Thestor yildizae
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Thestor yildizae, the peninsula skolly, is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is endemic to South Africa, where it is only found on the high slopes of the Cape Peninsula Mountains in the Western Cape. The wingspan is 25–32 mm for males and 28–36.5 mm for females. Adults are on wing from late November to early February. There is one generation per year.
Larvae have been found in the nests of the pugnacious ant (Anoplolepis custodiens), but the larval food is unknown. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Peninsula Skolly sighting in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 255th 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.
December and January
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Peninsula Skolly in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February to November, 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 noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Peninsula Skolly sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
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 Peninsula Skolly sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Lycaenidae
The closest relatives of the Peninsula Skolly that you can see in Table Mountain National Park (family Lycaenidae, Gossamer-winged Butterflies) are African Grass Blue (about 10%), Water Geranium Bronze (about 10%) and Geranium Bronze (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Peninsula Skolly is recorded against all the insects logged in Table Mountain 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.
