Capys alpheus
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Capys alpheus, the protea scarlet or orange-banded protea, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in South Africa. The wingspan is 31–40 mm for males and 32–47 mm for females. Adults are on wing from August to November and from February to April in two main generations.
The larvae feed on the flower buds of various Protea species, including P. cynaroides, P. roupelliae, P. subvestita, P. repens and P. grandiceps. 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 Protea Scarlet Butterfly 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 165th 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.
July and August
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Protea Scarlet Butterfly in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to June, the lowest months. Those are among Table Mountain National Park's wettest months, with about 85 mm of rain a month against 15 mm in February.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Protea Scarlet Butterfly sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 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 Protea Scarlet Butterfly sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Lycaenidae
The closest relatives of the Protea Scarlet Butterfly 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 Protea Scarlet Butterfly 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.
