Melitaea phoebe
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Melitaea phoebe, also known as the knapweed fritillary, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in the Palearctic realm, including most of Europe and North Africa, excluding the United Kingdom and Scandinavia. Previously, it also included Melitaea telona, which was recently revalidated as a distinct cryptic species.
M. phoebe butterflies have a wingspan of 34 to 50 mm. Their forewings are more pointed than the eastern knapweed fritillary, but are equally variable in color and distinctive markings. Their black markings are usually joined, but may instead cover a majority of the wing or very little of it.
The species features a reddish-yellow submarginal lunate (crescent-shaped) spot between the two median veins that reaches its vertex, considerably further into the disc than the other yellow lunate spots. This pattern is present on both the forewings and the hindwings. Additionally, the submarginal lunule between the first and second median veins projects further basal than the other lunules of the same row. Wheeler (1903) gives a short description.
M. phoebe pupae are a dull yellow-brown colour, with dark yellow and black markings. The larvae are grey... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Vanoise National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Ecrins National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 5 | Picos de Europa National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 6 | Kiskunság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 7 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 8 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 9 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 10 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 11 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Turin | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 2 | Milan | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 3 | Novosibirsk | 🇷🇺 Russia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Knapweed Fritillary sighting in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park on a given day, based on 54 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 82nd most-seen of the 597 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.
May and June
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Knapweed Fritillary in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August to March, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Knapweed 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.
10th of 11
Of the 11 parks where we can rate Knapweed Fritillary sightings, Sierra de Guadarrama National Park ranks 10th at about 10%. The best odds are in Mercantour National Park (France, about 30%), Cévennes National Park (France, about 20%) and Vanoise National Park (France, about 20%).
Same genus: Melitaea
The closest relatives of the Knapweed Fritillary that you can see in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (genus Melitaea) are Lesser Spotted Fritillary (about 10%), Glanville Fritillary (about 10%) and Spotted Fritillary (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Knapweed Fritillary is recorded against all the insects logged in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (54 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.
