Erebia tyndarus
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
Erebia tyndarus, the Swiss brassy ringlet, is a European brush-footed butterfly species of the subfamily Satyrinae. The Swiss brassy ringlet belongs to the brassy ringlet group of its genus Erebia. These are found in taiga and alpine habitat across Eurasia, with one population in comparatively recent times colonizing North America. The brassy ringlet group, like many Erebia, has a complicated taxonomy, with scores of "variants" having been named in the late 19th and early 20th century. Most of these in fact were simply aberrations, local or seasonal forms. As this was realized, the brassy ringlets of the Alps and Pyrenees were united in E. tyndarus, either as a superspecies or as a species.
In recent times, this question has been restudied, including the DNA sequence data available nowadays. The view that only a single species of this non-migratory butterfly with restricted habitat preferences occurs in far-flung localities like the Sierra Nevada of southern Spain or the Julian Alps of Slovenia is generally considered obsolete.
Rather, it seems that quite a few proper species are involved. The Swiss brassy ringlet in particular is part of a... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 2 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 5 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 7 | Yellowstone National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Swiss Brassy Ringlet sighting in Rocky Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 29 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 53rd most-seen of the 191 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July and August
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Swiss Brassy Ringlet in Rocky Mountain National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to June, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Swiss Brassy Ringlet sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 7
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Swiss Brassy Ringlet sightings, Rocky Mountain National Park ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in Aigüestortes National Park (Spain, about 20%), Sierra Nevada National Park (Spain, about 10%) and Pyrénées National Park (France, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Swiss Brassy Ringlet is recorded against all the insects logged in Rocky Mountain National Park (29 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.
