Pterapherapteryx sexalata
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Pterapherapteryx is a monotypic genus of moth in the family Geometridae erected by John Curtis in 1825. Its only species, Pterapherapteryx sexalata, the small seraphim, was first described by Anders Jahan Retzius in 1783. It is found in central and northern Europe and south-east Russia.
The wingspan is 22–26 mm. The ground colour of the forewings is pale grey. They have dark grey crosslines. and two central bands: one in the basal field and one in the marginal field. The hindwings are unmarked pale grey or whitish.
The caterpillar is green, much wrinkled. It has three whitish lines or stripes along the dorsum, and in some examples there is a white line low down along the sides; the head, which inclines to yellowish, is notched, and there are two pinkish points on the last ring of the body.
The moth is on wing from May to August, depending on the location. The larvae feed on willow. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Small Seraphim sighting in Bavarian Forest National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 822nd 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 to July
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Small Seraphim in Bavarian Forest National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August to April, the lowest months.
Between 10 pm and 1 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Small Seraphim 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.
Only Bavarian Forest National Park, in our data
Bavarian Forest National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Small Seraphim sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Geometridae
The closest relatives of the Small Seraphim that you can see in Bavarian Forest National Park (family Geometridae, Geometer Moths) are Common Heath (about 20%), Latticed Heath (about 20%) and Yellow Shell Moth (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Small Seraphim is recorded against all the insects logged in Bavarian Forest National Park (7 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.
