Lycophotia porphyrea
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The true lover's knot (Lycophotia porphyrea) is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. It is found in the west Palearctic in a wide band through northern, central and eastern Europe and Russia (up to the Ural Mountains). In the south it is spread through northern Spain and northern Portugal, northern Italy, Macedonia, Bulgaria, and northern Greece. In Europe it is found wherever its food plants grow. It is traditionally thought of as a species typical of heathland and moorland but it can often be found in places where heather and its relatives are in garden cultivation, or sunny slopes and forest edges. In the mountains it is found up to an elevation of over 2000 metres above sea level.
This is a small but attractive species, with a wingspan of 26–34 mm (individuals hatched in higher altitudes tend to be smaller than those from the lowlands). The forewings are brown, often tinged with purple and marked with a complex pattern of white markings which are supposed to recall a true lover's knot. The hindwings are grey or buff. It flies from the latter half of June to the beginning of August and is attracted to light and the flowers of its food plants. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Cairngorms National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 4 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Hamburg | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 3 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a True Lover's Knot sighting in Cairngorms National Park on a given day, based on 41 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 56th most-seen of the 300 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a True Lover's Knot in Cairngorms National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October and December–March, the lowest months.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most True Lover's Knot sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
2nd of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate True Lover's Knot sightings, Cairngorms National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Snowdonia National Park (United Kingdom, about 20%).
Same family: Noctuidae
The closest relatives of the True Lover's Knot that you can see in Cairngorms National Park (family Noctuidae, Cutworm Moths and Allies) are Large Yellow Underwing (about 20%), Antler Moth (about 20%) and Dark Arches (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the True Lover's Knot is recorded against all the insects logged in Cairngorms National Park (41 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.
