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 |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Queen Of Spain Fritillary sighting in Sierra Nevada National Park on a given day, based on 78 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 9th most-seen of the 479 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and July
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Queen Of Spain Fritillary in Sierra Nevada National Park on a given day, against under 5% in December, 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.
5th of 16
Of the 16 parks where we can rate Queen Of Spain Fritillary sightings, Sierra Nevada National Park ranks 5th at about 30%. The best odds are in Kiskunság National Park (Hungary, about 40%), Mercantour National Park (France, about 40%) and Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (Spain, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Nymphalidae
The closest relatives of the Queen Of Spain Fritillary that you can see in Sierra Nevada National Park (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Wall Brown (about 40%), Iberian Marbled White (about 30%) and Painted Lady (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 Nevada National Park (78 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.
