Plebejus argus
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
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 Doñana National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 66th most-seen of the 87 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Silver-Studded Blue in Doñana National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July to April, the lowest months. That is one of Doñana National Park's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain against 90 mm in October.
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.
13th of 13
Of the 13 parks where we can rate Silver-Studded Blue sightings, Doñana National Park ranks 13th at about 10%. The best odds are in Kiskunság National Park (Hungary, about 40%), Mercantour National Park (France, about 30%) and Vanoise National Park (France, about 20%).
Same family: Lycaenidae
The closest relatives of the Silver-Studded Blue that you can see in Doñana National Park (family Lycaenidae, Gossamer-winged Butterflies) are Small Copper (about 30%), African Grass Blue (about 20%) and Lang's Short-Tailed Blue (about 10%), 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 Doñana National Park (6 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.
