Charaxes brutus
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Charaxes brutus, the white-barred emperor or white-barred Charaxes, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Africa (see subspecies section for detailed information). Its flight period is year-round. Notes on the biology of brutus are given by Larsen, T.B. (1991).
Its average wingspan is 60–75 mm in males and 75–90 mm in females. Both wings above black or black-brown with a common white or whitish yellow discal band, which on the forewing is broken up into spots towards the costal margin. Marginal spots wanting; but
the hindwing has before the distal margin 2—4 small blue spots, 2 in cellule 1 c and one each in 2 and 3. The under surface has a continuous white discal band; the ground-colour of the basal part is red-brown with the black, white-edged markings peculiar to the genus, which stand out sharply; the marginal part is brown-yellow next to the discal band and then ornamented with large, triangular black spots, distally bordered with pale grey. The hindwing also at vein 3 with a distinct, but short tail. — brutus Cr. The discal band on the upper surface pure white, not or only indistinctly margined with blue, on the forewing also with a spot... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 2 | Bwindi Impenetrable National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 3 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a White-Barred Emperor sighting in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 80 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 61st 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.
January–June and September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a White-Barred Emperor in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July–August and October–December, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-Barred Emperor sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate White-Barred Emperor sightings, Table Mountain National Park ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Gonarezhou National Park (Zimbabwe, about 30%), Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Uganda, about 20%) and iSimangaliso Wetland Park (South Africa, about 10%).
Same family: Nymphalidae
The closest relatives of the White-Barred Emperor that you can see in Table Mountain National Park (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Garden Acraea (about 30%), Cape Autumn Widow (about 20%) and Painted Lady (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-Barred Emperor is recorded against all the insects logged in Table Mountain National Park (80 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.
