Nymphalis xanthomelas
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~80%
Nymphalis xanthomelas, the scarce tortoiseshell, is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in eastern Europe and Asia. This butterfly is also referred as yellow-legged tortoiseshell or large tortoiseshell (however, in Europe, "large tortoiseshell" is usually reserved for Nymphalis polychloros).
Upperside rich orange yellow, forewing has costal margin dusky black on the basal half flecked with brown; two oval black spots in cell, a quadrate subcostal black patch just beyond the discocellulars, a second more oblique irregular black patch beyond this, and three large oval discal black spots, with a smaller dusky patch beyond the lowest spot. Hindwing uniform, with a large subcostal black patch. Forewings and hindwings with a common sinuous transverse subterminal black band, and a terminal dusky band flecked with golden brown; the black subterminal band on the hindwing with an outer border of blue lunules margined outwardly by a slender black line; the forewing just below the costa, between the black patches beyond the cell and between the outer black patch and subterminal band, prominently pale yellow. In the female, an incomplete series of yellow lunules also borders... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Biebrza National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 2 | Taroko National Park | 🇹🇼 Taiwan |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nizhny Novgorod | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 2 | Novosibirsk | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 3 | Moscow | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 4 | Kazan | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 5 | Nagoya | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 6 | Almaty | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | |
| 7 | Yekaterinburg | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 8 | Helsinki | 🇫🇮 Finland | |
| 9 | Saint Petersburg | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 10 | Kyiv | 🇺🇦 Ukraine |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Scarce Tortoiseshell sighting in Biebrza National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 60th most-seen of the 97 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Scarce Tortoiseshell in Biebrza National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March and July–October, the lowest months. December has too few records to rate.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Scarce Tortoiseshell 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 2 parks where we can rate Scarce Tortoiseshell sightings, Biebrza National Park has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Taroko National Park (Taiwan, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Scarce Tortoiseshell is recorded against all the insects logged in Biebrza National Park (6 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.
