Erebia ligea
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Erebia ligea, the Arran brown, is a member of the subfamily Satyrinae of the family Nymphalidae. This brown is widespread in south-eastern and northern Europe. It prefers mixed woodlands at low altitudes. It is rarely seen in open areas. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae, and the type locality is Sweden.
The Arran brown is a medium-sized butterfly with a wingspan of between 30 and 46 mm (1.2 and 1.8 in). Females tend to be a little larger than males. The upperside of both the forewings and hindwings is dark greyish brown with a reddish-orange strip near the margin along which runs a series of black spots. Many of the spots are small but some have white centres. The underside of the forewing is dark brown with a reddish strip with black, white-centred eyespots near the outer edge. The underside of the hindwing is brown, edged with a row of more or less distinct dark coloured eyespots. The basal side of these is close to the centre of wing and there are one or two patches of white. The basal part of the hindwing of the female is a darker brown than the rest of the wing.
Wheeler (1903) gives a short description... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 2 | Vanoise National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Ecrins National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 5 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 6 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Arran Brown sighting in Ecrins National Park on a given day, based on 13 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 87th most-seen of the 251 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report an Arran Brown in Ecrins National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to May, the lowest months. That is one of Ecrins National Park's driest months, with about 50 mm of rain against 160 mm in December.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Arran Brown sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Arran Brown sightings, Ecrins National Park ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Triglav National Park (Slovenia, about 20%), Vanoise National Park (France, about 20%) and Mercantour National Park (France, about 20%).
Same genus: Erebia
The closest relatives of the Arran Brown that you can see in Ecrins National Park (genus Erebia, Alpines) are Almond Ringlet (about 30%), Autumn Ringlet (about 20%) and Large Ringlet (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Arran Brown is recorded against all the insects logged in Ecrins National Park (13 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.
