Carcharodus floccifera
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Muschampia floccifera, the tufted skipper or tufted marbled skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. Muschampia floccifera has a wingspan of 32–35 millimetres (1.3–1.4 in). It shows a toothed hind wing edge, glass spots on the forewings and grey-brown patterned wing markings. In central Europe Muschampia floccifera can only be confused with Carcharodus alceae. However Muschampia flocciferus differs from this C. alceae by the clearly protruding white spot in the center of the upper side of the hind wing. Further characteristic features are radial white drawing elements on the outer edge of the underside of the hind wing and (in the male) a tuft of hair on the underside of the forewings. This tuft shows often a rusty colour, hence the common name of the species. Antennae show a black spot on the top. Muschampia floccifera is also quite similar in appearance to Muschampia lavatherae and Muschampia orientalis.
The relatively compact and strongly hairy caterpillars are initially gray with a black head. Later they become somewhat brighter. The pupa is bluish with a black longitudinal stripe on the back of the thorax. The total distribution extends from... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vanoise National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Ecrins National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Tufted Skipper sighting in Ecrins National Park on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 119th 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 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Tufted Skipper 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 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Tufted Skipper sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Tufted Skipper sightings, Ecrins National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Vanoise National Park (France, about 20%) and Mercantour National Park (France, about 20%).
Same family: Hesperiidae
The closest relatives of the Tufted Skipper that you can see in Ecrins National Park (family Hesperiidae, Skippers) are Far Eastern Large Skipper (about 20%), Essex Skipper (about 20%) and Common Branded Skipper (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Tufted Skipper is recorded against all the insects logged in Ecrins National Park (12 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.
