Callopistria floridensis
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Callopistria floridensis, the Florida fern moth or Florida fern caterpillar, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in North America (including Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, New Brunswick, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas), south through the Caribbean (including Cuba), Mexico and Central America (including Costa Rica) to Ecuador.
The wingspan is about 29 mm (1.1 in). Adults are on wing year round in Florida and the tropics. The larvae feed on various ferns, including Nephrolepis exaltata and Pteris vittata. It is an occasional pest in greenhouses. The larvae were recently discovered to have high levels of arsenic when feeding on P. vittata, and are the only known terrestrial animal to accumulate arsenic. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Main Ridge Forest Reserve | 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago | |
| 2 | Big Cypress National Preserve | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Orlando | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Houston | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Florida Fern Moth sighting in Big Cypress National Preserve on a given day, based on 10 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 116th most-seen of the 262 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and August
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Florida Fern Moth in Big Cypress National Preserve on a given day, against under 5% in January, March, July and September–October, the lowest months.
Between 9 pm and midnight
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Florida Fern Moth sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
Among the best
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Florida Fern Moth sightings, Big Cypress National Preserve ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Main Ridge Forest Reserve (Trinidad and Tobago, about 10%).
Same family: Noctuidae
The closest relatives of the Florida Fern Moth that you can see in Big Cypress National Preserve (family Noctuidae, Cutworm Moths and Allies) are Spanish Moth (about 20%), Nebula Brown (about 10%) and Abablemma brimleyana (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Florida Fern Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Big Cypress National Preserve (10 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.
