Noctua comes
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The lesser yellow underwing (Noctua comes) is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in the Palearctic realm (Europe, North Africa, Canary Islands, Middle East, South Russia, Caucasus, Transcaucasia, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, north-west India, Novosibirsk, Central Asia). It was introduced into British Columbia in about 1982 and has spread southward in the Pacific Northwest. It has recently been reported from Ontario (Crolla 2008). Full synonymy given in Lafontaine. It is a common species but not as abundant as its larger relative large yellow underwing (Noctua pronuba).
This species generally has the appearance of a smaller (wingspan 38–48 mm) version of the large yellow underwing Noctua pronuba. The forewings are equally variable in pattern and colour, from pale clay to reddish clay, light brown to almost black. The stigmata are dark and outlined with pale yellow. The crosslines are weak. The wavy line flows on to the front edge as a no more than dark brown (never black) stain, which is sometimes extended down the entire wavy line. The hindwings are orange-yellow with a broad black sub-terminal band and central discal lunule (usually... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Cairngorms National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 4 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 5 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 6 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 7 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 8 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 9 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 5 | Budapest | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 6 | Vienna | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 7 | Rotterdam [The Hague] | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 8 | Paris | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 9 | Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 10 | Lyon | 🇫🇷 France |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lesser Yellow Underwing sighting in Cairngorms National Park on a given day, based on 22 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 89th 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 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Lesser Yellow Underwing in Cairngorms National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to June, the lowest months.
Between 11 pm and 2 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Lesser Yellow Underwing sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
Among the best
Of the 9 parks where we can rate Lesser Yellow Underwing sightings, Cairngorms National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Snowdonia National Park (United Kingdom, about 10%).
Same genus: Noctua
The closest relatives of the Lesser Yellow Underwing that you can see in Cairngorms National Park (genus Noctua, Yellow Underwings) are Large Yellow Underwing (about 20%) and Lesser Broad-Bordered Yellow Underwing (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Lesser Yellow Underwing is recorded against all the insects logged in Cairngorms National Park (22 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.
