Erebia aethiops
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The Scotch argus (Erebia aethiops) is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. In spite of its English name argus, it is not a close relation of the brown argus nor the northern brown argus. English colonies are found at Arnside Knott and Smardale Gill both in Cumbria. This species is found in most of northern Scotland, and in western areas in south Scotland. In Europe and Russia, these butterflies prefer the edge of pine forests and tall damp grassland in hills and mountains up to 2400 m.
Erebia aethiops has a wingspan of 42–46 mm. Antennae are clavate (club shaped). The background colour of the wings varies from dark brown to black brown, with reddish-yellow bands, black eyespots with white pupils and... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cairngorms National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 3 | Vanoise National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Tatra National Park | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | |
| 5 | Ecrins National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 6 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Scotch Argus sighting in Ecrins National Park on a given day, based on 20 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 54th most-seen of the 251 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July and August
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Scotch Argus in Ecrins National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–June and September–October, the lowest months. Those are among Ecrins National Park's driest months, with about 60 mm of rain a month against 160 mm in December.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Scotch Argus sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Scotch Argus sightings, Ecrins National Park ranks 5th at about 20%. The best odds are in Cairngorms National Park (United Kingdom, about 40%), Triglav National Park (Slovenia, about 30%) and Vanoise National Park (France, about 20%).
Same genus: Erebia
The closest relatives of the Scotch Argus 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 Scotch Argus is recorded against all the insects logged in Ecrins National Park (20 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.
