Scolitantides orion
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
Scolitantides orion, the chequered blue, is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae (gossamer-winged butterflies). It is found in Europe, Russia and east across the Palearctic to Japan. S. o. orion Europe (Greece, North Macedonia and Bulgaria), Russia, Caucasus, central Siberia, Transbaikalia, Russian Far East
In France there is usually a single generation flying in May and June, sometimes there are two generations May then September. The butterfly lives in rocky areas up to 1000 m of altitude, on plants such as Sedum telephium and Sedum album.
Above and beneath rather similar to Pseudophilotes baton but larger and darker, recognizable by the fringes being very distinctly spotted and the white underside abundantly and heavily spotted with black, the hindwing... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 2 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 3 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Chequered Blue sighting in Mercantour National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 348th most-seen of the 412 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Chequered Blue in Mercantour National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July to April, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Chequered Blue 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 Chequered Blue sightings, Mercantour National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Triglav National Park (Slovenia, about 20%) and Bavarian Forest National Park (Germany, about 10%).
Same family: Lycaenidae
The closest relatives of the Chequered Blue that you can see in Mercantour National Park (family Lycaenidae, Gossamer-winged Butterflies) are Scarce Copper (about 50%), Sooty Copper (about 40%) and Chalkhill Blue (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Chequered Blue is recorded against all the insects logged in Mercantour National Park (7 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.
