Issoria lathonia
In 3 days ~70% in a week >90%
The Queen of Spain fritillary (Issoria lathonia) is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. Issoria lathonia isaeoides Reuss, 1925 (Sichuan, China) This migratory species is widespread in most of Europe, in North Africa, Canary Islands, and in the eastern Palearctic realm (Central Asia, Himalayas, Baluchistan, and Western China). These butterflies live in open areas, in dry lawns, agricultural wastelands and in extensive crops at altitudes between sea level and 2700 m.
Issoria lathonia is a medium-sized butterfly with a wingspan of 38–46 millimetres (1.5–1.8 in). The wings show a deep orange-violet background, with rounded black spots arranged in regular rows and suffused with greenish gray in the females. The underside of the hindwings is decorated with large pearly nacreous spots and it is crossed by a postdiscal row of black eyespots with pearly pupils. Some pearly spots also appear at the apex of the forewings.
The caterpillar can reach a length of 35 millimetres... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kiskunság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 2 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 4 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 5 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 6 | Picos de Europa National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 7 | Vanoise National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 8 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 9 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 10 | Hohe Tauern National Park | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 11 | Biebrza National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 12 | Ecrins National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 13 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 14 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 15 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 16 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Queen Of Spain Fritillary sighting in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park on a given day, based on 504 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the most-seen of the 597 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February–March and May–August
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Queen Of Spain Fritillary in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park on a given day, against about 10% in October, the lowest month.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Queen Of Spain Fritillary sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 16 parks where we can rate Queen Of Spain Fritillary sightings, Sierra de Guadarrama National Park ranks 3rd at about 40%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Kiskunság National Park (Hungary, about 40%) and Mercantour National Park (France, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Nymphalidae
The closest relatives of the Queen Of Spain Fritillary that you can see in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Speckled Wood (about 30%), Iberian Marbled White (about 30%) and Cardinal Butterfly (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Queen Of Spain Fritillary is recorded against all the insects logged in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (504 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.
