Carterocephalus palaemon
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Carterocephalus palaemon, the chequered skipper or arctic skipper, not to be confused with the large chequered skipper, is a species of woodland butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. This butterfly can live in grasslands. The upperside of the butterfly is brown with orange spots and on its underside the chequered skipper is orange with brown spots. Chequered skippers are found in Great Britain and other European regions, but seen locally in Japan and in North America. The size of the chequered skipper ranges from 19 to 32 mm with females being larger. In the 1970s, the chequered skipper went extinct in England due to the new management of the woodlands.
This butterfly has a wingspan of 29 to 31 mm. The uppersides of chequered skippers are dark brown with orange scales at the base of the wings and golden spots, giving it its English name of chequered skipper. The basic pattern on the underside is similar but the forewings are orange with dark spots, and the hindwings are russet with cream spots rimmed in black. The sexes are similar although females are generally slightly larger.
In Britain, the chequered skipper was formerly resident in England... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Biebrza National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 2 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 3 | Vanoise National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Białowieża National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 5 | Tatra National Park | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | |
| 6 | Ecrins National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 7 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 8 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Novosibirsk | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 2 | Prague | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 3 | Nizhny Novgorod | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 4 | Moscow | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 5 | Munich | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 6 | Saint Petersburg | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 7 | Vienna | 🇦🇹 Austria |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Chequered Skipper sighting in Vanoise National Park on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 168th most-seen of the 308 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Chequered Skipper in Vanoise National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August to May, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Chequered Skipper sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Chequered Skipper sightings, Vanoise National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Biebrza National Park (Poland, about 20%) and Triglav National Park (Slovenia, about 20%).
Same family: Hesperiidae
The closest relatives of the Chequered Skipper that you can see in Vanoise National Park (family Hesperiidae, Skippers) are Essex Skipper (about 20%), Common Branded Skipper (about 20%) and Far Eastern Large Skipper (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Chequered Skipper is recorded against all the insects logged in Vanoise National Park (8 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.
