Where to See Apollo and the Swallowtails: 5 Parks Ranked by Real Odds

Q: Where is the best place to see Apollo and the Swallowtails?

Mercantour National Park. In Mercantour National Park, France, the chance of seeing all 3 (apollo, swallowtail and scarce swallowtail) on the same day is under 5%, the highest of the 5 parks where all of them live, and over a three-day visit it rises to about 20%. Next come Vanoise National Park (under 5% a day), Triglav National Park (under 5% a day) and Ecrins National Park (under 5% a day). It multiplies each animal's daily chance, as if they were independent, so read it as a rough guide.

Q: Which of Apollo and the Swallowtails is hardest to see?

Scarce swallowtail. In Mercantour National Park, the best park for Apollo and the Swallowtails, about about 10% of wildlife watchers report the scarce swallowtail on a given day, against about 50% for the apollo. The hardest one decides how many days you need.

Q: How do you complete Apollo and the Swallowtails on Wallace's Line?

Mark them as seen. Tick ✓ Seen on each animal's card, add your trips, or link your iNaturalist account. Your passport counts Apollo and the Swallowtails three ways: anywhere in the world, all in one park, and all in a single trip.

The checklist: 3 animals

Parnassius apollo

Daily sighting probability ~50% · Likely

Papilio machaon

Daily sighting probability ~50% · Likely

Iphiclides podalirius

Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely

Where to go

Chance of seeing in

Month by month at Mercantour National Park

<5%

Jan

<5%

Feb

<5%

Mar

<5%

Apr

<5%

May

~20%

Jun

~30%

Jul

~30%

Aug

<5%

Sep

<5%

Oct

<5%

Nov

<5%

Dec

Time of day

Where they are recorded most Parks with some of them Cities with some of them

Parks

#	Park	Country	Animals	All 3 in 3 days
1	Mercantour National Park	🇫🇷 France	3 of 3	~20%
	Apollo			~90%
	Old World Swallowtail			~70%
	Scarce Swallowtail			~40%
2	Vanoise National Park	🇫🇷 France	3 of 3	~20%
	Apollo			~90%
	Old World Swallowtail			~70%
	Scarce Swallowtail			~30%
3	Triglav National Park	🇸🇮 Slovenia	3 of 3	~20%
	Apollo			~50%
	Old World Swallowtail			~80%
	Scarce Swallowtail			~50%
4	Pyrénées National Park	🇫🇷 France	3 of 3	~10%
	Apollo			~60%
	Old World Swallowtail			~60%
	Scarce Swallowtail			~30%
5	Ecrins National Park	🇫🇷 France	3 of 3	~10%
	Apollo			~80%
	Old World Swallowtail			~60%
	Scarce Swallowtail			~20%
6	Aigüestortes National Park	🇪🇸 Spain	2 of 3	Missing: Scarce swallowtail
	Apollo			~90%
	Old World Swallowtail			~60%
7	Cévennes National Park	🇫🇷 France	2 of 3	Missing: Apollo
	Old World Swallowtail			~60%
	Scarce Swallowtail			~80%
8	Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park	🇪🇸 Spain	2 of 3	Missing: Scarce swallowtail
	Apollo			~50%
	Old World Swallowtail			~70%
9	Sierra Nevada National Park	🇪🇸 Spain	2 of 3	Missing: Scarce swallowtail
	Apollo			~50%
	Old World Swallowtail			~60%
10	Hohe Tauern National Park	🇦🇹 Austria	2 of 3	Missing: Scarce swallowtail
	Apollo			~40%
	Old World Swallowtail			~30%
11	Tatra National Park	🇸🇰 Slovakia	2 of 3	Missing: Scarce swallowtail
	Apollo			~40%
	Old World Swallowtail			~30%
12	Fertő-Hanság National Park	🇭🇺 Hungary	2 of 3	Missing: Apollo
	Old World Swallowtail			~30%
	Scarce Swallowtail			~30%
13	Sierra de Guadarrama National Park	🇪🇸 Spain	2 of 3	Missing: Scarce swallowtail
	Apollo			~20%
	Old World Swallowtail			~20%
14	Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park	🇲🇳 Mongolia	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Scarce swallowtail
	Old World Swallowtail			~90%
15	Plitvice Lakes National Park	🇭🇷 Croatia	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Swallowtail
	Scarce Swallowtail			~60%
16	Wrangell-St. Elias National Park	🇺🇸 United States	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Scarce swallowtail
	Old World Swallowtail			~60%
17	Picos de Europa National Park	🇪🇸 Spain	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Scarce swallowtail
	Old World Swallowtail			~60%
18	Hortobágy National Park	🇭🇺 Hungary	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Swallowtail
	Scarce Swallowtail			~50%
19	Nikko National Park	🇯🇵 Japan	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Scarce swallowtail
	Old World Swallowtail			~50%
20	Monfragüe National Park	🇪🇸 Spain	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Scarce swallowtail
	Old World Swallowtail			~40%
21	Kluane National Park	🇨🇦 Canada	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Scarce swallowtail
	Old World Swallowtail			~40%
22	Bavarian Forest National Park	🇩🇪 Germany	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Scarce swallowtail
	Old World Swallowtail			~40%
23	Denali National Park	🇺🇸 United States	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Scarce swallowtail
	Old World Swallowtail			~40%

Cities

#	City	Country	Animals	All 3 in 3 days
1	Athens	🇬🇷 Greece	2 of 3	Missing: Apollo
	Old World Swallowtail			~50%
	Scarce Swallowtail			~70%
2	Turin	🇮🇹 Italy	2 of 3	Missing: Apollo
	Old World Swallowtail			~60%
	Scarce Swallowtail			~40%
3	Izmir	🇹🇷 Turkey	2 of 3	Missing: Apollo
	Old World Swallowtail			~40%
	Scarce Swallowtail			~50%
4	Budapest	🇭🇺 Hungary	2 of 3	Missing: Apollo
	Old World Swallowtail			~30%
	Scarce Swallowtail			~60%
5	Rome	🇮🇹 Italy	2 of 3	Missing: Apollo
	Old World Swallowtail			~40%
	Scarce Swallowtail			~40%
6	Milan	🇮🇹 Italy	2 of 3	Missing: Apollo
	Old World Swallowtail			~30%
	Scarce Swallowtail			~40%
7	Prague	🇨🇿 Czechia	2 of 3	Missing: Apollo
	Old World Swallowtail			~20%
	Scarce Swallowtail			~50%
8	Istanbul	🇹🇷 Turkey	2 of 3	Missing: Apollo
	Old World Swallowtail			~30%
	Scarce Swallowtail			~40%
9	Bucharest	🇷🇴 Romania	2 of 3	Missing: Apollo
	Old World Swallowtail			~20%
	Scarce Swallowtail			~50%
10	Vienna	🇦🇹 Austria	2 of 3	Missing: Apollo
	Old World Swallowtail			~20%
	Scarce Swallowtail			~50%
11	Naples	🇮🇹 Italy	2 of 3	Missing: Apollo
	Old World Swallowtail			~30%
	Scarce Swallowtail			~30%
12	Lyon	🇫🇷 France	2 of 3	Missing: Apollo
	Old World Swallowtail			~20%
	Scarce Swallowtail			~40%
13	Kyiv	🇺🇦 Ukraine	2 of 3	Missing: Apollo
	Old World Swallowtail			~20%
	Scarce Swallowtail			~30%
14	Berlin	🇩🇪 Germany	2 of 3	Missing: Apollo
	Old World Swallowtail			~20%
	Scarce Swallowtail			~30%
15	Paris	🇫🇷 France	2 of 3	Missing: Apollo
	Old World Swallowtail			~20%
	Scarce Swallowtail			~30%
16	Yerevan	🇦🇲 Armenia	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Swallowtail
	Scarce Swallowtail			~80%
17	Ramallah	🇵🇸 Palestine	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Scarce swallowtail
	Old World Swallowtail			~70%
18	Barcelona	🇪🇸 Spain	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Scarce swallowtail
	Old World Swallowtail			~60%
19	Jerusalem	🇮🇱 Israel	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Scarce swallowtail
	Old World Swallowtail			~50%
20	Kharkiv	🇺🇦 Ukraine	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Swallowtail
	Scarce Swallowtail			~50%
21	Sapporo	🇯🇵 Japan	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Scarce swallowtail
	Old World Swallowtail			~40%
22	Valencia	🇪🇸 Spain	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Scarce swallowtail
	Old World Swallowtail			~40%
23	Nagoya	🇯🇵 Japan	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Scarce swallowtail
	Old World Swallowtail			~40%
24	Lisbon	🇵🇹 Portugal	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Scarce swallowtail
	Old World Swallowtail			~40%
25	Warsaw	🇵🇱 Poland	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Swallowtail
	Scarce Swallowtail			~40%
26	Sofia	🇧🇬 Bulgaria	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Swallowtail
	Scarce Swallowtail			~40%
27	Tel Aviv	🇮🇱 Israel	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Scarce swallowtail
	Old World Swallowtail			~40%
28	Tehran	🇮🇷 Iran	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Swallowtail
	Scarce Swallowtail			~40%
29	Rostov-on-Don	🇷🇺 Russia	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Swallowtail
	Scarce Swallowtail			~30%
30	Porto	🇵🇹 Portugal	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Scarce swallowtail
	Old World Swallowtail			~30%
31	Madrid	🇪🇸 Spain	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Scarce swallowtail
	Old World Swallowtail			~30%
32	Qingdao	🇨🇳 China	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Scarce swallowtail
	Old World Swallowtail			~30%
33	Belgrade	🇷🇸 Serbia	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Swallowtail
	Scarce Swallowtail			~20%
34	Tokyo	🇯🇵 Japan	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Scarce swallowtail
	Old World Swallowtail			~20%
35	Brussels	🇧🇪 Belgium	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Scarce swallowtail
	Old World Swallowtail			~20%
36	Novosibirsk	🇷🇺 Russia	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Scarce swallowtail
	Old World Swallowtail			~20%
37	Nanjing	🇨🇳 China	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Scarce swallowtail
	Old World Swallowtail			~20%
38	Nizhny Novgorod	🇷🇺 Russia	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Scarce swallowtail
	Old World Swallowtail			~20%
39	Kazan	🇷🇺 Russia	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Scarce swallowtail
	Old World Swallowtail			~20%
40	Beijing	🇨🇳 China	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Scarce swallowtail
	Old World Swallowtail			~20%
41	Seoul	🇰🇷 South Korea	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Scarce swallowtail
	Old World Swallowtail			~20%
42	Minsk	🇧🇾 Belarus	1 of 3	Missing: Apollo, Scarce swallowtail
	Old World Swallowtail			~10%

Before you go

Where is the best place to see Apollo and the Swallowtails?

Mercantour National Park

In Mercantour National Park, France, the chance of seeing all 3 (apollo, swallowtail and scarce swallowtail) on the same day is under 5%, the highest of the 5 parks where all of them live, and over a three-day visit it rises to about 20%. Next come Vanoise National Park (under 5% a day), Triglav National Park (under 5% a day) and Ecrins National Park (under 5% a day). It multiplies each animal's daily chance, as if they were independent, so read it as a rough guide.

Which of Apollo and the Swallowtails is hardest to see?

Scarce swallowtail

In Mercantour National Park, the best park for Apollo and the Swallowtails, about about 10% of wildlife watchers report the scarce swallowtail on a given day, against about 50% for the apollo. The hardest one decides how many days you need.

How do you complete Apollo and the Swallowtails on Wallace's Line?

Mark them as seen

Tick ✓ Seen on each animal's card, add your trips, or link your iNaturalist account. Your passport counts Apollo and the Swallowtails three ways: anywhere in the world, all in one park, and all in a single trip.

← All challenges

Apollo and the Swallowtails

The checklist: 3 animals

Apollo

Old World Swallowtail

Scarce Swallowtail

Where to go

Month by month at Mercantour National Park

Month by month at Mercantour National Park

Month by month at Mercantour National Park

Month by month at Vanoise National Park

Month by month at Vanoise National Park

Month by month at Vanoise National Park

Time of day

Parks

Cities

Before you go

Where is the best place to see Apollo and the Swallowtails?

Which of Apollo and the Swallowtails is hardest to see?

How do you complete Apollo and the Swallowtails on Wallace's Line?