Hipparchia hermione
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~80%
Hipparchia hermione, the rock grayling, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. The species can be found in Central Europe, Southern Europe, Eastern Europe, North Africa, Anatolia and the Caucasus. The wingspan is 27–34 millimetres (1.1–1.3 in).The ground colour is dark brown. There is a white submarginal band, bordered with an interrupted fringe and a large black ocellus at the apex of the forewing. The hindwing has a small ocellus with a very discrete pupil.
The underside of the forewing is similar: brown with a white submarginal band and the black ocellus with white pupil at the apex, while the hindwing is marbled with brown and white with a broad white band. No sexual dimorphism.
Similar to Hipparchia fagi, but on the underside the deep dark basal area of both wings contrasts much more sharply with the light band, and the latter, which is almost pure white on the hindwing, contrasts again conspicuously with the broad dark distal margin. The conspicuousness of the pattern on the underside of the hindwing is especially noticeable in the male, but even in the duller coloured female the band on the hindwing beneath is still quite distinct, although sparsely irrorated with black.
It is smaller than fagi. The butterflies fly from June to September on steep rocky slopes, in open forest, margins and forest clearings and in shrubland. The larvae feed on various types of grass. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Picos de Europa National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 2 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 4 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 5 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Rock Grayling sighting in Picos de Europa National Park on a given day, based on 19 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 32nd most-seen of the 118 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Rock Grayling in Picos de Europa National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February–June and November, the lowest months. That is one of Picos de Europa National Park's driest months, with about 75 mm of rain against 220 mm in November.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rock Grayling sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Rock Grayling sightings, Picos de Europa National Park has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Sierra Nevada National Park (Spain, about 20%) and Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (Spain, about 20%).
Same family: Nymphalidae
The closest relatives of the Rock Grayling that you can see in Picos de Europa National Park (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Speckled Wood (about 50%), Marbled White (about 40%) and Small Tortoiseshell (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rock Grayling is recorded against all the insects logged in Picos de Europa 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.
