Zygaena ephialtes
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Zygaena ephialtes is day-flying species of burnet moth found in Europe. It is typically found in xeric habitats, and populations have recently decreased. It also exhibits Müllerian mimicry with other species, like Amata phegea.
Z. ephialtes typically fly during the day. Adult butterfly flight is often characterized as slow. As characteristic of Zygaenidae moths, they have prominent spots on their wings, which alerts predators that they contain toxins.
Z. ephialtes L. (= falcatae Boisd.) (5 i, k). Forewing with 6 spots; the basal pair red, the others white; hindwing with a white dot. Abdomen with red belt. From South Germany and Switzerland, eastwards to Greece and South Siberia.[doubtful (misident.)
] — medusa Pall. [ now Z. ephialtes ssp. medusa Pallas, 1771] (5 k) is the form without the 6. spot: being especially frequent in the eastern districts of the area. — In the west of the area, especially in Northern Italy, South Germany, Austria, and also in some of the Balcan States, there occur two forms which are marked like ephialtes ssp. medusa, but have the 2 basal spots of the forewing and the abdominal belt deep yellow instead... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Variable Burnet sighting in Cévennes National Park on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 730th most-seen of the 996 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June and July
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Variable Burnet in Cévennes National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August to May, the lowest months. Those are among Cévennes National Park's driest months, with about 60 mm of rain a month against 260 mm in October.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Variable Burnet sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 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 Variable Burnet sightings, Cévennes National Park has the highest daily chance: under 5%. Next come Pyrénées National Park (France, under 5%).
Same genus: Zygaena
The closest relatives of the Variable Burnet that you can see in Cévennes National Park (genus Zygaena) are Chalk Burnet (about 20%), Six-Spot Burnet (about 10%) and Zygaena rhadamanthus (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Variable Burnet is recorded against all the insects logged in Cévennes National Park (8 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.
