Zerynthia polyxena
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
Zerynthia polyxena, the southern festoon, is a butterfly belonging to the butterfly family Papilionidae. The southern festoon can reach a wingspan of 46–52 mm. The females have slightly longer wings, usually lighter colored than males. The basic color of the wings is yellow, with a complicated pattern of several black bands and spots.
On the edges of the hindwings they have a black sinuous line with a series of blue and red warning spots to deter potential predators (aposematism). The body is dark brown and bears red patches on the sides of the abdomen.
This species is rather similar to, and can be confused only with, the Spanish festoon (Z. rumina). The differences are in the presence of blue on the hind wings of Z. polyxena and the relatively lower amount of red on its forewings compared with Z. rumina. The ranges of these two species overlap only in southeast France.
The caterpillars of Z. polyxena are up to 35 millimeters long. They are initially black, then they are yellowish with six rows of fleshy orange and black spikes all over the body. T. polyxena Schiff. & Den. (= hypermnestra Scop.hypsipyle Fabr.). Light yellow, with spots and... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hortobágy National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 2 | Kiskunság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 3 | Plitvice Lakes National Park | 🇭🇷 Croatia | |
| 4 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 5 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 6 | Camargue | 🇫🇷 France |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vienna | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 2 | Budapest | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 3 | Istanbul | 🇹🇷 Turkey | |
| 4 | Nizhny Novgorod | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 5 | Kyiv | 🇺🇦 Ukraine |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Festoon sighting in Kiskunság National Park on a given day, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 30th most-seen of the 95 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April and May
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Festoon in Kiskunság National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March and July–October, the lowest months.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Southern Festoon sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Southern Festoon sightings, Kiskunság National Park ranks 2nd at about 30%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Hortobágy National Park (Hungary, about 30%).
Same order: Lepidoptera
The closest relatives of the Southern Festoon that you can see in Kiskunság National Park (order Lepidoptera, Butterflies and Moths) are Cardinal Butterfly (about 50%), Small Heath (about 50%) and Queen Of Spain Fritillary (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Southern Festoon is recorded against all the insects logged in Kiskunság National Park (16 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.
