Parnassius mnemosyne
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The clouded Apollo (Parnassius mnemosyne) is a butterfly species of the family of swallowtail butterflies (Papilionidae) found in the Palearctic realm. It is a large butterfly which inhabits meadows and deciduous woodland clearings with plenty of flowering plants, but cannot survive in denser forest. It is found both in the lowlands and in the mountains but not usually found at altitudes above 1,500 m (4,900 ft) except in the Central Asian mountains where it is also known from higher altitudes.
Its range of distribution extends from the Pyrenees, across the Central Massif, the Alps, and the Carpathians as far as central Asia. It inhabits all European countries including Norway, where it appears rarely and only in certain places. A subspecies lived in Denmark, but is now extinct. A great number of geographical races and individual forms are distinguished in this extensive region. The most striking specimens include the dark race from the eastern Bavarian Alps (subspecies hartmanni); form melania has the most pronounced dark colouring.
The paper of Dr. I.N. Bolotov and colleagues (2013) summarizes data on the northern localities of Parnassius mnemosyne, which are mostly... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gauja National Park | 🇱🇻 Latvia | |
| 2 | Vanoise National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 5 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 6 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 7 | Ecrins National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Clouded Apollo sighting in Vanoise National Park on a given day, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 93rd most-seen of the 308 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Clouded Apollo in Vanoise National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to April, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Clouded Apollo sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Clouded Apollo sightings, Vanoise National Park ranks 2nd at about 20%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Gauja National Park (Latvia, about 20%).
Same genus: Parnassius
The closest relatives of the Clouded Apollo that you can see in Vanoise National Park (genus Parnassius, Apollos) are Apollo (about 50%) and Phoebus Apollo (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Clouded Apollo is recorded against all the insects logged in Vanoise National Park (16 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.
