Australian Alfalfa Moth

Australian Alfalfa Moth

Tathorhynchus fallax

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Blue Mountains National Park

In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%

12 Verified sightings at Blue Mountains National Park From 2019 to 2026
12 In 1 park
September Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Australian Alfalfa Moth

Tathorhynchus is a monotypic genus of moth in the family Erebidae erected by George Hampson in 1894. Its only species, Tathorhynchus exsiccata, the Levant blackneck or double-spotted snout, was first described by Julius Lederer in 1855. The nominate form is found on the Canary Islands and in North Africa, tropical Asia and tropical Africa. It has been introduced in Dominica and Argentina. Subspecies Tathorhynchus exsiccata fallax is found in the northern half of Australia, as well as Norfolk Island and New Zealand.

This species was transferred to Lygephila exsiccata by Goater et al. in 2003, but was returned to Tathorhynchus Hampson by Fibiger and Hacker in 2005. T. exsiccata Led. (= vinctalis Walk.) Forewing whitish, thickly suffused with grey brown, darker towards termen; the orbicular and reniform stigmata marked by pale spots separated by a black dash; another beyond reniform; outer line pale preceded by black marks; a terminal row of black lunules; hindwing greyish white, darker terminally.

The wingspan is about 40 mm. Tathorhynchus exsiccata exsiccata Tathorhynchus exsiccata fallax The larvae... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Blue Mountains National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%

More parks will be added in future updates.

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Brisbane 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing an Australian Alfalfa Moth in Blue Mountains National Park?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Australian Alfalfa Moth sighting in Blue Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 359th most-seen of the 789 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see an Australian Alfalfa Moth in Blue Mountains National Park?

March and August–November

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Australian Alfalfa Moth in Blue Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April–July and December–February, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see an Australian Alfalfa Moth?

Between 9 am and noon

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Australian Alfalfa 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.

Where else can you see an Australian Alfalfa Moth?

Only Blue Mountains National Park, in our data

Blue Mountains National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Australian Alfalfa Moth sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.

Which relatives of the Australian Alfalfa Moth live in Blue Mountains National Park?

Same family: Noctuidae

The closest relatives of the Australian Alfalfa Moth that you can see in Blue Mountains National Park (family Noctuidae, Cutworm Moths and Allies) are Brown Cutworm (about 20%), Green-Blotched Moth (about 20%) and Bogong Moth (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Australian Alfalfa Moth sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Australian Alfalfa Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Blue Mountains National Park (12 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.

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