Palaeochrysophanus hippothoe
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The purple-edged copper (Lycaena hippothoe) is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. Lycaena hippothoe eurydame (Hoffmannsegg, 1806) – Alps. Lycaena hippothoe eurybia (Ochsenheimer, 1808) - (Altai Mountain, Sayan Mountains, Far East). Lycaena hippothoe amurensis (Staudinger, 1892) - (Transbaikalia, Amur River, Ussuri).
This species is present in the Western Europe and in Siberia up to the region of the river Amur. It inhabits forest edges, swampy and damp meadows, clearings and river banks, at an elevation of 400–1,800 metres (1,300–5,900 ft) above sea level. Lycaena hippothoe can reach a wingspan of 34–38 millimetres (1.3–1.5 in).
The upperface of the wings is deep orange-red in males, with a brown or purple edging (hence the common name). The spots in the forewing post discal... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Purple-Edged Copper sighting in Mercantour National Park on a given day, based on 10 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 199th most-seen of the 412 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June and July
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Purple-Edged Copper in Mercantour National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to May, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Purple-Edged Copper sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Mercantour National Park, in our data
Mercantour National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Purple-Edged Copper sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Lycaenidae
The closest relatives of the Purple-Edged Copper 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 Purple-Edged Copper is recorded against all the insects logged in Mercantour National Park (10 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.
