Abraxas grossulariata
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Abraxas grossulariata is a moth of the family Geometridae, native to the Palearctic realm and North America. Its distinctive speckled coloration has given it a common name of magpie moth. The caterpillar is similarly coloured to the adult, and may be found feeding on the leaves of shrubs such as gooseberry and blackcurrant. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
The length of the forewing is 18–25 mm. The strikingly patterned forewings have a white ground colour, with six transverse series of black stains, partly associated with a pale yellow basal cross band and another through the central area of the forewing. The hindwings are paler, and have a few, small dark stains.
It is a highly variable species with many different forms. Research using Abraxas grossulariata led to the discovery of sex-linked characteristics. Abraxas grossulariata grossulariata Abraxas grossulariata karafutonis Matsumura, 1925 (Sakhalin) Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Biebrza National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 2 | Cairngorms National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 5 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kharkiv | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 2 | Liverpool | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 5 | Copenhagen | 🇩🇰 Denmark |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Magpie Moth sighting in Cairngorms National Park on a given day, based on 25 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.
July
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Magpie Moth in Cairngorms National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June and August–April, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Magpie Moth sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
2nd of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Magpie Moth sightings, Cairngorms National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Biebrza National Park (Poland, about 20%).
Same family: Geometridae
The closest relatives of the Magpie 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.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Magpie Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Cairngorms National Park (25 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.
