---
title: "Grayling"
description: "Hipparchia semele — Insects & spiders. The grayling or rock grayling (Hipparchia semele) is a species in the brush-footed butterfly family Nymphalidae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/grayling
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Grayling

> Hipparchia semele — Insects & spiders. The grayling or rock grayling (Hipparchia semele) is a species in the brush-footed butterfly family Nymphalidae.

- Scientific name: *Hipparchia semele*
- Category: `insects` (Insects & spiders)
- Habitats: unknown
- iNaturalist observations: 12496
- Wikidata: [Q247983](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q247983)
- iNaturalist taxon: [102800](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/102800)

## Names

- en: Grayling
- de: Ockerbindiger Samtfalter
- es: Semele
- fr: Agreste
- nl: Heivlinder
- pl: Skalnik semele

## Countries with the most observations

ES (1857), FR (1630), GB (1453), IT (861), CZ (649), DK (639), SE (596), DE (515), PT (380), HR (361), NL (351), AT (304)

## Summary

The grayling or rock grayling (Hipparchia semele) is a species in the brush-footed butterfly family Nymphalidae. Although found all over Europe, the grayling mostly inhabits coastal areas, with inland populations declining significantly in recent years. The grayling lives in dry and warm habitats with easy access to the sun, which helps them with body temperature regulation.
A grayling goes through four stages in its life cycle. The eggs hatch around August, and larvae grow in four instars from August to the following June. By June, the larvae begin to pupate by spinning a silk cocoon below the surface of the ground…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grayling_(butterfly)

## Photo

![Grayling](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/grayling/medium.jpg)

Photo: Paul Round · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/387616656

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/grayling?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).