Pyrgus serratulae
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The Olive Skipper (Pyrgus serratulae) is a species of skipper (family Hesperiidae). This is a relatively distinctive species by the standards of the genus, the upperside tending to be plainer than most of its congeners with only tiny white marks on the forewings and almost unmarked on the hindwings. The underside is usually mostly olive-green with paler markings. An oval basal spot on the underside of the hind wing is a mostly well-developed feature. Alpine individuals often have a strong, almost completely reduced pattern of bright points on the upper side of the wing. The wingspan is 24–28 mm which means that Pyrgus serratulae is a medium-sized Pyrgus species. Basically, there is a great possibility of confusion with butterflies of the Pyrgus alveus complex, which can also occur syntopically with P. serratulae, as well as the other species of the genus Pyrgus. Safe separation is possible through the genitals.
It is a species of the mountainous areas of Europe but is absent from the British Isles and Scandinavia. P. serratulae is distributed from the southern European mountains through western, central and eastern Europe via south-western Siberia to Mongolia... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | Vanoise National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Olive Skipper sighting in Vanoise National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 220th 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 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report an Olive Skipper in Vanoise National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to May, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Olive 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.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Olive Skipper sightings, Vanoise National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Mercantour National Park (France, about 20%).
Same genus: Pyrgus
The closest relatives of the Olive Skipper that you can see in Vanoise National Park (genus Pyrgus, Grizzled Skippers) are Southern Grizzled Skipper (about 10%), Large Grizzled Skipper (about 10%) and Carline Skipper (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Olive Skipper is recorded against all the insects logged in Vanoise National Park (6 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.
