Autographa bractea
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
The gold spangle (Autographa bractea) is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. It is found in Europe, across western Siberia and the Altai Mountains, the northern Caucasus, northern Turkey and northern Iran.
P. bractea F. ( = securis Vill.) Forewing purplish fuscous with many fine dark strigulae; the lines finely dark but indistinct, inwardly oblique; the inner line below middle finely golden, the outer golden at inner margin only; median area below middle ferruginous brown, containing at base of vein 2 a large irregular somewhat sinuous shining golden blotch (the golden blotch varies from a subquadrate, somewhat anvil-shaped mark to an elongate, sinuous, tongue-shaped one); a deeper diffuse shade from apex to middle; hindwing dull bronzy yellowish tinged with fuscous; the terminal area diffusely deep fuscous. Larva pale green; dorsal and spiracular lines white; head pale green marked with brown. Its wingspan is 42–50 mm. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cairngorms National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Gold Spangle sighting in Cairngorms National Park on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 241st most-seen of the 300 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.
July and August
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Gold Spangle in Cairngorms National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to June, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Gold Spangle sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Gold Spangle sightings, Cairngorms National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Pyrénées National Park (France, under 5%).
Same genus: Autographa
The closest relatives of the Gold Spangle that you can see in Cairngorms National Park (genus Autographa) are Beautiful Golden Υ (about 10%) and Silver Υ (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Gold Spangle is recorded against all the insects logged in Cairngorms National Park (8 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.
