Catocala desdemona
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Catocala desdemona, the Desdemona underwing, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Henry Edwards in 1882. It is found in Utah and Arizona, ranging south into New Mexico and Texas, and onwards through Mexico up to Honduras.
It was formerly considered to be a subspecies of Catocala delilah. The wingspan is 60–65 mm. Adults are on wing from May to June depending on the location. There is probably one generation per year. The larvae feed on Quercus gambeli, Quercus macrocarpus and Salix. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Desdemona Underwing sighting in Big Bend National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 283rd most-seen of the 329 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.
August to October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Desdemona Underwing in Big Bend National Park on a given day, against under 5% in November to July, the lowest months. Those are among Big Bend National Park's wettest months, with about 40 mm of rain a month against 10 mm in April.
Between 6 and 9 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Desdemona Underwing sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
Only Big Bend National Park, in our data
Big Bend National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Desdemona Underwing sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Erebidae
The closest relatives of the Desdemona Underwing that you can see in Big Bend National Park (family Erebidae, Underwing, Tiger, Tussock, and Allied Moths) are Bird Toxonprucha (about 20%), Lophocampa bicolor (about 10%) and Paler Graphic (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Desdemona Underwing is recorded against all the insects logged in Big Bend 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.
