Actinotia polyodon
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Actinotia polyodon, the purple cloud, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in much of the Palearctic realm, from Europe to Russia and Japan. A. polyodon Cl. (= perspicillaris L.) (15 d). Forewing bone-colour suffused with olive brown along costa and inner margin and interrupted along termen; the reniform stigma also placed on an olive brown cloud: costa and space between veins 2 and 4 tinged with purplish pink; a black streak from base in submedian fold and a double one from inner margin near base; reniform stigma large, pale olive with linear centre and outline creamy white; veins towards margin dark, forming centre of wedgeshaped marks, 3, 4 and 7, 8 broadly edged with ground colour and cutting the dark fringe; outer line marked by dark dots on veins: hindwing bone-colour with broad brownish margin and blackish veins. - Larva red-brown, dotted with black; a subdorsal row of oblique brown marks; dorsal and spiracular lines yellow; head brown.
The wingspan is 31–36 mm. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 3 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Purple Cloud sighting in Bavarian Forest National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 964th most-seen of the 1115 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and July
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Purple Cloud in Bavarian Forest National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June and August–April, the lowest months.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Purple Cloud 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.
Yes
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Purple Cloud sightings, Bavarian Forest National Park has the highest daily chance: under 5%. Next come Wadden Sea National Park (Germany, under 5%) and Pyrénées National Park (France, under 5%).
Same family: Noctuidae
The closest relatives of the Purple Cloud that you can see in Bavarian Forest National Park (family Noctuidae, Cutworm Moths and Allies) are Silver Υ (about 20%), Knot Grass Moth (about 20%) and Large Yellow Underwing (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Purple Cloud is recorded against all the insects logged in Bavarian Forest National Park (5 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.
