Nessaea obrinus
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Nessaea obrinus, the obrina olivewing, is a species of butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found from Colombia and the Guianas to the mouth of the Amazon and south to central Bolivia and Mato Grosso in Brazil, extending to northern Argentina.
The length of the wings is 25–40 mm for males and 26–41 mm for females. Adults of subspecies obrinus are on wing in January and from July to November. Adults of subspecies faventia are on wing year round, but mainly from June to October and adults of subspecies lesoudieri are on wing year round, with no observed peak of abundance.
Obrina Olivewing butterflies are very unusual because they are one of the few animals with actual blue pigment. Most other species get their blue coloration from a process called coherent scattering, in which scattered light waves interfere to create a blue color. All the other species of Nessaea get their blue coloration from the pigment pterobilin. Pterobilin also provides blue for Graphium agamemnon, G. antiphates, G. doson, and G. sarpedon. Other butterflies in Graphium and Papilio (specifically P. phorcas and P. weiskei) use the blue pigments phorcabilin and sarpedobilin.
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| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 2 | Tambopata National Reserve | 🇵🇪 Peru |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Obrinus Olivewing sighting in Tambopata National Reserve on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 61st most-seen of the 141 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report an Obrinus Olivewing in Tambopata National Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in November to May, the lowest months. That is one of Tambopata National Reserve's driest months, with about 45 mm of rain against 420 mm in February.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Obrinus Olivewing sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Obrinus Olivewing sightings, Tambopata National Reserve ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Manu National Park (Peru, about 20%).
Same family: Nymphalidae
The closest relatives of the Obrinus Olivewing that you can see in Tambopata National Reserve (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Many-Banded Daggerwing (about 30%), Julia Heliconian (about 20%) and Malachite (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Obrinus Olivewing is recorded against all the insects logged in Tambopata National Reserve (8 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.
