Plebejus argus
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The silver-studded blue (Plebejus argus) is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It has bright blue wings rimmed in black with white edges and silver spots on its hindwings, lending it its name. P. argus can be found across Europe and east across the Palearctic, but it is most often studied in the United Kingdom where the species has experienced a severe decline in population due to habitat loss and fragmentation.
P. argus engages in mutualism with ants that contribute to the butterflies' reproductive fitness by providing protection from predation and parasitism from the point of egg laying to their emergence as adults. P. argus adults emerge at the end of June and beginning of July and engage in flight until the beginning of August.
The butterfly is adaptable to different habitats and is found in heathland, mossland, and calcareous grassland. Tending towards a sedentary lifestyle and typically flying less than 20 metres (66 ft) a day, P. argus maintains a small radius home range. Their habitats lend themselves well to both foraging and egg laying as the host plants are ubiquitous in all three environments they occupy.
Male P. argus have royal blue wings... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kiskunság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 2 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Vanoise National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 5 | Nikko National Park | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 6 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 7 | Ecrins National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 8 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 9 | Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 10 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 11 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 12 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 13 | Doñana National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Silver-Studded Blue sighting in Turin on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 169th most-seen of the 197 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.
April and September
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Silver-Studded Blue in Turin on a given day, against under 5% in May–August and October–March, the lowest months.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Silver-Studded Blue sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 6 cities where we can rate Silver-Studded Blue sightings, Turin ranks 4th at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Budapest (Hungary, about 10%), Kharkiv (Ukraine, about 10%) and Novosibirsk (Russia, about 10%).
Same family: Lycaenidae
The closest relatives of the Silver-Studded Blue that you can see in Turin (family Lycaenidae, Gossamer-winged Butterflies) are Geranium Bronze (about 30%), Common Blue (about 20%) and Small Copper (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Silver-Studded Blue is recorded against all the insects logged in Turin (8 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.
