Zophopetes dysmephila
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Zophopetes dysmephila, the palm-tree nightfighter, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found in Mozambique, in South Africa from Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape to KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga, and in Kenya. Their habitat consists of moist savanna and forests.
Their wingspan is 40–49 mm for males and 45–52 mm for females. Adults are on wing year-round with a peak from November to May in southern Africa. The larvae feed on Chrysalidocarpus lutescens, Phoenix reclinata, Phoenix dactylifera, Phoenix canariensis, Raphia, Borassus and Cocos species. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Palm-Tree Nightfighter sighting in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 19 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 153rd most-seen of the 344 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February and April
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Palm-Tree Nightfighter in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March and May–January, the lowest months. Those are among Table Mountain National Park's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain a month against 110 mm in June.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Palm-Tree Nightfighter sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
Only Table Mountain National Park, in our data
Table Mountain National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Palm-Tree Nightfighter sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Hesperiidae
The closest relatives of the Palm-Tree Nightfighter that you can see in Table Mountain National Park (family Hesperiidae, Skippers) are Grassveld Sylph (about 10%) and Goldspotted Sylph (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Palm-Tree Nightfighter is recorded against all the insects logged in Table Mountain National Park (19 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.
