Marsh Fritillary

Marsh Fritillary

Euphydryas aurinia

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Hohe Tauern National Park

In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%

19 Verified sightings at Hohe Tauern National Park From 2019 to 2026
436 In all 10 parks
July Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Marsh Fritillary

The marsh fritillary (Euphydryas aurinia) is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. Commonly distributed in the Palearctic region, the marsh fritillary's common name derives from one of its several habitats, marshland. The prolonged larval stage lasts for approximately seven to eight months and includes a period of diapause over the winter. The larvae are dependent on the host food plant Succisa pratensis not only for feeding but also for hibernation, because silken webs are formed on the host plant as the gregarious larvae enter hibernation. Females lay eggs in batches on the host plant and are, like other batch-layers, selective about the location of oviposition because offspring survivorship levels for batch-layers are more tied to location selection than they are for single-egg layers.

As of 2019 the butterfly's global conservation status is considered of least concern, but it has faced rapid decline and is considered regionally vulnerable or endangered over much of its range. E. aurinia is represented by many subspecies. The most widely accepted are:

Euphydryas aurinia aurinia central Europe, southern Europe, western Siberia Euphydryas aurinia bulgarica (Fruhstorfer... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Hohe Tauern National Park 🇦🇹 Austria
~20%
2 Sierra de Guadarrama National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~20%
3 Sierra Nevada National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~20%
4 Mercantour National Park 🇫🇷 France
~20%
5 Vanoise National Park 🇫🇷 France
~20%
6 Picos de Europa National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
7 Triglav National Park 🇸🇮 Slovenia
~10%
8 Cévennes National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%
9 Ecrins National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%
10 Pyrénées National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Porto 🇵🇹 Portugal
~10%
2 Barcelona 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Marsh Fritillary in Hohe Tauern National Park?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Marsh Fritillary sighting in Hohe Tauern National Park on a given day, based on 19 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 29th most-seen of the 165 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Marsh Fritillary in Hohe Tauern National Park?

May and July

In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Marsh Fritillary in Hohe Tauern National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February–April and August–September, the lowest months. December has too few records to rate.

What time of day is best to see a Marsh Fritillary?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Marsh Fritillary sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Hohe Tauern National Park the best place to see a Marsh Fritillary?

Yes

Of the 10 parks where we can rate Marsh Fritillary sightings, Hohe Tauern National Park has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (Spain, about 20%) and Sierra Nevada National Park (Spain, about 20%).

Which relatives of the Marsh Fritillary live in Hohe Tauern National Park?

Same family: Nymphalidae

The closest relatives of the Marsh Fritillary that you can see in Hohe Tauern National Park (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Small Tortoiseshell (about 50%), Pearl-Bordered Fritillary (about 30%) and Dark Green Fritillary (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Marsh Fritillary sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Marsh Fritillary is recorded against all the insects logged in Hohe Tauern National Park (19 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.

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