Common Carpet Moth

Common Carpet Moth

Epirrhoe alternata

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

In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%

16 Verified sightings at Cairngorms National Park From 2019 to 2026
276 In all 11 parks
August Best month
☀️🌙 Day & Night When it's spotted

About the Common Carpet Moth

The common carpet or white-banded toothed carpet (Epirrhoe alternata) is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Otto Friedrich Müller in 1764. It is found throughout the Palearctic and the Near East. In North America it ranges across the northern tier of the United States plus every province and territory of Canada. Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Snowdonia National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~20%
2 Bavarian Forest National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
~10%
3 Aigüestortes National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
4 Wadden Sea National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
~10%
5 Białowieża National Park 🇵🇱 Poland
~10%
6 Triglav National Park 🇸🇮 Slovenia
~10%
7 Cairngorms National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
8 Pyrénées National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%
9 Fertő-Hanság National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
~10%
10 Cévennes National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%
11 Sierra de Guadarrama National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Liverpool 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~20%
2 Helsinki 🇫🇮 Finland
~10%
3 Berlin 🇩🇪 Germany
~10%
4 Prague 🇨🇿 Czechia
~10%
5 Manchester 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
6 London 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
7 Porto 🇵🇹 Portugal
~10%
8 Birmingham 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
9 Nizhny Novgorod 🇷🇺 Russia
~10%
10 Hamburg 🇩🇪 Germany
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Common Carpet Moth in Cairngorms National Park?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Common Carpet Moth sighting in Cairngorms National Park on a given day, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 104th most-seen of the 300 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.

When is the best time to see a Common Carpet Moth in Cairngorms National Park?

August

In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Common Carpet Moth in Cairngorms National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to April, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Common Carpet Moth?

Between 10 pm and 1 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Carpet Moth sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.

Which relatives of the Common Carpet Moth live in Cairngorms National Park?

Same family: Geometridae

The closest relatives of the Common Carpet Moth that you can see in Cairngorms National Park (family Geometridae, Geometer Moths) are Chimney-Sweeper (about 20%), Bordered White (about 20%) and Common Heath (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Common Carpet Moth sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Common Carpet Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Cairngorms National Park (16 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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