Coenonympha arcania
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~60%
Coenonympha arcania, the pearly heath, is a butterfly species belonging to the family Nymphalidae. It can be found in Central Europe, and Scandinavia. It resembles Coenonympha hero. Seitz describes it thus C. arcania L. (48 d). Forewing fiery reddish yellow with black distal margin, hindwing dark brown. Easily recognised by the underside of the hindwing, whose marginal portion is occupied by a broad white band, which in the nymotypical form interrupts the row of ocelli below the apical eye, the latter therefore appearing to be placed on the inside of the white band. All Europe except Great Britain, from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean sea and from Spain and France to the Black sea and Armenia. — Specimens
with a very broadly black margin to the forewing and a narrowed and slightly dentate band on the underside of the hindwing, which probably occur among nymotypical specimens everywhere, but especially in the South, are considered as ab. insubrica Frey [ var.](48 d). — Larva green with dark dorsal stripe bordered with a yellowish tint, light subdorsal stripe and pale yellow lateral stripe; head blue-green, mouth and anal fork red. Until May on grasses... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Picos de Europa National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 4 | Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 5 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 6 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 7 | Gauja National Park | 🇱🇻 Latvia | |
| 8 | Biebrza National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 9 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 10 | Białowieża National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 11 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 12 | Ecrins National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 13 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 14 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Pearly Heath sighting in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park on a given day, based on 108 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 46th most-seen of the 597 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Pearly Heath in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to May, the lowest months. That is one of Sierra de Guadarrama National Park's driest months, with about 20 mm of rain against 110 mm in November.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Pearly Heath sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
9th of 14
Of the 14 parks where we can rate Pearly Heath sightings, Sierra de Guadarrama National Park ranks 9th at about 10%. The best odds are in Mercantour National Park (France, about 40%), Aigüestortes National Park (Spain, about 40%) and Picos de Europa National Park (Spain, about 30%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Pearly Heath is recorded against all the insects logged in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (108 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.
