Lycaena alciphron
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The purple-shot copper (Lycaena alciphron) is a butterfly in the family of the Lycaenidae or copper butterflies and in the genus of the Lycaena. The coloring of the males and the females is very different, i.e. the sexual dimorphism is very strong. The top sides of the wings are red-gold with black spots. The males fluoresce purple, while the females' top side is brown, also with black spots. The rear wings have submarginal spots.
The caterpillar is nocturnal and eats sorrel. The fully-grown butterfly feeds from wild thyme, ground-elder, and blackberry flowers. The purple-shot copper can be found in Europe, Morocco, and Turkey at heights between 500 and 900 meters.
This butterfly migrates from June to July. C. alciphron Rott. (= lampetie Schiff., virgaureae Hufn., hiere F., helle Bkh., hipponoe Esp.) (77 a), Lighter yellow and less golden [than hippothoe]; the upperside of the male in the name-typical form quite unlike that... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 2 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Biebrza National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 5 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 6 | Ecrins National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 7 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 8 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 9 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Purple-Shot Copper sighting in Berlin on a given day, based on 40 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 216th most-seen of the 1065 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Purple-Shot Copper in Berlin on a given day, against under 5% in July to April, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Purple-Shot Copper 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 3 cities where we can rate Purple-Shot Copper sightings, Berlin has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Warsaw (Poland, under 5%) and Moscow (Russia, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Purple-Shot Copper is recorded against all the insects logged in Berlin (40 verified sightings), 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.
