Elkalyce argiades
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The short-tailed blue or tailed Cupid (Cupido argiades) is a butterfly that forms part of the family Lycaenidae. It is found from Europe to Japan and in India. The male has a violet upperside, a violet forewing with brown edging, and a violet hindwing with a brown edging of varying length. The wings have black spots, some of which have slight white edging. The tail is black with a white tip. The underside of the wings are white or brownish grey, the markings prominent or very faint. The antennae are black with white speckling on the shafts. The body is brown with a purple flush on fresh specimens.
The female has a dark grey-blue upperside, with black parts and broader edging. The undersides of the wings are like those of the male but with more stark markings. The body is like that of the male but without the purple flush.
Specimens from very dry localities in Upper Burma and from Great Nicobar Island are remarkably small and pale, with the markings on the underside, especially the subtornal ochraceous yellow patch, more or less obsolescent.
Southern short-tailed blue (Cupido alcetas ), southern Europe Eastern short-tailed blue ( Cupido decolorata... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kiskunság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 2 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 3 | Picos de Europa National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 4 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 5 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 6 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Short-Tailed Blue sighting in Pyrénées National Park on a given day, based on 28 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 334th 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.
March–April and July–September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Short-Tailed Blue in Pyrénées National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May–June and October–February, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Short-Tailed 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.
6th of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Short-Tailed Blue sightings, Pyrénées National Park ranks 6th at about 10%. The best odds are in Kiskunság National Park (Hungary, about 20%), Bavarian Forest National Park (Germany, about 20%) and Picos de Europa National Park (Spain, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Short-Tailed Blue is recorded against all the insects logged in Pyrénées National Park (28 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.
