisduval in 1847. It is found in Lesotho and KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga in South Africa. Adults are fawn coloured, with the abdomen and hindwings hardly paler than the forewings. All wings are very broad and rather short.
The larvae feed on Cynodon dactylon and Ehrharta calycina. They construct a sort of grotto on the ground under the leaves of the host plant, in which it remains concealed during the heat of the day, emerging and feeding in the cool of the evening. The larvae a velvety black body above, while it is pale fulvous underneath. The head is bright red. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Clay Monkey sighting in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 95 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 47th most-seen of the 344 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 to December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Clay Monkey in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January to March, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Clay Monkey sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Clay Monkey sightings, Table Mountain National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Garden Route National Park (South Africa, about 10%).
Same order: Lepidoptera
The closest relatives of the Clay Monkey that you can see in Table Mountain National Park (order Lepidoptera, Butterflies and Moths) are Garden Acraea (about 30%), Cape Autumn Widow (about 20%) and Cape Lappet (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Clay Monkey is recorded against all the insects logged in Table Mountain National Park (95 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.
