Boloria chariclea
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Boloria chariclea, the Arctic fritillary or purplish fritillary, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in the northern parts of the Palearctic and Nearctic realms. The butterfly flies from July to August depending on the location.
The Arctic fritillary has a Holarctic distribution. In Europe it is found in northern Lapland and Russia. In North America it is found in Alaska and much of Canada, the north Cascades, the Rocky Mountains southwards to Utah and northern New Mexico, northern Minnesota, northern Maine and the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Its typical habitat is tundra, taiga, alpine meadows, stream verges and acid bogs.
The males patrol along the edges of bogs and in valleys and wait for the arrival of females. The eggs are laid singly underneath the leaves of the host plant. In North America the larvae feed on viola species, dwarf willows (Salix) and possibly blueberries (Vaccinium) while in Europe it is believed to feed on yellow wood violet (Viola biflora) and Arctic white heather (Cassiope tetragona). Depending on location, the larvae take one or two years to develop into adults, newly... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nahanni National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Wrangell-St. Elias National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Denali National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Banff National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Jasper National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 6 | Olympic National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Yellowstone National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Arctic Fritillary sighting in Rocky Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 46 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 44th most-seen of the 191 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report an Arctic Fritillary in Rocky Mountain National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to June, the lowest months. That is one of Rocky Mountain National Park's wettest months, with about 95 mm of rain against 40 mm in September.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Arctic Fritillary sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
7th of 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Arctic Fritillary sightings, Rocky Mountain National Park ranks 7th at about 10%. The best odds are in Nahanni National Park (Canada, about 60%), Wrangell-St. Elias National Park (United States, about 30%) and Denali National Park (United States, about 20%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Nymphalidae
The closest relatives of the Arctic Fritillary that you can see in Rocky Mountain National Park (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Weidemeyer's Admiral (about 30%), Hoary Comma (about 20%) and Red Admiral (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Arctic Fritillary is recorded against all the insects logged in Rocky Mountain National Park (46 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.
