Nyea lurideola
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
The common footman (Manulea lurideola) is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Johann Leopold Theodor Friedrich Zincken in 1817. It is distributed throughout Europe and east through the Palearctic to Lake Baikal.
This species has a wingspan of 31–38 mm. The forewings are grey with a yellowish-buff streak along the costa. The hindwings are a uniform cream colour. Like other footmen, it rests with its wings wrapped around its body. (The common name footman comes from a supposed resemblance to the uniform of a footman.)
Wingspan 31–38 mm. Forewing broadened towards the outer margin, bright glossy lead grey with broad, regular, light yellow costal band, somewhat dulled at the apex, and pure yellow fringes; hindwing, head and neck and anal tuft of male ivory yellow. Beneath, the forewing is only suffused with sooty grey at the base and on the disc, so that a broad outer border is pale yellow. Hindwing pale yellow with a slightly dark costal margin.
This moth flies at night in July and August and is attracted to light and nectar-rich flowers.[1] Larva dark lilac grey with black dorsal line and black head... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Vanoise National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 4 | Ecrins National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 5 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 6 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kharkiv | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 2 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Liverpool | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 5 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 6 | Leeds | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 7 | Paris | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 8 | Vienna | 🇦🇹 Austria |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Common Footman sighting in Bavarian Forest National Park on a given day, based on 19 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 248th most-seen of the 1115 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February and June
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Common Footman in Bavarian Forest National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March–May and September–January, the lowest months.
Between 10 pm and 1 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Footman sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
Among the best
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Common Footman sightings, Bavarian Forest National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Snowdonia National Park (United Kingdom, about 10%) and Vanoise National Park (France, about 10%).
Same family: Erebidae
The closest relatives of the Common Footman that you can see in Bavarian Forest National Park (family Erebidae, Underwing, Tiger, Tussock, and Allied Moths) are Burnet Companion (about 20%), Jersey Tiger (about 20%) and Pale Tussock Moth (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Footman is recorded against all the insects logged in Bavarian Forest National Park (19 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.
