Cydia strobilella
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Cydia strobilella, the spruce seed moth, is a moth of the family Tortricidae. It is found in Europe. The wingspan is 10–15 mm. The moth flies from April to June depending on the location. The larvae feed on Abies alba, Picea omorika, Picea abies en Pinus sylvestris.
The spruce seed moth Cydia youngana Kearfott is found across Canada and the northern United States feeding in the cones of various spruces. Severe damage to white spruce has been reported from central and western Canada (Rose and Lindquist 1985). In Ontario the moths fly in May, about the time that spruce pollen is shed, and lay a single egg per cone if cones are plentiful. On hatching, the larva initially tunnels in the cone scales and then moves deeper to feed on the developing seeds. In late June, the larva makes a narrow tunnel down the axis of the cone from which it feeds. When full grown in the fall it is about 10 mm long. It hibernates in the central tunnel in the cone and pupates in the spring, the adult moths emerging from the pupal cases in about 18 days. Some of the larvae do not change to pupa in the first spring but remain dormant for 1 or more years. It seems that the number of adults present in any year correlates with the number of cones developed. 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 Spruce Seed Moth sighting in Bavarian Forest National Park on a given day, based on 6 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.
April and May
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Spruce Seed Moth in Bavarian Forest National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June to March, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Spruce Seed Moth sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
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 Spruce Seed Moth sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same genus: Cydia
The closest relatives of the Spruce Seed Moth that you can see in Bavarian Forest National Park (genus Cydia) are Large Beech Piercer (about 10%), Marbled Piercer (about 10%) and Vagrant Piercer (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Spruce Seed Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Bavarian Forest 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.
