Zygaena trifolii
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Zygaena trifolii, the five-spot burnet, is a day-flying moth in the family Zygaenidae found in North Africa and Europe. It was described by the German zoologist Eugenius Johann Christoph Esper in 1783 from the type specimen found in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
The wingspan is 28–33 mm. Adults are on wing from the mid-June to the beginning of August in one generation per year. Ovum Eggs are pale yellow and deposited in several layers to form an irregularly shaped batch. Larvae The larvae feed on the leaves of greater bird's-foot trefoil (Lotus uliginosus) and bird's-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus). The species overwinters in the larval stage and may overwinter twice.
Pupa The pupa is shiny, black or blackish-brown and 10–18 mm long. Pupation of subsp descreta takes place in June and July in a cocoon which is spun high on marsh vegetation such as soft rush (Juncus effusus). Pupation of subsp palustrella takes place close to the ground and concealed amongst grass and other herbage in late-April to May. The cocoon is fusiform, irregularly ribbed and ranges from dirty white to creamy-white to bright yellow.
Distributions where known. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 2 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Five-Spot Burnet sighting in Pyrénées National Park on a given day, based on 22 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 415th most-seen of the 1277 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May–July and September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Five-Spot Burnet in Pyrénées National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August and October–April, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Five-Spot Burnet 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 3 parks where we can rate Five-Spot Burnet sightings, Pyrénées National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Sierra Nevada National Park (Spain, about 10%).
Same genus: Zygaena
The closest relatives of the Five-Spot Burnet that you can see in Pyrénées National Park (genus Zygaena) are Six-Spot Burnet (about 10%), Transalpine Burnet Moth (about 10%) and Narrow-Bordered Five-Spot Burnet (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Five-Spot Burnet is recorded against all the insects logged in Pyrénées National Park (22 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.
