Spialia mafa
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Spialia mafa, the Mafa grizzled skipper or Mafa sandman, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found in south-western Africa, in KwaZulu-Natal, Botswana, Zimbabwe and from the Cape in South Africa to Sudan and southern Arabia.
These skippers are dark brown with white spots and both sides of the wings. Wingspan is from 22–26 mm. Flight period is year-round but peaks from September to April. The larvae feed on Hermannia, Pavonia and Hibiscus species (including Hibiscus aethiopicus). Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Speckled Sandman sighting in West Coast National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 32nd most-seen of the 44 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.
December
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Speckled Sandman in West Coast National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–February, April–September and November, the lowest months. That is one of West Coast National Park's driest months, with about 15 mm of rain against 70 mm in June.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Speckled Sandman sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only West Coast National Park, in our data
West Coast National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Speckled Sandman sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same order: Lepidoptera
The closest relatives of the Speckled Sandman that you can see in West Coast National Park (order Lepidoptera, Butterflies and Moths) are Cherry Spot (about 50%), Mountain White-Spot (about 40%) and Pan Opal (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Speckled Sandman is recorded against all the insects logged in West Coast National Park (5 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.
