Lycaena alciphron
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The purple-shot copper (Lycaena alciphron) is a butterfly in the family of the Lycaenidae or copper butterflies and in the genus of the Lycaena. The coloring of the males and the females is very different, i.e. the sexual dimorphism is very strong. The top sides of the wings are red-gold with black spots. The males fluoresce purple, while the females' top side is brown, also with black spots. The rear wings have submarginal spots.
The caterpillar is nocturnal and eats sorrel. The fully-grown butterfly feeds from wild thyme, ground-elder, and blackberry flowers. The purple-shot copper can be found in Europe, Morocco, and Turkey at heights between 500 and 900 meters.
This butterfly migrates from June to July. C. alciphron Rott. (= lampetie Schiff., virgaureae Hufn., hiere F., helle Bkh., hipponoe Esp.) (77 a), Lighter yellow and less golden [than hippothoe]; the upperside of the male in the name-typical form quite unlike that... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 2 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Biebrza National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 5 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 6 | Ecrins National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 7 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 8 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 9 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Purple-Shot Copper sighting in Mercantour National Park on a given day, based on 18 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 106th most-seen of the 412 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.
May
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Purple-Shot Copper in Mercantour National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to April, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Purple-Shot Copper sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 9 parks where we can rate Purple-Shot Copper sightings, Mercantour National Park ranks 3rd at about 20%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Sierra Nevada National Park (Spain, about 20%) and Aigüestortes National Park (Spain, about 20%).
Same genus: Lycaena
The closest relatives of the Purple-Shot Copper that you can see in Mercantour National Park (genus Lycaena, Lycaena butterflies) are Scarce Copper (about 50%) and Small Copper (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Purple-Shot Copper is recorded against all the insects logged in Mercantour National Park (18 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.
