Apatura ilia
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
Apatura ilia, the lesser purple emperor, is a species of butterfly native to most of Europe and east across the Palearctic. It is named for its similarity to the purple emperor butterfly. The wingspan is 55–60 mm (2.2–2.4 in) in the female and 60–70 mm (2.4–2.8 in) in the male.
The upper side of the wings is dark brown, with metallic blue-violet hues in the male, and it has a clear postdiscal band on the hind wing and several light spots on the fore wing. These clear areas can be presented in two different aspects; they are white on the butterflies of the nominal form ilia, and clear fawn in the form clytie. For both forms, the fore wing also has an orange-coloured ocellus, which makes differentiating the species from Apatura iris possible. A similar ocellus is present on the hind wing in both species.
The reverse side of the fore wing is brown and the back of the hind wing is dull brown with, as in A. iris, an orange ocellus centered in black. Mounted specimens A. ilia Schiff. ( = Pap. iris Esp.) (50c) is characterized by the distal margin of the forewing being obtusely angulate below the apex; in the anal area of this wing there is an... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Białowieża National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 2 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 4 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 5 | Ecrins National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 6 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 7 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Lesser Purple Emperor sighting in Białowieża National Park on a given day, based on 15 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 39th most-seen of the 158 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Lesser Purple Emperor in Białowieża National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August to May, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Lesser Purple 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.
Yes
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Lesser Purple Emperor sightings, Białowieża National Park has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Aigüestortes National Park (Spain, about 20%) and Fertő-Hanság National Park (Hungary, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Lesser Purple Emperor is recorded against all the insects logged in Białowieża National Park (15 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.
