Pararge aegeria
In 3 days ~70% in a week >90%
The speckled wood (Pararge aegeria) is a butterfly found in and on the borders of woodland areas throughout much of the Palearctic realm. The species is subdivided into multiple subspecies, including Pararge aegeria aegeria, Pararge aegeria tircis, Pararge aegeria oblita, and Pararge aegeria insula. The color of this butterfly varies between subspecies. The existence of these subspecies is due to variation in morphology down a gradient corresponding to a geographic cline. The background of the wings ranges from brown to orange, and the spots are either pale yellow, white, cream, or a tawny orange. The speckled wood feeds on a variety of grass species. The males of this species exhibit two types of mate locating behaviors: territorial defense and patrolling. The proportion of males exhibiting these two strategies changes based on ecological conditions. The monandrous female must choose which type of male can help her reproduce successfully. Her decision is heavily influenced by environmental conditions.
The speckled wood belongs to the genus Pararge, which comprises three species: Pararge aegeria, Pararge xiphia, and Pararge xiphioides. Pararge xiphia occurs on the Atlantic... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Picos de Europa National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 2 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Cairngorms National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 5 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 6 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 7 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 8 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 9 | Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 10 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 11 | Biebrza National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 12 | Monfragüe National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 13 | Białowieża National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 14 | Gauja National Park | 🇱🇻 Latvia | |
| 15 | Camargue | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 16 | Doñana National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 17 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 18 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 19 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 20 | Tatra National Park | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | |
| 21 | Hohe Tauern National Park | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 22 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 23 | Ecrins National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rabat | 🇲🇦 Morocco | |
| 2 | Liverpool | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 5 | Tangier | 🇲🇦 Morocco | |
| 6 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 7 | Leeds | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 8 | Lyon | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 9 | Algiers | 🇩🇿 Algeria | |
| 10 | Barcelona | 🇪🇸 Spain |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Speckled Wood sighting in Cairngorms National Park on a given day, based on 142 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 4th most-seen of the 300 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Speckled Wood in Cairngorms National Park on a given day, against under 5% in November to March, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Speckled Wood 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 23
Of the 23 parks where we can rate Speckled Wood sightings, Cairngorms National Park ranks 4th at about 40%. The best odds are in Picos de Europa National Park (Spain, about 50%), Aigüestortes National Park (Spain, about 40%) and Snowdonia National Park (United Kingdom, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Nymphalidae
The closest relatives of the Speckled Wood that you can see in Cairngorms National Park (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Scotch Argus (about 40%), European Peacock Butterfly (about 30%) and Ringlet (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Speckled Wood is recorded against all the insects logged in Cairngorms National Park (142 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.
